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PKOTC.     H-lvIOVSE  ,    PUT'NEY,  S.V/: 


RUSSIA 


BY 

SIR    DONALD    MACKENZIE    WALLACE 

K.C.I.E.,    K.C.V.O. 


ENTIRELY    NEIV    /iND    MUCH   ENLARGED    EDITION,  REVISED    AND 
IN   GREAT   PART  REIVRITTEN 


WITH  PORTRAIT  OF  THE  AUTHOR  AND  TWO  COLOURED   MAPS 


NEW    YORK 

HENRY    HOLT    AND    COMPANY 
1905 


Copyright,   1905, 

BY 

Henry  Holt  and  Company 


Published  June,   1905 


PREFACE 

The  first  edition  of  this  work,  published  early  in  January, 
1877,  contained  the  concentrated  results  of  my  studies  during 
an  uninterrupted  residence  of  six  ~  years  in  Russia — from  the 
beginning  of  1870  to  the  end  of  1875.  Since  that  time  I  have 
spent  in  the  European  and  Central  Asian  provinces,  at  dif- 
ferent periods,  nearly  two  years  more;  and  in  the  intervals 
I  have  endeavoured  to  keep  in  touch  with  the  progress  of 
events.  My  observations  thus  extend  over  a  period  of  thirty- 
five  years. 

When  I  began,  a  few  months  ago,  to  prepare  for  publica- 
tion the  results  of  my  more  recent  observations  and  researches, 
my  intention  was  to  write  an  entirely  new  work  under  the 
title  of  "Russia  in  the  Twentieth  Century,"  but  I  soon  per- 
ceived that  it  would  be  impossible  to  explain  clearly  the  present 
state  of  things  without  referring  constantly  to  events  of  the 
past,  and  that  I  should  be  obliged  to  embody  in  the  new  work 
a  large  portion  of  the  old  one.  The  portion  to  be  embodied 
grew  rapidly  to  such  proportions  that,  in  the  course  of  a  few 
v\'eeks,  I  began  to  ask  myself  whether  it  would  not  be  better 
simply  to  recast  and  complete  my  old  material.  AYith  a  \'iew 
to  deciding  the  question  I  prepared  a  list  of  the  principal  changes 
which  had  taken  place  during  the  last  quarter  of  a  century,  and 
when  I  had  marshalled  them  in  logical  order,  I  recognised  that 
they  were  neither  so  numerous  nor  so  important  as  I  had  sup- 
posed.    Certainly  there  had  been  much  progress,  but  it  had 


800247 


vl  PREFACE 

been  nearly  all  on  the  old  lines.  Everywhere  I  perceived  con- 
tinuity and  evolution;  nowhere  could  I  discover  radical  changes 
and  new  departures.  In  the  central  and  local  administration 
the  reactionary  policy  of  the  latter  half  of  Alexander  II. 's 
reign  hatl  been  steadily  maintained;  the  revolutionary  move- 
ment had  waxed  and  waned,  but  its  aims  were  essentially  the 
same  as  of  old;  the  Church  had  remained  in  its  usual  som- 
nolent condition;  a  graA'e  agricultural  crisis  affecting  landed 
proprietors  and  peasants  had  begun,  but  it  was  merely 
a  development  of  a  state  of  things  which  I  had  previously 
described;  the  manufacturing  industry  had  made  gigantic 
strides,  but  they  were  all  in  the  direction  which  the  most  com- 
petent observers  had  predicted;  in  foreign  policy  the  old 
principles  of  guiding  the  natural  expansive  forces  along  the 
lines  of  least  resistance,  seeking  to  reach  warm-water  ports, 
and  pegging  out  territorial  claims  for  the  future  were  per- 
sistently followed.  No  doubt  there  were  pretty  clear  indica- 
tions of  more  radical  changes  to  come,  but  these  changes  must 
belong  to  the  future,  and  it  is  merely  with  the  past  and  the 
present  that  a  writer  who  has  no  pretensions  to  being  a  prophet 
has  to  deal. 

Under  these  circumstances  it  seemed  to  me  advisable  to 
adopt  a  middle  course.  Instead  of  writing  an  entirely  new 
work  I  determined  to  prepare  a  much  extended  and  amplified 
edition  of  the  old  one,  retaining  such  information  about  the 
past  as  seemed  to  me  of  permanent  value,  and  at  the  same 
time  meeting  as  far  as  possible  the  requirements  of  those  who 
wish  to  know  the  present  condition  of  the  country. 

In  accordance  with  this  view  I  have  revised,  rearranged, 
and  supplemented  the  old  material  in  the  light  of  subsequent 
events,  and  I  have  added  five  entirely  new  chapters — three 
on  the  revolutionary  movement,  which  has  come  into  promi- 


rUKFACE  vii 

nence  since  1877;  one  on  the  industrial  progress,  with  which 
the  latest  jjhase  of  the  movement  is  closely  connected;  and 
one  on  the  main  lines  of  tlio  present  situation  as  it  appears  to 
me  at  the  moment  of  going  to  press. 

During  the  many  years  which  I  have  de\'oted  to  the  study 
of  Russia,  I  have  received  unstinted  assistance  from  many  dif- 
ferent quarters.  Of  the  friends  who  originally  facilitated  my 
task,  and  to  whom  I  expressed  my  gratitude  in  the  preface 
and  notes  of  the  early  editions,  only  three  survive — Mme.  de 
Novikoff,  M.  E.  I.  Yakushkin,  and  Dr.  Ashcr.  To  the  numerous 
friends  who  have  kindly  assisted  me  in  the  present  edition  I 
must  express  my  thanks  collectively,  but  there  are  two  who 
stand  out  from  the  group  so  prominently  that  I  may  be  allowed 
to  mention  them  personally:  these  are  Prince  Alexander 
Grigorievitch  Stcherbatof,  who  supplied  me  with  voluminous 
materials  regarding  the  agrarian  question  generally  and  the 
present  condition  of  the  peasantry  in  particular,  and  M.  Albert 
Brockhaus,  who  placed  at  my  disposal  the  gigantic  Russian 
Encyclopaedia  recently  published  by  his  firm  {EntsikJopedi- 
tcheski  Slovdr,  Leipzig  and  St.  Petersburg,  1890-1904).  This 
monumental  work,  in  forty-one  volumes,  is  an  inexhaustible 
storehouse  of  accurate  and  well-digested  information  on  all 
subjects  connected  with  the  Russian  Empire,  and  it  has  often 
been  of  great  use  to  me  in  matters  of  detail. 

With  regard  to  the  last  chapter  of  this  edition  I  must  claim 
the  reader's  indulgence,  because  the  meaning  of  the  title, 
"the  present  situation,"  changes  from  day  to  day,  and  I  can- 
not foresee  what  further  changes  may  occur  before  the  work 
reaches  the  hands  of  the  public. 

London,  22nd  May,  1905. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER    I 

TRAVELLING   IN   RUSSIA 

Railways  —  State  Interference  —  River  Communications  —  Russian 
"  Grand  Tour  " — The  Volga — Kazan — Zliigulinskiya  Gori — Finns 
and  Tartars — The  Don — Difficulties  of  Navigation — Discomforts 
— Rats — Hotels  and  their  Peculiar  Customs — Roads — Hibernian 
Phraseology  Explained — Bridges — Posting — A  Tarantass — Req- 
uisites for  Travelling — Travelling  in  Winter — Frostbitten — Dis- 
agreeable Episodes — Scene  at  a  Post-station      -        -        -        -      i 

CHAPTER    II 

IN   THE    NORTHERN   FORESTS 

Bird's-eye  View  of  Russia — The  Northern  Forests — Purpose  of  my 
Journey — Negotiations — The  Road — A  Village — A  Peasant's 
House — Vapour-baths — Curious  Custom — Arrival        -        -        -    24 

CHAPTER    III 

VOLUNTARY  EXILE 

Ivanofka — History  of  the  Place — The  Steward  of  the  Estate — Slav 
and  Teutonic  Natures — A  German's  View  of  the  Emancipation 
—Justices  of  the  Peace — New  School  of  Morals — The  Russian 
Language — Linguistic  Talent  of  the  Russians — My  Teacher — A 
Big  Dose  of  Current  History 33 

CHAPTER    IV 

THE   VILLAGE  PRIEST 

Priests'  Names — Clerical  Marriages — The  White  and  the  Black 
Clergy — Why  the  People  do  not  Respect  the  Parish  Priests — 
History  of  the  White  Clergy — The  Parish  Priest  and  the  Protes- 
tant Pastor — In  What  Sense  the  Russian  People  are  Religious 


CONTEXTS 

— Icons — The  Clergy  and  Popular  Education — Ecclesiastical 
Reform — Premonitory  Symptoms  of  Change — Two  Typical  Speci- 
mens of  the  Parochial  Clergy  of  the  Present  Day      -        -        -    46 


CHAPTER   V 

i.  MEDICAL  CONSULTATION 

Unexpected  Illness — A  Village  Doctor — Siberian  Plague — My  Studies 
— Russian  Historians — A  Russian  Imitator  of  Dickens — A 
^  ci-devant  Domestic  Serf — Medicine  and  Witchcraft — A  Remnant 
of  Paganism — Credulity  of  the  Peasantry — Absurd  Rumours — A 
Mysterious  Visit  from  St.  Barbara — Cholera  on  Board  a  Steamer 
■ — Hospitals — Lunatic  Asylums — Amongst  Maniacs     -        -        -    65 


CHAPTER    VI 

A  PEASANT   FAMILY  OF  THE  OLD  TYPE 

Ivan  Petroff — His  Past  Life — Co-operative  Associations — Constitu- 
tion of  a  Peasant's  Household — Predominance  of  Economic  Con- 
ceptions over  those  of  Blood-relationshii) — Peasant  Marriages- 
Advantages  of  Living  in  Large  Families — Its  Defects — Family 
Disruptions  and  their  Consequences  79 

CHAPTER    VII 

THE  PEASANTRY  OF  THE   NOBTH 

Communal  Land— ^System  of  Agriculture — Parish  Fetes — Fasting 
— Winter  Occupations — Yearly  Migrations — Domestic  Indus-  y 
tries — Influence  of  Capital  and  Wholesale  Enterprise — The  State 
Peasants — Serf -dues — Buckle's  "  History  of  Civilisation  " — A 
Precocious  Yamstchilc — "  People  Who  Play  Pranks  " — A  Mid- 
night Alarm — The  Far  North 90 

CHAPTER    VIII 

THE   MIR,   OB  VILLAGE   COMMUNITY 

Social  and  Political  Importance  of  the  Mir — The  Mir  and  the  Family 
Compared — Theory  of  the  Communal  System — Practical  Devi- 
ations from  the  Theory — The  Mir  a  Good  Specimen  of  Constitu- 
tional Government  of  the  Extreme  Democratic  Type — The  Vil- 
lage Assembly — Female  Members — The  Elections — Distribution 
of  the  Communal  Land 107 


/ 


COXTEXTS  xi 

CIIArTER    IX 

HOW   THE   COMMUNE   HAS   BEEN   PKESEEVED,   AND   WHAT   IT  IS 
TO  EFFECT   IN   THE  FUTUEE 

Sweeping  Reforms  after  the  Crimean  War — Protest  against  the 
Laisscz  Fairc  Principle — Fear  of  the  Proletariat — English  and 
liussian  Methods  of  Legislation  Contrasted — Sanguine  Expecta- 
tions— Evil  Consequences  of  the  Communal  System — The  Com- 
mune of  the  Future — I'roletariat  of  the  Towns — The  Present 
State  of  Things  Merely  Temporary 12G 

CHAPTER    X 

FINNISH    AND   TAETAK   VILLAGES 

A  Finnish  Tribe — Finnish  Villages — Various  Stages  of  Russifica- 
tion — Finnish  Women — Finnish  Religions — Method  of  "  Laying  " 
Ghosts — Curious  Mixture  of  Christianity  and  Paganism — Con- 
version of  the  Finns — A  Tartar  Village — A  Russian  Peasant's 
Conception  of  jNIahometanisni — A  JIahouictan's  View  of  Chris- 
tianity— Propaganda — The  Russian  Colonist — Migrations  of 
Peoples  During  the  Dark  Ages 135 

CHAPTER    XI 

LORD    NOVGOROD   THE   GREAT 

Departure  from  Ivanofka  and  Arrival  at  Novgorod — The  Eastern 
Half  of  the  Town — The  Kremlin— An  Old  Legend— The  Armed 
Men  of  Rus — The  Northmen — Popular  Liberty  in  Novgorod — • 
J3fhe  Prince  and  the  Popular  Assembly — Civil  Dissensions  and 
Faction-fights — The  Commercial  Republic  Conquered  by  the  Mus- 
covite Tsars — Ivan  the  Terrible — Present  Condition  of  the  Town 
V'^  Provincial  Society  —  Card-playing  —  Periodicals  —  "  Eternal 
Stillness" 149 

CHAPTER    XII 

THE   TOWNS   AND   THE    MERCANTILE   CLASSES 

General  Character  of  Russian  Towns — Scarcity  of  Towns  in  Russia 
— Why  the  Urban  Element  in  the  Population  is  so  Small — 
History  of  Russian  Municipal  Institutions — Unsuccessful  Efforts 
to  Create  a  Tiers-etat — Merchants,  P>urghers.  and  Artisans — 
Town  Council — A  Rich  Merchant — His  House — His  Love  of 
Ostentation — Ilis  Conception  of  Aristocracy — Official  Decora- 
tions— Ignorance  and  Dishonesty  of  the  Commercial  Classes — 
Symptoms  of  Change IGO 


xii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER    XIII 

THE  PASTORAL  TEIBES   OF  THE   STEPPE 

A  Journey  to  the  Steppe  Region  of  the  South-east — The  Volga — 
Town  and  Province  of  Samara — Farther  Eastward — Appear- 
ance of  the  Villages — Characteristic  Incident — Peasant  Men- 
dacity— Explanation  of  the  Phenomenon — I  Awake  in  Asia — A 
Bashliir  Aoul — Diner  d  la  Tartare — Kumyss — A  Bashkir  Trou- 
badour— Honest  Mehemet  Zian — Actual  Economic  Condition  of 
the  Bashkirs  Throws  Light  on  a  Well-known  Philosophical 
Theory — Why  a  Pastoral  Race  Adopts  Agriculture — The  Gen- 
uine Steppe — The  Kirghiz — Letter  from  Genghis  Khan — The 
Kalmyks — Nogai  Tartars — Struggle  between  Nomadic  Hordes 
and  Agricultural  Colonists  .......  177 

CHAPTER    XIV 

THE   MONGOL  DOMINATION 

The  Conquest — Genghis  Khan  and  his  People — Creation  and  Rapid 
Disintegration  of  the  Mongol  Empire — The  Golden  Horde — 
The  Real  Character  of  the  Mongol  Domination — Religious 
Toleration — Mongol  System  of  Government — Grand  Princes — 
The  Princes  of  Moscow — Influence  of  the  Mongol  Domination — 
Practical    Importance   of   the    Subject 195 

CHAPTER    XV 

THE   COSSACKS 

Lawlessness  on  the  Steppe — Slave-markets  of  the  Crimea — The 
Military  Cordon  and  the  Free  Cossacks — The  Zaporovian  Com- 
monwealth Compared  with  Sparta  and  with  the  Mediaeval  Mili- 
tary Orders — The  Cossacks  of  the  Don,  of  the  Volga,  and  of  the 
Ural — Border  Warfare — The  Modern  Cossacks — Land  Tenure 
among  the  Cossacks  of  the  Don — The  Transition  from  Pastoral 
to  Agricultural  Life — "  Universal  Law  "  of  Social  Development 
— Communal  versus  Private  Property — Flogging  as  a  Means  of 
Land-registration  204 


CHAPTER    XVI 

FOEEIGN   COLONISTS   ON  THE  STEPPE 

The  steppe — Variety  of  Races,  Languages,  and  Religions — The 
German  Colonists — In  What  Sense  the  Russians  are  an  Imita- 
tive   People — The    Mennonites — Climate    and    Arboriculture — 


CONTEXTS  xiii 

Bulfiarian  Colonists — Tartar-spe.iking  Greeks — Jewish  Agricul- 
turalists— Russification — A  Circassian  Scotcbman-^Numerical 
Strength  of  the  Foreign  Element 215 


CHAPTER   XVII 

AMONG   THE   HERETICS 

The  MolokSnye — My  Method  of  Investigation — Alexandrof-HaT — 
An  Unexpected  Theological  Discussion — Doctrines  and  Ecclesi- 
astical Organisation  of  the  Molokfinye — Moral  Supervision  and 
Mutual  Assistance — History  of  the  Sect — A  False  Prophet — 
Utilitarian  Christianity — Classification  of  the  Fantastic  Sects 
— The  "  Khlysti " — Policy  of  the  Government  Towards  Sec- 
tarianism— Two  Kinds  of  Heresy — Probable  Future  of  the 
Heretical  Sects — Political  Disaffection        -        -        ,        -        .  225 


CHAPTER    XVIII 

THE   DISSENTERS 

Dissenters  not  to  be  Confounded  with  Heretics — Extreme  Impor- 
tance Attached  to  Ritual  Observances — The  Raskol,  or  Great 
Schism  in  the  Seventeenth  Century — Antichrist  Appears! — 
Policy  of  Peter  the  Great  and  Catherine  II. — Present  Ingenious 
Method  of  Securing  Religious  Toleration — Internal  Develop- 
ment of  the  Raskol — Schism  among  the  Schismatics — The  Old 
Ritualists — The  Priestless  People — Cooling  of  the  Fanatical 
Enthusiasm  and  Formation  of  New  Sects — Recent  Policy  of  the 
Government  Towards  the  Sectarians — Numerical  Force  and 
Political  Significance  of  Sectarianism 238 


CHAPTER    XIX 

CHURCH   AND   STATE 

The  Russian  Orthodox  Church — Russia  Outside  of  the  Mediaeval 
Papal  Commonwealth — Influence  of  the  Greek  Church — Ecclesi- 
astical History  of  Russia — Relations  between  Church  and  State 
— Eastern  Orthodoxy  and  the  Russian  National  Church — Tlie 
Synod — Ecclesiastical  Grumbling — Local  Ecclesiastical  Admin- 
istration— The  Black  Clergj-  and  the  Monasteries — The  Charac- 
ter of  the  Eastern  Church  Reflected  in  the  History  of  Religious 
Art — Practical  Consequences — The  Union  Scheme      -        -        -  256 


xiv  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER    XX 

THE   NOBLESSE 

The  Nobles  in  Early  Times — The  Mongol  Domination — The  Tsardom 
of  Muscovy — Family  Dignity — Reforms  of  Peter  the  Great — 
The  Nobles  Adopt  the  West-European  Conceptions — Abolition 
of  Obligatory  Service — Influence  of  Catherine  II. — The  Russian 
Dvoryanstvo  Compared  with  the  French  Noblesse  and  the 
English  Aristocracy — Russian  Titles — Probable  Future  of  the 
Russian   Noblesse  -.--..--.  267 

CHAPTER    XXI 

LANDED  PEOPEIETOBS   OF  THE  OLD   SCHOOL 

Russian  Hospitality — A  Country-house — Its  Owner  Described — His 
Life,  Past  and  Present — Winter  Evenings — Books — Connection 
with  the  Outer  World — The  Crimean  War  and  the  Emancipa- 
tion— A  Drunken,  Dissolute  Proprietor — An  Old  General  and 
his  Wife — "  Name-days  " — A  Legendary  Monster — A  Retired 
Judge — A  Clever  Scribe — Social  Leniency — Causes  of  Demoral- 
isation      283 


CHAPTER    XXII 

PEOPEIETOBS   OF  THE   MODEEN   SCHOOL 

Russian  Petit  Maitre — His  House  and  Surroundings — Abortive 
Attempts  to  Improve  Agriculture  and  the  Condition  of  the  Serfs 
— A  Comparison — A  "  Liberal  "  Tchinovnik — His  Idea  of  Prog- 
ress— A  Justice  of  the  Peace — His  Opinion  of  Russian  Litera- 
ture, Tchinovniks,  and  Petits  Mattrcs — His  Supposed  and  Real 
Character — An  Extreme  Radical — Disorders  in  the  Universities 
— Administrative  Procedure — Russia's  Capacity  for  Accomplish- 
ing Political  and  Social  Evolutions — A  Court  Dignitary  in  his 
Country-house 302 


CHAPTER    XXIII 

S0CL4.L  CLASSES 

Do  Social  Classes  or  Castes  Exist  in  Russia?— Well-marked  Social 
Types — Classes  Recognised  by  the  Legislation  and  the  Official 
Statistics — Origin  and  Gradual  Formation  of  these  Classes — 
Peculiarity  in  the  Historical  Development  of  Russia — Polit- 
ical Life  and  Political  Parties 320 


CONTEXTS  XT 

CHAPTER    XXIV 

THE   IMPERIAL   ADMINISTRATION    AND   THE   OFFICIALS 

The  Officials  in  Novgorod    Assist  me  in  my  Studies — The  Modern 

Imperial    Administration    Created    by    Peter    the    Great,    and  , 

Developed  by  his  Successors — A  Slavophil's  View  of  the  Admin-        r'^ 
istration — The    Administration    Briefly    Described — The    Tcliin-  ^ 

drniks,  or  OlHcials — Official  Titles  and  their  Real  Significance 
—What  the  Administration  Has  Done  for  Russia  in  the  Past 
— Its  Character  Determined  by  the  Peculiar  Relation  Between 
the  Governnu'nt  and  the  People — Its  Radical  Vices — Bureau- 
cratic Remedies — Complicated  Formal  I'rocedure — The  Gend- 
armerie: my  Personal  Relations  with  this  Branch  of  the  Admin- 
istration :  Arrest  and  Release — A  Sti'ong,  Healthy  Public 
Opinion  the  only  Effectual  Remedy  for  Bad  Administration    -  325 


CHAPTER    XXV 

MOSCOW   AND   THE   SLAVOPHILS 

Two  Ancient  Cities — Kief  not  a  Good  Point  for  Studying  Old 
Russian  National  Life — Great  Russians  and  Little  Russians — ■ 
Moscow — Easter  Eve  in  the  Kremlin — Curious  Custom — Anec- 
dote of  the  Emperor  Nicholas — Domiciliary  Visits  of  the  Iberian 
Madonna — The  Streets  of  Moscow — Recent  Changes  in  the 
Character  of  the  City — Vulgar  Conception  of  the  Slavophils 
— Opinion  Founded  on  Personal  Acquaintance — Slavophil  Senti- 
ment a  Century  Ago — Origin  and  Development  of  the  Slavophil 
Doctrine — Slavophilism  Essentially  Muscovite — The  Panslavist 
Element — The  Slavophils  and  the  Emancipation        ...  345 


CHAPTER    XXVI 

ST.   PETERSBURG   AND  EUROPEAN   INFLUENCE 

St.  Petersburg  and  Berlin — Big  Houses — The  "  Lions  " — Peter  the 
Great — His  Aims  and  Policy — The  German  R(''(/ime — Nationalist 
Reaction — French  Influence — Consequent  Intellectual  Steril- 
ity— Influence  of  the  Sentimental  School — Hostility  to  Foreign 
Influences — A  New  Period  of  Literary  Importation — Secret 
Societies — The  Catastrophe — The  Age  of  Nicholas — A  Terrible 
War  on  Parnassus — Decline  of  Romanticism  and  Transcen- 
dentalism—Gogol^ — The  Revolutionary  Agitation  of  1848 — New 
Reaction — Conclusion  366 


xvi  CONTEXTS 

CHAPTER   XXVII 

THE  CRIMEAN   WAR  AND  ITS   CONSEQUENCES 

The  Emperor  Nicholas  and  his  System — The  Men  with  Aspirations 
and  the  Apathetically  Contented — National  Humiliation — Popu- 
lar Discontent  and  the  Manuscript  Literature — Death  of 
Nicholas — Alexander  II. — New  Spirit — Reform  Enthusiasm — 
Change  in  the  Periodical  Literature — The  Kdlokol — The  Con- 
servatives— The  Tchindvtiiks — First  Specific  Proposals — Joint 
Stock  Companies — The  Serf  Question  Comes  to  the  Fronts       -  383 

CHAPTER    XXVIII 

THE   SERFS 

The  Rural  Population  in  Ancient  Times — The  Peasantry  in  the 
Eighteenth  Century — How  Was  this  Change  Effected? — The 
Common  Explanation  is  Inaccurate — Serfage  the  Result  of 
Permanent  Economic  and  Political  Causes — Origin  of  the 
Adscriptlo  Glebae — Its  Consequences — Serf  Insurrection — Turn- 
ing-point in  the  History  of  Serfage — Serfage  in  Russia  and  in 
Western  Europe — State  Peasants — Numbers  and  Geographical 
Distribution  of  the  Serf  Population — Serf  Dues — Legal  and 
Active  Power  of  the  Proprietors — The  Serfs'  Means  of  Defence 
— Fugitives — Domestic  Serfs — Strange  Advertisement  in  the 
Moscow  Gazette — Moral  Influence  of  Serfage      -        -        -        -  405 

CHAPTER    XXIX 

THE  EMANCIPATION   OF  THE   SERFS 

The  Question  Raised — Chief  Committee — The  Nobles  of  the  Lithu- 
anian Provinces — The  Tsar's  Broad  Hint  to  the  Noblesse — 
Enthusiasm  in  the  Press — The  Proprietors — Political  Aspira- 
tions— No  Opposition — The  Government — Public  Opinion — Fear 
of  the  Proletariat — The  Provincial  Committees — The  Elabor- 
ation Commission — The  Question  Ripens — Provincial  Deputies 
— Discontent  and  Demonstrations — The  Manifesto — Funda- 
mental Principles  of  the  Law — Illusions  and  Disappointments 
of  the  Serfs — Arbiters  of  the  Peace — A  Characteristic  Incident 
— Redemption — Who  Effected  the  Emancipation?        ...  429 

CHAPTER    XXX 

THE  LANDED  PROPRIETORS   SINCE  THE  EMANCIPATION 

Two  Opposite  Opinions — Difficulties  of  Investigation — The  Problem 
Simplified — Direct  and  Indirect  Compensation — The  Direct 
Compensation   Inadequate — What  the   Proprietors  Have  Done 


CONTEXTS  xvii 

with  the  Remainder  of  Tlioir  Estates — Immediate  Moral  Effect 
of  the  AholitioM  of  Serfage — The  Eeonomic  rrohlem — "^Fhe  Ideal 
Solution  and  the  Difliculty  of  Realising  It — More  I'rimitive 
Arrangements— The  Northern  Agricidtural  Zone — The  I'.lack- 
earth  Zone — The  Lahour  Difficulty — The  Imiioverisluuent  of  the 
Noblesse  Not  a  New  riienouienon — Mortgaging  of  Estates — 
Gradual  Exiiroi)riatlon  of  the  Noblesse — Rapid  Increase  in  the 
Produ'tion  and  Export  of  Grain — How  Far  this  Has  Benefited 
the  Lauded  Proprietors 452 


CHAPTER    XXXI 

^  THE   EMANCIPATED   PEASANTRY 

The  Effects  of  Liberty — Dilliculty  of  Obtaining  Accurate  Informa- 
tion— Pessimist  Testimony  of  the  Proprietors — Vague  Replies 
of  the  Peasants — My  Conclusions  in  1877 — Necessity  of  Revis- 
ing Them  —  My  Investigations  Renewed  in  1903  —  Recent 
Researches  by  Native  Political  Economists — Peasant  Impover- 
ishment Universally  Recognised — Various  Explanations  Sug- 
gested— Demoralisation  of  the  Common  People — Peasant  Self- 
government  —  Communal  System  of  Land  Tenure  —  Heavy 
Taxation — Disruption  of  Peasant  Families — Natural  Increase 
of  Population— Remedies  Proposed — Migration — Reclamation 
of  Waste  Land — Land-purchase  by  Peasantry — Manufacturing 
Industry — Imj^rovement  of  Agricultural  Methods — Indications 
Of  Progress 464 

CHAPTER    XXXII 

THE  ZEMSTVO   AND   THE  LOCAL   SELF-GOVERNMENT 

Favourable  Opportunity  for  Studying  the  Zemstvo — Russian  Self- 
Criticism — Parliamentary  Form  of  the  Zemstvo — A  District 
Assembly — Nobles  and  cl-dcvaiit  Serfs — A  Provincial  Assembly 
— The  Leading  Members — Character  of  Different  Zemstvos — 
Origin  and  Purpose  of  the  Institution — Bereaucratic  Law- 
making— Inordinate  Expectations — What  the  Zemstvo  has 
done— Its  Want  of  Vitality  Explained — British  and  Russian 
Methods  of  Creating  Institutions — A  Characteristic  Incident 
— Future  of  the  Institution 491 

CHAPTER    XXXIII 

THE   NEW   LAW   COURTS 

Judicial  Procedure  in  the  Olden  Time — Defects  and  Abuses — 
Radical  Reform — The  New  System — Justices  of  the  Peace  and 
Monthly  Sessions — The  Regular  Tribunals — Court  of  Revision 


xviii  CONTENTS 

— Modification  of  the  Original  Plan — How  Does  the  System 
Work?  —  Rapid  Acclimatisation  —  The  Bench  —  The  Jui'y  — 
Acquittal  of  Criminals  who  Confess  their  Crimes — Peasants, 
Merchants,  and  Nobles  as  Jurymen — Independence  and  Political 
Significance    of    the    New    Courts        -..--.  510 


CHAPTER    XXXIV 

REVOLUTIONARY   NIHILISM    AND   THE  REACTION 

The  Reform  Enthusiasm  Becomes  Unpractical  and  Culminates  in 
Nihilism — Nihilism,  the  Distorted  Reflection  of  Academic 
Western  Socialism — Russia  Well  Prepared  for  Reception  of 
Ultra-Socialist  Virus  —  Social  Reorganisation  According  to 
Latest  Results  of  Science — Positivist  Theory — Leniency  of 
Press-censure  —  Chief  Representatives  of  New  Movement  — 
Government  Becomes  Alarmed — Repressive  Measures — Reaction 
in  the  Public — The  Term  Nihilist  Invented — -The  Nihilist  and 
his  Theory — Further  Repressive  Measures — Attitude  of  Landed 
Proprietors  —  Foundation  of  a  Liberal  Party  —  Liberalism 
Checked  by  Polish  Insurrection — Practical  Reform,  Continued 
— An  Attempt  at  Regicide  Forms  a  Turning-point  of  Govern- 
ment's Policy — Change  in  Educational  System — Decline  of 
Nihilism 532 


CHAPTER   XXXV 

SOCIALIST     PROPAGANDA,     REVOLUTIONARY     AGITATION,     AND     TERRORISM 

Closer  Relations  with  Western  Socialism — Attempts  to  Influence 
the  Masses — Bakunin  and  Lavroff — "  Going  in  Among  the 
People  " — The  Missionaries  of  Revolutionary  Socialism — Dis- 
tinction between  Propaganda  and  Agitation — Revolutionary 
Pamphlets  for  the  Common  People — Aims  and  Motives  of  the 
Propagandists — Failure  of  Propaganda — Energetic  Repression 
— Fruitless  Attempts  at  Agitation — Proposal  to  Combine  with 
Liberals — Genesis  of  Terrorism — My  Personal  Relations  with 
the  Revolutionists — Shadowers  and  Shadowed — A  Series  of 
Terrorist  Crimes — A  Revolutionist  Congress — Unsuccessful  At- 
tempts to  Assassinate  the  Tsar — Ineffectual  Attempt  at  Con- 
ciliation by  Loris  Melikof — Assassination  of  Alexander  II. — 
The  Executive  Committee  Shows  Itself  Unpractical — Wide- 
spread Indignation  and  Severe  Repression — Temporary  Collapse 
of  the  Revolutionary  Movement — A  New  Revolutionary  Move- 
ment in   Sight 550 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER    XXXVI 

INDUSTRIAL   PROGRESS    AND   THE   TROLETARIAT 

Russia  till  Lately  a  Peasant  Empire— Early  Effoits  to  Introduce 
Arts  and  Crafts— Peter  the  Great  and  His  Successoi-s — Manu- 
facturing Industry  Long  Remains  an  Exotic — The  Cotton 
Industry— The  Reforms  of  Alexander  II.— Protectionists  and 
Free  Trade— Progress  Under  High  Tariffs— M.  Witte's  Policy 
— How  Capital  Was  Obtained— Increase  of  Exports — Foreign 
Firms  Cross  the  Customs  Frontier — Rapid  Development  of  Iron 
Industry— A  Commercial  Crisis— :M.  Witte's  Position  Under- 
mined by  Agrarians  and  Doctrinaires— M.  Plehve  a  Formidable 
Opponent — His  Apprehensions  of  Revolution — Fall  of  M.  Witte 
— The   Industrial    Proletariat        - 570 

CHAPTER    XXXVII 

THE  REVOLUTIONARY    MOVEMENT   IN   ITS   LATEST  PHASE 

Influence  of  Capitalism  and  Proletariat  on  the  Revolutionary  Move- 
ment— What  is  to  be  Done?— Reply  of  Plekhanof — A  New 
Departure — Karl  Marx's  Theories  Ai)plied  to  Russia — Begin- 
nings of  a  Social  Democratic  Movement — The  Labour  Troubles 
of  1894-96  in  St.  Petersburg— The  Social  Democrats'  Plan  of/ 
Campaign — Schism  in  the  Party — Trade-Unionism  and  Political 
Agitation— The  Labour  Troubles  of  1902— How  the  Revolu- 
tionary Groups  are  Differentiated  from  Each  Other — Social 
Democracy  and  Constitutionalism — Terrorism — The  Socialist 
Revolutionaries — The  Militant  Organisation — Attitude  of  the 
Government — Factory  Legislation — Government's  Scheme  for 
Undermining  Social  Democracy — Father  Gapon  and  his  Labour 
Association — The  Great  Strike  in  St.  Petersburg — Father  Gapon 
Goes  over  to  the  Revolutionaries 502 

CHAPTER    XXXVIII 
TERRITORIAL  EXPANSION   AND   FOREIGN   POLICY 

Rai»id  Growth  of  Russia — Expansive  Tendency  of  Agricultural 
Peoples — The  Russo-Slavonians — The  Northern  Forest  and  the 
Steppe — Colonisation — The  Pai-t  of  the  Government  in  the 
Process  of  Expansion — Expansion  towards  the  West — Growth 
of  the  Empire  Represented  in  a  Tabular  Foi-m — Commercial 
Motive  for  Expansion — The  Expansive  Force  in  the  Future 
— Possibilities  of  Expansion  in  Europe — Persia,  Afghanistan, 
and  India — ^  Trans-Siberian  Railway  and  WeltpoUtik  —  A 
Grandiose  Scheme — Determined  Opposition  of  Japan — Nego- 
tiations and  War  —  Russia's  Imprudence  Explained  —  Con- 
clusion       615 


XX  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER    XXXIX 

■^  THE  PRESENT    SITUATION 

Reform  or  Revolution? — Reigns  of  Alexander  II.  and  Nicholas  II. 
Compared  and  Contrasted — The  Present  Opposition — Various 
Groups — The  Constitutionalists — Zeniski  Sobers — The  Young 
Tsar  Dispels  Illusions — Liberal  Frondeurs — Plehve's  Repressive 
Policy — Discontent  Increased  by  the  War — Relaxation  and 
Wavering  luider  Prince  Mirski — Reform  Enthusiasm — The  Con- 
stitutionalists Formulate  their  Demands — The  Social  Demo- 
crats— Father  Gapon's  Demonstration — The  Socialistic-Revolu- 
tionaries— The  Agrarian  Agitators — The  Subject-Nationalities 
— Numerical  Strength  of  the  Various  Groups — All  United  on 
One  Point — Their  Different  Aims — Possible  Solutions  of  the 
Crisis — Difficulties  of  Introducing  Constitutional  Regime — A 
Strong  Man  Wanted — Uncertainty  of  the  Future      .        -        -  636 


RUSSIA 

CHAPTER   I 

TRAVELLING    IN    RUSSIA 

Railways — State  Interference — River  Communications — Russian  "  Grand 
Tour  " — The  Volga — Kazan — Zhigulinsklya  Gori — Finns  and  Tar- 
tars— The  Don — Difficulties  of  Navigation — Discomforts — Rats — 
Hotels  and  Their  Peculiar  Customs — Roads — Hibernian  Phraseol- 
ogy Explained — Bridges — Posting — A  Tarantass — Requisites  for 
Travelling — Travelling  in  Winter — Frostbitten — Disagreeable  Epi- 
sodes— Scene  at  a  Post-Station. 

OF  course  travelling  in  Russia  is  no  longer  what  it  was.  During 
the  last  half  century  a  vast  network  of  railways  has  been  con- 
structed, and  one  can  now  travel  in  a  comfortable  first-class  car- 
riage from  Berlin  to  St.  Petersburg  or  Moscow,  and  thence  to 
Odessa,  Sebastopol,  the  Lower  Volga,  the  Caucasus,  Central  Asia, 
or  Eastern  Siberia.  Until  the  outbreak  of  the  war  there  was  a 
train  twice  a  week,  with  through  carriages,  from  Moscow  to  Port 
Arthur.  And  it  must  be  admitted  that  on  the  main  lines  the  pas- 
sengers have  not  much  to  complain  of.  The  carriages  are  decidedly 
better  than  in  England,  and  in  winter  they  are  kept  warm  by  small 
iron  stoves,  assisted  by  double  windows  and  double  doors — a  very 
necessary  precaution  in  a  land  where  the  thermometer  often  de- 
scends to  30°  below  zero.  The  train  never  attains,  it  is  true,  a 
high  rate  of  speed — so  at  least  English  and  Americans  think — but 
then  we  must  remember  that  Russians  are  rarely  in  a  hurry,  and 
like  to  have  frequent  opportunities  of  eating  and  drinking.  In 
Russia  time  is  not  money ;  if  it  were,  nearly  all  the  subjects  of  the 
Tsar  would  always  have  a  large  stock  of  ready  money  on  hand,  and 
would  often  have  great  difficulty  in  spending  it.  In  reality,  be  it 
parenthetically  remarked,  a  Russian  with  a  superabundance  of 
ready  money  is  a  phenomenon  rarely  met  with  in  real  life. 

In  conveying  passengers  at  the  rate  of  from  fifteen  to  thirty 
miles  an  hour,  the  railway  companies  do  at  least  all  that  they 
promise;  but  in  one  very  important  respect  they  do  not  always 
strictly  fulfil    their   engagements.     The   traveller   takes   a   ticket 


2  EUSSIA 

for  a  certain  town,  and  on  arriving  at  what  he  imagines  to  be  his 
destination,  he  may  find  merely  a  railway-station  surrounded  by 
fields.  On  making  inquiries,  he  discovers,  to  his  disappointment, 
that  the  station  is  by  no  means  identical  with  the  town  bearing  the 
same  name,  and  that  the  railway  has  fallen  several  miles  short  of 
fulfilling  the  bargain,  as  he  understood  the  terms  of  the  contract. 
Indeed,  it  might  almost  be  said  that  as  a  general  rule  railways  in 
Eussia,  like  camel-drivers  in  certain  Eastern  countries,  studiously 
avoid  the  towns.  This  seems  at  first  a  strange  fact.  It  is  possible 
to  conceive  that  the  Bedouin  is  so  enamoured  of  tent  life  and 
nomadic  habits  that  he  shuns  a  tovna  as  he  would  a  man-trap ;  but 
surely  civil  engineers  and  railway  contractors  have  no  such  dread 
of  brick  and  mortar.  The  true  reason,  I  suspect,  is  that  land 
within  or  immediately  beyond  the  municipal  barrier  is  relatively 
dear,  and  that  the  railways,  being  completely  beyond  the  invigor- 
ating influence  of  healthy  competition,  can  afford  to  look  upon 
the  comfort  and  convenience  of  passengers  as  a  secondary  consider- 
ation. Gradually,  it  is  true,  this  state  of  things  is  being  improved 
by  private  initiative.  As  the  railways  refuse  to  come  to  the  towns, 
the  towns  are  extending  towards  the  railways,  and  already  some 
prophets  are  found  bold  enough  to  predict  that  in  the  course  of 
time  those  long,  new,  straggling  streets,  without  an  inhabited 
hinterland,  which  at  present  try  so  severely  the  springs  of  the 
ricketty  droshkis,  will  be  properly  paved  and  kept  in  decent  repair. 
For  my  own  part,  I  confess  I  am  a  little  sceptical  with  regard  to 
this  prediction,  and  I  can  only  use  a  favourite  expression  of  the 
Eussian  peasants — dat  Bog!     God  grant  it  may  be  so! 

It  is  but  fair  to  state  that  in  one  celebrated  instance  neither 
engineers  nor  railway  contractors  were  directly  to  blame.  From 
St.  Petersburg  to  Moscow  the  locomotive  runs  for  a  distance  of 
400  miles  almost  as  "  the  crow  "  is  supposed  to  fly,  turning  neither 
to  the  right  hand  nor  to  the  left.  For  twelve  weary  hours  the 
passenger  in  the  express  train  looks  out  on  forest  and  morass,  and 
rarely  catches  sight  of  human  habitation.  Only  once  he  perceives 
in  the  distance  what  may  be  called  a  town;  it  is  Tver  which  has 
been  thus  favoured,  not  because  it  is  a  place  of  importance,  but 
simply  because  it  happened  to  be  near  the  bee-line.  And  why 
was  the  railway  constructed  in  this  extraordinary  fashion?  For 
the  best  of  all  reasons — because  the  Tsar  so  ordered  it.  When 
the  preliminary  survey  was  being  made,  Nicholas  I.  learned  that 
the  officers  entrusted  with  the  task — and  the  Minister  of  Ways  and 
Eoads  in  the  number — were  being  influenced  more  by  personal 


TRAVELLING   IN   RUSSIA  3 

than  technical  considerations,  and  he  determined  to  cut  the  Gor- 
dian  knot  in  true  Imperial  style.  When  the  Minister  laid  before 
him  the  map  with  the  intention  of  explaining  the  proposed  route, 
he  took  a  ruler,  drew  a  straight  line  from  the  one  terminus  to  the 
other,  and  remarked  in  a  tone  that  precluded  all  discussion,  "  You 
will  construct  the  line  so ! "  And  the  line  was  so  constructed— 
remaining  to  all  future  ages,  like  St.  Petersburg  and  the  Pyramids, 
a  magnificent  monument  of  autocratic  power. 

Formerly  this  well-known  ijicident  was  often  cited  in  whispered 
philippics  to  illustrate  the  evils  of  the  autocratic  form  of  govern- 
ment. Imperial  whims,  it  was  said,  over-ride  grave  economic  con- 
siderations. In  recent  years,  however,  a  change  seems  to  have 
taken  place  in  public  opinion,  and  some  people  now  assert  that 
this  so-called  Imperial  whim  was  an  act  of  far-seeing  policy.  As 
by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  goods  and  passengers  are  carried 
the  whole  length  of  the  line,  it  is  well  that  the  line  should  be  as 
short  as  possible,  and  that  branch  lines  should  be  constructed  to 
the  towns  lying  to  the  right  and  left.  Evidently  there  is  a  good 
deal  to  be  said  in  favour  of  this  view. 

In  the  development  of  the  railway  system  there  has  been  another 
disturbing  cause,  which  is  not  likely  to  occur  to  the  English  mind. 
In  England,  individuals  and  companies  habitually  act  according 
to  their  private  interests,  and  the  State  interferes  as  little  as  pos- 
sible; private  initiative  does  as  it  pleases,  unless  the  authorities 
can  prove  that  important  bad  consequences  will  necessarily  result. 
In  Russia,  the  onus  prohandi  lies  on  the  other  side ;  private  initia- 
tive is  allowed  to  do  nothing  until  it  gives  guarantees  against  all 
possible  bad  consequences.  When  any  great  enterprise  is  projected,, 
the  first  question  is — "  How  will  this  new  scheme  affect  the  inter- 
ests of  the  State  ?  "  Thus,  when  the  course  of  a  new  railway  has 
to  be  determined,  the  military  authorities  are  among  the  first  to 
be  consulted,  and  their  opinion  has  a  great  influence  on  the 
ultimate  decision.  The  natural  consequence  is  that  the  railway- 
map  of  Russia  presents  to  the  eye  of  the  strategist  much  that  is 
quite  unintelligible  to  the  ordinary  observer — a  fact  that  will  be- 
come apparent  even  to  the  uninitiated  as  soon  as  a  war  breaks  out 
in  Eastern  Europe.  Russia  is  no  longer  what  she  was  in  the  days 
of  the  Crimean  War,  when  troops  and  stores  had  to  be  conveyed 
hundreds  of  miles  by  the  most  primitive  means  of  transport.  At 
that  time  she  had  only  750  miles  of  railway;  now  she  has  over 
36,000  miles,  and  every  year  new  lines  are  constructed. 

The   water-communication   has   likewise   in   recent   years   been 


4  EUSSIA 

greatly  improved.  On  the  principal  rivers  there  are  now  good 
steamers.  Unfortunately,  the  climate  puts  serious  obstructions  in 
the  way  of  navigation.  For  nearly  half  of  the  year  the  rivers  are 
covered  with  ice,  and  during  a  great  part  of  the  open  season  naviga- 
tion is  diflScult.  "When  the  ice  and  snow  melt  the  rivers  overflow 
their  banks  and  lay  a  great  part  of  the  low-lying  country  under 
water,  so  that  many  villages  can  only  be  approached  in  boats;  but 
very  soon  the  flood  subsides,  and  the  water  falls  so  rapidly  that 
by  midsummer  the  larger  steamers  have  great  difiQculty  in  picking 
their  way  among  the  sandbanks.  The  Neva  alone — that  queen  of 
northern  rivers — has  at  all  times  a  plentiful  supply  of  water. 

Besides  the  Neva,  the  rivers  commonly  visited  by  the  tourist  are 
the  Volga  and  the  Don,  which  form  part  of  what  may  be  called  the 
Eussian  grand  tour.  Englishmen  who  wish  to  see  something  more 
than  St.  Petersburg  and  Moscow  generally  go  by  rail  to  Nizhni- 
Novgorod,  where  they  visit  the  great  fair,  and  then  get  on  board  one 
of  the  Volga  steamers.  For  those  who  have  mastered  the  important 
fact  that  Eussia  is  not  a  country  of  fine  scenery,  the  voyage  down 
the  river  is  pleasant  enough.  The  left  bank  is  as  flat  as  the  banks 
of  the  Ehine  below  Cologne,  but  the  right  bank  is  high,  occasionally 
well  wooded,  and  not  devoid  of  a  certain  tame  picturesqueness. 
Early  on  the  second  day  the  steamer  reaches  Kazan,  once  the  capital 
of  an  independent  Tartar  khanate,  and  still  containing  a  consider- 
able Tartar  population.  Several  metchets  (as  the  Mahometan 
houses  of  prayer  are  here  termed),  with  their  diminutive  minarets 
in  the  lower  part  of  the  town,  show  that  Islamism  still  survives, 
though  the  khanate  was  annexed  to  Muscovy  more  than  three  cen- 
turies ago;  but  the  town,  as  a  whole,  has  a  European  rather  than 
an  Asiatic  character.  If  any  one  visits  it  in  the  hope  of  getting 
"  a  glimpse  of  the  East,"  he  will  be  grievously  disappointed,  unless, 
indeed,  he  happens  to  be  one  of  those  imaginative  tourists  who 
always  discover  what  they  wish  to  see.  And  yet  it  must  be  admitted 
that,  of  all  the  towns  on  the  route,  Kazan  is  the  most  interesting. 
Though  not  Oriental,  it  has  a  peculiar  character  of  its  own,  whilst 
all  the  others — Simbirsk,  Samara,  Saratof — are  as  uninteresting  as 
Eussian  provincial  towns  commonly  are.  The  full  force  and 
solemnity  of  that  expression  will  be  explained  in  the  sequel. 

Probably  about  sunrise  on  the  third  day  something  like  a  range 
of  mountains  will  appear  on  the  horizon.  It  may  be  well  to  say 
at  once,  to  prevent  disappointment,  that  in  reality  nothing  worthy 
of  the  name  of  mountain  is  to  be  found  in  that  part  of  the  country. 
The  nearest  mountain-range  in  that  direction  is  the   Caucasus, 


TEA  YELLING    IN   RUSSIA  5 

which  is  hundreds  of  miles  distant,  and  consequently  cannot  by 
any  possibility  be  seen  from  the  deck  of  a  steamer.  The  elevations 
in  question  are  simply  a  low  range  of  hills,  called  the  Zhigulinskiya 
Gori.  In  Western  Europe  they  would  not  attract  much  attention, 
but  "  in  the  kingdom  of  the  blind,"  as  the  French  proverb  has  it, 
"the  one-eyed  man  is  king";  and  in  a  flat  region  like  Eastern 
Russia  these  hills  form  a  prominent  feature.  Though  they  have 
nothing  of  Alpine  grandeur,  yet  their  well-wooded  slopes,  coming 
dowa.  to  the  water's  edge — especially  when  covered  with  the  deli- 
cate tints  of  early  spring,  or  the  rich  yellow  and  red  of  autumnal 
foliage — leave  an  impression  on  the  memory  not  easily  effaced. 

On  the  whole — with  all  due  deference  to  the  opinions  of  my 
patriotic  Russian  friends — I  must  say  that  Volga  scenery  hardly 
repays  the  time,  trouble  and  expense  which  a  voyage  from  Nizhni 
to  Tsaritsin  demands.  There  are  some  pretty  bits  here  and  there, 
but  they  are  "  few  and  far  between."  A  glass  of  the  most  exquisite 
wine  diluted  with  a  gallon  of  water  makes  a  very  insipid  bevera;i,e. 
The  deck  of  the  steamer  is  generally  much  more  interesting  than 
the  banks  of  the  river.  There  one  meets  with  curious  travelling 
companions.  The  majority  of  the  passengers  are  probably  Russian 
peasants,  who  are  always  ready  to  chat  freely  without  demanding 
a  formal  introduction,  and  to  relate — with  certain  restrictions — to 
a  new  acquaintance  the  simple  story  of  their  lives.  Often  I  have 
thus  whiled  away  the  weary  hours  both  pleasantly  and  profitably, 
and  have  always  been  impressed  with  the  peasant's  homely  com- 
mon sense,  good-natured  kindliness,  half-fatalistic  resignation, 
and  strong  desire  to  learn  something  about  foreign  countries. 
This  last  peculiarity  makes  him  question  as  well  as  communi- 
cate, and  his  questions,  though  sometimes  apparently  childish, 
are  generally  to  the  point. 

Among  the  passengers  are  probably  also  some  representatives 
of  the  various  Finnish  tribes  inhabiting  this  part  of  the  country; 
they  may  be  interesting  to  the  ethnologist  who  loves  to  study  physi- 
ognomy, but  they  are  far  less  sociable  than  the  Russians.  Nature 
seems  to  have  made  them  silent  and  morose,  whilst  their  conditions 
of  life  have  made  them  shy  and  distrustful.  The  Tartar,  on  the  ot^ier 
hand,  is  almost  sure  to  be  a  lively  and  amusing  companion.  Most 
probably  he  is  a  peddler  or  small  trader  of  some  kind.  The  bundle 
on  which  he  reclines  contains  his  stock-in-trade,  composed,  perhaps, 
of  cotton  printed  goods  and  especially  bright-coloured  cotton  hand- 
kerchiefs. He  himself  is  enveloped  in  a  capacious  greasy  Jchaldt, 
or  dressing-gown,  and  wears  a  fur  cap,  though  the  thermometer 


6  EUSSIA 

may  be  at  90°  in  the  shade.  The  roguish  twinkle  in  his  small 
piercing  eyes  contrasts  strongly  with  the  sombre,  stolid  expression 
of  the  Finnish  peasants  sitting  near  him.  He  has  much  to  relate 
about  St.  Petersburg,  Moscow,  and  perhaps  Astrakhan;  but,  like  a 
genuine  trader,  he  is  very  reticent  regarding  the  mysteries  of  his 
own  craft.  Towards  sunset  he  retires  with  his  companions  to  some 
quiet  spot  on  the  deck  to  recite  evening  prayers.  Here  all  the  good 
Mahometans  on  board  assemble  and  stroke  their  beards,  kneel  on 
their  little  strips  of  carpet  and  prostrate  themselves,  all  keeping 
time  as  if  they  were  performing  some  new  kind  of  drill  under  the 
eye  of  a  severe  drill-sergeant. 

If  the  voyage  is  made  about  the  end  of  September,  when  the 
traders  are  returning  home  from  the  fair  at  Nizhni-Novgorod,  the 
ethnologist  will  have  a  still  better  opportunity  of  study.  He  will 
then  find  not  only  representatives  of  the  Finnish  and  Tartar  races, 
but  also  Armenians,  Circassians,  Persians,  Bokhariots,  and  other 
Orientals — a  motley  and  picturesque  but  decidedly  unsavoury 
cargo. 

However  great  the  ethnographical  variety  on  board  may  be,  the 
traveller  will  probably  find  that  four  days  on  the  Volga  are  quite 
enough  for  all  practical  and  aesthetic  purposes,  and  instead  of  going 
on  to  Astrakhan  he  will  quit  the  steamer  at  Tsaritsin.  Here  he 
will  find  a  railway  of  about  fifty  miles  in  length,  connecting  the 
Volga  and  the  Don.  I  say  advisedly  a  railway,  and  not  a  train, 
because  trains  on  this  line  are  not  very  frequent.  When  I  first 
visited  the  locality,  thirty  years  ago,  there  were  only  two  a  week, 
so  that  if  you  inadvertently  missed  one  train  you  had  to  wait  about 
three  days  for  the  next.  Prudent,  nervous  people  preferred  travel- 
ling by  the  road,  for  on  the  railway  the  strange  jolts  and  mysterious 
creakings  were  very  alarming.  On  the  other  hand  the  pace  was  so 
slow  that  running  off  the  rails  would  have  been  merely  an  amusing 
episode,  and  even  a  collision  could  scarcely  have  been  attended  with 
serious  consequences.  Happily  things  are  improving,  even  in  this 
outlying  part  of  the  country.  Now  there  is  one  train  daily,  and  it 
goes  at  a  less  funereal  pace. 

From  Kalatch,  at  the  Don  end  of  the  line,  a  steamer  starts  for 
Eostoff,  which  is  situated  near  the  mouth  of  the  river.  The  naviga- 
tion of  the  Don  is  much  more  difficult  than  that  of  the  Volga. 
The  river  is  extremely  shallow,  and  the  sand-banks  are  continually 
shifting,  so  that  many  times  in  the  course  of  the  day  the  steamer 
runs  aground.  Sometimes  she  is  got  off  by  simply  reversing  the 
engines,  but  not  unf requently  she  sticks  so  fast  that  the  engines  have 


TRAVELLING   IN   RUSSIA  7 

to  be  assisted.  This  is  effected  in  a  curious  way.  The  captain  always 
gives  a  number  of  stalwart  Cossacks  a  free  passage  on  condition  that 
they  will  give  him  the  assistance  he  requires;  and  as  soon  as  the 
ship  sticks  fast  he  orders  them  to  jump  overboard  with  a  stout 
hawser  and  liaul  her  off !  The  task  is  not  a  pleasant  one,  especially 
as  the  poor  fellows  cannot  afterwards  change  their  clothes ;  l)ut  the 
order  is  always  obeyed  with  alacrity  and  without  grumbling.  Cos- 
sacks, it  would  seem,  have  no  personal  acquaintance  with  colds  and 
rheumatism. 

In  the  most  approved  manuals  of  geography  the  Don  figures  as 
one  of  the  principal  European  rivers,  and  its  length  and  breadth 
give  it  a  right  to  be  considered  as  such ;  but  its  depth  in  many  parts 
is  ludicrously  out  of  proportion  to  its  length  and  breadth.  I 
remember  one  day  seeing  the  captain  of  a  large,  fiat-bottomed 
steamer  slacken  speed,  to  avoid  running  down  a  man  on  horseback 
who  was  attempting  to  cross  his  bows  in  the  middle  of  the  stream. 
Another  day  a  not  less  characteristic  incident  happened.  A  Cos- 
sack passenger  wished  to  l)e  set  down  at  a  place  where  there  was  no 
pier,  and  on  being  informed  that  there  was  no  means  of  landing 
him,  coolly  jumped  overboard  and  walked  ashore.  This  simple 
method  of  disembarking  cannot,  of  course,  be  recommended  to  those 
who  have  no  local  knowledge  regarding  the  exact  position  of  sand- 
banks and  deep  pools. 

Good  serviceable  fellows  are  those  Cossacks  who  drag  the  steamer 
off  the  sand-banks,  and  are  often  entertaining  companions.  Many 
of  them  can  relate  from  their  own  experience,  in  plain,  unvarnished 
style,  stirring  episodes  of  irregular  warfare,  and  if  they  happen  to 
be  in  a  communicative  mood  they  may  divulge  a  few  secrets  regard- 
ing their  simple,  primitive  commissariat  system.  Whether  they  are 
confidential  or  not,  the  traveller  who  knows  the  language  will 
spend  his  time  more  profitably  and  pleasantly  in  chatting  with  them 
than  in  gazing  listlessly  at  the  uninteresting  country  through  which 
he  is  passing. 

Unfortunately,  these  Don  steamers  carry  a  large  number  of  free 
passengers  of  another  and  more  objectionable  kind,  who  do  not 
confine  themselves  to  the  deck,  but  unceremoniously  find  their  way 
into  the  cabin,  and  prevent  thin-skinned  travellers  from  sleeping. 
I  know  too  little  of  natural  history  to  decide  whether  these  agile, 
bloodthirsty  parasites  are  of  the  same  species  as  those  which  in 
England  assist  unofficially  the  Sanitary  Commissioners  by  punish- 
ing uncleanliness ;  but  I  may  say  that  their  function  in  the  system 
of  created  things  is  essentially  the  same,  and  they  fulfil  it  with  a 


8  EUSSIA 

zeal  and  energy  beyond  all  praise.  Possessing  for  my  own  part  a 
happy  immunity  from  their  indelicate  attentions,  and  being  per- 
fectly innocent  of  entomological  curiosity,  I  might,  had  I  been  alone, 
have  overlooked  their  existence,  but  I  was  constantly  reminded  of 
their  presence  by  less  happily  constituted  mortals,  and  the  com- 
plaints of  the  sufferers  received  a  curious  official  confirmation. 
On  arriving  at  the  end  of  the  Journey  I  asked  permission  to  spend 
the  night  on  board,  and  I  noticed  that  the  captain  acceded  to  my 
request  with  more  readiness  and  warmth  than  I  expected.  Next 
morning  the  fact  was  fully  explained.  When  I  began  to  express 
my  thanks  for  having  been  allowed  to  pass  the  night  in  a  com- 
fortable cabin,  my  host  interrupted  me  with  a  good-natured  laugh, 
and  assured  me  that,  on  the  contrary,  he  was  under  obligations  to 
me.  "  You  see,"  he  said,  assuming  an  air  of  mock  gravity,  "  I 
have  always  on  board  a  large  body  of  light  cavalry,  and  when  I 
have  all  this  part  of  the  ship  to  myself  they  make  a  combined  attack 
on  me ;  whereas,  when  some  one  is  sleeping  close  by,  they  divide  their 
forces ! " 

On  certain  steamers  on  the  Sea  of  Azof  the  privacy  of  the  sleep- 
ing-cabin is  disturbed  by  still  more  objectionable  intruders ;  I  mean 
rats.  During  one  short  voyage  which  I  made  on  board  the  Kertch, 
these  disagreeable  visitors  became  so  importunate  in  the  lower 
regions  of  the  vessel  that  the  ladies  obtained  permission  to  sleep  in 
the  deck-saloon.  After  this  arrangement  had  been  made,  we  unfor- 
tunate male  passengers  received  redoubled  attention  from  our 
tormentors.  Awakened  early  one  morning  by  the  sensation  of 
something  running  over  me  as  I  lay  in  my  berth,  I  conceived  a 
method  of  retaliation.  It  seemed  to  me  possible  that,  in  the  event 
of  another  visit,  I  might,  by  seizing  the  proper  moment,  kick  the  rat 
up  to  the  ceiling  with  such  force  as  to  produce  concussion  of  the 
brain  and  instant  death.  Very  soon  I  had  an  opportunity  of  put- 
ting my  plan  into  execution.  A  significant  shaking  of  the  little 
curtain  at  the  foot  of  the  berth  showed  that  it  was  being  used  as 
a  scaling-ladder.  I  lay  perfectly  still,  quite  as  much  interested  in 
the  sport  as  if  I  had  been  waiting,  rifle  in  hand,  for  big  game. 
Soon  the  intruder  peeped  into  my  berth,  looked  cautiously  around 
him,  and  then  proceeded  to  walk  stealthily  across  my  feet.  In  an 
instant  he  was  shot  upwards.  First  was  heard  a  sharp  knock  on  the 
ceiling,  and  then  a  dull  "  thud  "  on  the  floor.  The  precise  extent  of 
the  injuries  inflicted  I  never  discovered,  for  the  victim  had  suf- 
ficient strength  and  presence  of  mind  to  effect  his  escape;  and  the 
gentleman  at  the  other  side  of  the  cabin,  who  had  been  roused  by  the 


TEAVELLING    IN   EUSSIA  9 

noise,  protested  against  my  repeating  the  experiment,  on  the  ground 
that,  though  he  was  willing  to  take  his  own  share  of  the  intruders, 
he  strongly  objected  to  having  other  people's  rats  kicked  into  his 
berth. 

On  such  occasions  it  is  of  no  use  to  complain  to  the  authorities. 
When  I  met  the  captain  on  deck  I  related  to  him  what  had  hap- 
pened, and  protested  vigorously  against  passengers  being  exposed 
to  such  annoyances.  After  listening  to  me  patiently,  he  coolly 
replied,  entirely  overlooking  my  protestations,  "  Ah !  I  did  better 
than  that  this  morning ;  I  allowed  my  rat  to  get  under  the  blanket, 
and  then  smothered  him !  " 

Eailways  and  steamboats,  even  when  their  arrangements  leave 
much  to  be  desired,  invariably  effect  a  salutary  revolution  in  hotel 
accommodation;  but  this  revolution  is  of  necessity  gradual.  For- 
eign hotelkeepers  must  immigrate  and  give  the  example;  suitable 
houses  must  be  built;  servants  must  be  properly  trained;  and, 
above  all,  the  native  travellers  must  learn  the  usages  of  civilised 
society.  In  Eussia  this  revolution  is  in  progress,  but  still  far  from 
being  complete.  The  cities  where  foreigners  most  do  congregate 
— St.  Petersburg,  Moscow,  Odessa — already  possess  hotels  that 
will  bear  comparison  with  those  of  Western  Europe,  and  some  of  the 
more  important  provincial  towns  can  offer  very  respectable  accom- 
modation; but  there  is  still  much  to  be  done  before  the  West- 
European  can  travel  with  comfort  even  on  the  principal  routes. 
Cleanliness,  the  first  and  most  essential  element  of  comfort,  as  we 
understand  the  term,  is  still  a  rare  commodity,  and  often  cannot 
be  procured  at  any  price. 

Even  in  good  hotels,  when  they  are  of  the  genuine  Eussian  type, 
there  are  certain  peculiarities  which,  though  not  in  themselves 
objectionable,  strike  a  foreigner  as  peculiar.  Thus,  when  you 
alight  at  such  an  hotel,  you  are  expected  to  examine  a  considerable 
number  of  rooms,  and  to  inquire  about  the  respective  prices.  When 
you  have  fixed  upon  a  suitable  apartment,  you  will  do  well,  if  you 
wish  to  practise  economy,  to  propose  to  the  landlord  considerably 
less  than  he  demands;  and  you  will  generally  find,  if  you  have  a 
talent  for  bargaining,  that  the  rooms  may  be  hired  for  somewhat 
less  than  the  sum  first  stated.  You  must  be  careful,  however,  to 
leave  no  possibility  of  doubt  as  to  the  terms  of  the  contract.  Per- 
haps you  assume  that,  as  in  taking  a  cab,  a  horse  is  always  sup- 
plied without  special  stipulation,  so  in  hiring  a  bedroom  the  bar- 
gain includes  a  bed  and  the  necessary  appurtenances.  Such  an 
assumption  will  not  always  be  justified.     The  landlord  may  per- 


10  EUSSIA 

haps  give  you  a  bedstead  without  extra  charge,  but  if  he  be  uncor- 
rupted  by  foreign  notions,  he  will  certainly  not  spontaneously 
supply  you  with  bed-linen,  pillows,  blankets,  and  towels.  On  the 
contrary,  he  will  assume  that  you  carry  all  these  articles  with  you, 
and  if  you  do  not,  you  must  pay  for  them. 

This  ancient  custom  has  produced  among  Eussians  of  the  old 
school  a  kind  of  fastidiousness  to  which  we  are  strangers.  They 
strongly  dislike  using  sheets,  blankets,  and  towels  which  are  in  a 
certain  sense  public  property.  Just  as  we  should  strongly  object  to 
putting  on  clothes  which  had  been  already  worn  by  other  people. 
And  the  feeling  may  be  developed  in  people  not  Eussian  by  birth. 
For  my  own  part,  I  confess  to  having  been  conscious  of  a  certain 
disagreeable  feeling  on  returning  in  this  respect  to  the  usages  of 
so-called  civilised  Europe. 

The  inconvenience  of  carrying  about  the  essential  articles  of 
bedroom  furniture  is  by  no  means  so  great  as  might  be  supposed. 
Bedrooms  in  Eussia  are  always  heated  during  cold  weather,  so  that 
one  light  blanket,  which  may  be  also  used  as  a  railway  rug,  is 
quite  sufficient,  whilst  sheets,  pillow-cases,  and  towels  take  up  little 
space  in  a  portmanteau.  The  most  cumbrous  object  is  the  pillow, 
for  air-cushions,  having  a  disagreeable  odour,  are  not  well  suited 
for  the  purpose.  But  Eussians  are  accustomed  to  this  encum- 
brance. In  former  days — as  at  the  present  time  in  those  parts  of 
the  country  where  there  are  neither  railways  nor  macadamised 
roads — people  travelled  in  carts  or  carriages  without  springs  and 
in  these  instruments  of  torture  a  huge  pile  of  cushions  or  pillows 
is  necessary  to  avoid  contusions  and  dislocations.  On  the  rail- 
ways the  jolts  and  shaking  are  not  deadly  enough  to  require  such 
an  antidote;  but,  even  in  unconservative  Eussia,  customs  outlive 
the  conditions  that  created  them;  and  at  every  railway-station  you 
may  see  men  and  women  carrying  about  their  pillows  with  them 
as  we  carry  wraps.  A  genuine  Eussian  merchant  who  loves  com- 
fort and  respects  tradition  may  travel  without  a  portmanteau,  but 
he  considers  his  pillow  as  an  indispensable  article  de  voyage. 

To  return  to  the  old-fashioned  hotel.  When  you  have  com- 
pleted the  negotiations  with  the  landlord,  you  will  notice  that, 
unless  you  have  a  servant  with  you,  the  waiter  prepares  to  perform 
the  duties  of  valet  de  chambre.  Do  not  be  surprised  at  his  officious- 
ness,  which  seems  founded  on  the  assumption  that  you  are  three- 
fourths  paralysed.  Formerly,  every  well-born  Eussian  had  a  valet 
always  in  attendance,  and  never  dreamed  of  doing  for  himself 
anything  which  could  by  any  possibility  be  done  for  him.     You 


TRAVELLING    IN   RUSSIA  11 

notice  that  there  is  no  bell  in  the  room,  and  no  mechanical  means 
of  communicating  with  the  world  below  stairs.  That  is  because 
the  attendant  is  supposed  to  be  always  within  call,  and  it  is  so 
much  easier  to  shout  than  to  get  up  and  ring  the  bell. 

In  the  good  old  times  all  this  was  quite  natural.  The  well-bom 
Russian  had  commonly  a  superabundance  of  domestic  serfs,  and 
there  was  no  reason  why  one  or  two  of  them  should  not  accompany 
their  master  when  his  Honour  undertook  a  journey.  An  additional 
person  in  the  tarantass  did  not  increase  the  expense,  and  consider- 
ably diminished  the  little  unavoidable  inconveniences  of  travel.  But 
times  have  changed.  In  1861  the  domestic  serfs  were  emancipated 
by  Imperial  ukaz.  Free  servants  demand  wages;  and  on  rail- 
ways or  steamers  a  single  ticket  does  not  include  an  attendant. 
The  present  generation  must  therefore  get  through  life  with  a 
more  modest  supply  of  valets,  and  must  learn  to  do  with  its  own 
hands  much  that  was  formerly  performed  by  serf  labour.  Still,  a 
gentleman  brought  up  in  the  old  conditions  cannot  be  expected 
to  dress  himself  without  assistance,  and  accordingly  the  waiter 
remains  in  your  room  to  act  as  valet.  Perhaps,  too,  in  the  early 
morning  you  may  learn  in  an  unpleasant  way  that  other  parts  of 
the  old  system  are  not  yet  extinct.  You  may  hear,  for  instance, 
resounding  along  the  corridors  such  an  order  as — "  Petrusha ! 
Petrusha!  Stakan  vody!"  ("Little  Peter,  little  Peter,  a  glass 
of  water!")  shouted  in  a  stentorian  voice  that  would  startle  the 
Seven  Sleepers. 

When  the  toilet  operations  are  completed,  and  you  order  tea — 
one  always  orders  tea  in  Russia — you  will  be  asked  whether  you 
have  your  own  tea  and  sugar  with  you.  If  you  are  an  experienced 
traveller  you  will  be  able  to  reply  in  the  affirmative,  for  good  tea 
can  be  bought  only  in  certain  well-known  shops,  and  can  rarely 
be  found  in  hotels.  A  huge,  steaming  tea-urn,  called  a  samovar 
— etymologically,  a  "  self-boiler  " — will  be  brought  in,  and  you  will 
make  your  tea  according  to  your  taste.  The  tumbler,  you  know 
of  course,  is  to  be  used  as  a  cup,  and  when  using  it  you  must  be 
careful  not  to  cauterise  the  points  of  your  fingers.  If  you  should 
happen  to  have  anything  eatable  or  drinkable  in  your  travelling 
basket,  you  need  not  hesitate  to  take  it  out  at  once,  for  the  waiter 
will  not  feel  at  all  aggrieved  or  astonished  at  your  doing  nothing 
"for  the  good  of  the  house."  The  twenty  or  twenty-five  kopeks 
that  you  pay  for  the  samovar — teapot,  tumbler,  saucer,  spoon,  and 
slop-basin  being  included  under  the  generic  term  'prihor — frees 
you  from  all  corkage  and  similar  dues. 


13  EUSSIA 

These  and  other  remnants  of  old  customs  are  now  rapidly  dis- 
appearing, and  will,  doubtless,  in  a  very  few  years  be  things  of  the 
past — things  to  be  picked  up  in  out-of-the-way  comers,  and 
chronicled  by  social  archaeology;  but  they  are  still  to  be  found  in 
towns  not  unknown  to  Western  Europe. 

Many  of  these  old  customs,  and  especially  the  old  method  of 
travelling,  may  be  studied  in  their  pristine  purity  throughout  a 
great  part  of  the  country.  Though  railway  construction  has  been 
pushed  forward  with  great  energy  during  the  last  forty  years, 
there  are  still  vast  regions  where  the  ancient  solitudes  have  never 
been  disturbed  by  the  shrill  whistle  of  the  locomotive,  and  roads 
have  remained  in  their  primitive  condition.  Even  in  the  central 
provinces  one  may  still  travel  hundreds  of  miles  without  ever 
encountering  anything  that  recalls  the  name  of  Macadam. 

If  popular  rumour  is  to  be  trusted,  there  is  somewhere  in  the 
Highlands  of  Scotland,  by  the  side  of  a  turnpike,  a  large  stone 
bearing  the  following  doggerel  inscription: 

"  If  you  had  seen  this  road  before  it  was  made, 
You'd  lift  up  your  hands  and  bless  General  Wade." 

Any  educated  Englishman  reading  this  strange  announcement 
would  naturally  remark  that  the  first  line  of  the  couplet  contains  a 
logical  contradiction,  probably  of  Hibernian  origin;  but  I  have 
often  thought,  during  my  wanderings  in  Eussia,  that  the  expres- 
sion, if  not  logically  Justifiable,  might  for  the  sake  of  vulgar  con- 
venience be  legalised  by  a  Permissive  Bill.  The  truth  is  that, 
as  a  Frenchman  might  say,  "there  are  roads  and  roads" — roads 
made  and  roads  unmade,  roads  artificial  and  roads  natural.  ISTow, 
in  Eussia,  roads  are  nearly  all  of  the  unmade,  natural  kind,  and  are 
so  conservative  in  their  nature  that  they  have  at  the  present  day 
precisely  the  same  appearance  as  they  had  many  centuries  ago. 
They  have  thus  for  imaginative  minds  something  of  what  is  called 
"  the  charm  of  historical  association."  The  only  perceptible  change 
that  takes  place  in  them  during  a  series  of  generations  is  that  the 
ruts  shift  their  position.  When  these  become  so  deep  that  fore- 
wheels  can  no  longer  fathom  them,  it  becomes  necessary  to  begin 
making  a  new  pair  of  ruts  to  the  right  or  left  of  the  old  ones; 
and  as  the  roads  are  commonly  of  gigantic  breadth,  there  is  no 
difficulty  in  finding  a  place  for  the  operation.  How  the  old  ones 
get  filled  up  I  cannot  explain ;  but  as  I  have  rarely  seen  in  any  part 
of  the  country,  except  perhaps  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  towns, 
a  human  being  engaged  in  road  repairing,  I  assume  that  benefi- 


TRAVELLING   IN   EUSSIA  13 

cent  Nature  somehow  accomplishes  the  task  without  human  assis- 
tance, either  by  moans  of  alluvial  deposits,  or  by  some  other 
cosmical  action  only  known  to  physical  geographers. 

On  the  roads  one  occasionally  encounters  bridges;  and  here, 
again,  I  have  discovered  in  Russia  a  key  to  the  mysteries  of  Hiber- 
nian phraseology.  An  Irish  member  once  declared  to  the  House 
of  Commons  that  the  Church  was  "  the  bridge  that  separated  the 
two  great  sections  of  the  Irish  people."  As  bridges  commonly  con- 
nect rather  than  separate,  the  metaphor  was  received  with  roars  of 
laughter.  If  the  honourable  members  who  joined  in  the  hilarious 
applause  had  travelled  much  in  Russia,  they  would  have  been  more 
moderate  in  their  merriment;  for  in  that  country,  despite  the 
laudable  activity  of  the  modern  system  of  local  administration 
created  in  the  sixties,  bridges  often  act  still  as  a  barrier  rather  than 
a  connecting  link,  and  to  cross  a  river  by  a  bridge  may  still  be  what 
is  termed  in  popular  phrase  "a  tempting  of  Providence."  The 
cautious  driver  will  generally  prefer  to  take  to  the  water,  if  there 
is  a  ford  within  a  reasonable  distance,  though  both  he  and  his 
human  load  may  be  obliged,  in  order  to  avoid  getting  wet  feet,  to 
assume  undignified  postures  that  would  afford  admirable  material 
for  the  caricaturist.  But  this  little  bit  of  discomfort,  even  though 
the  luggage  should  be  soaked  in  the  process  of  fording,  is  as 
nothing  compared  to  the  danger  of  crossing  by  the  bridge.  As  I 
have  no  desire  to  harrow  unnecessarily  the  feelings  of  the  reader, 
I  refrain  from  all  description  of  ugly  accidents,  ending  in  bruises 
and  fractures,  and  shall  simply  explain  in  a  few  words  how  a  suc- 
cessful passage  is  effected. 

When  it  is  possible  to  approach  the  bridge  without  sinking  up  to 
the  knees  in  mud,  it  is  better  to  avoid  all  risks  by  walking  over 
and  waiting  for  the  vehicle  on  the  other  side;  and  when  this  is 
impossible,  a  preliminary  survey  is  advisable.  To  your  inquiries 
whether  it  is  safe,  your  yamstchik  (post-boy)  is  sure  to  reply, 
"  Nitchevo !  " — a  word  which,  according  to  the  dictionaries,  means 
"  nothing,"  but  which  has,  in  the  mouths  of  the  peasantry,  a  great 
variety  of  meanings,  as  I  may  explain  at  some  future  time.  In  the 
present  case  it  may  be  roughly  translated,  "  There  is  no  danger." 
"  Nitchevo,  Barin,  proyedem  "  ("  There  is  no  danger,  sir;  we  shall 
get  over"),  he  repeats.  You  may  refer  to  the  generally  rotten 
appearance  of  the  structure,  and  point  in  particular  to  the  great 
holes  sufficient  to  engulf  half  a  post-horse.  "  Ne  bos'.  Bog  pomo- 
zhet"  ("Do  not  fear,  God  will  help"),  replies  coolly  your  phleg- 
matic Jehu.     You  may  have  your  doubts  as  to  whether  in  this 


14  RUSSIA 

irreligious  age  Providence  will  intervene  specially  for  your  benefit ; 
but  your  yamstcliik,  who  has  more  faith  or  fatalism,  leaves  you 
little  time  to  solve  the  problem.  Making  hurriedly  the  sign  of  the 
cross,  he  gathers  up  his  reins,  waves  his  little  whip  in  the  air, 
and,  shouting  lustily,  urges  on  his  team.  The  operation  is  not 
wanting  in  excitement.  First  there  is  a  short  descent;  then  the 
horses  plunge  wildly  through  a  zone  of  deep  mud;  next  comes  a 
fearful  jolt,  as  the  vehicle  is  jerked  up  on  to  the  first  planks;  then 
the  transverse  planks,  which  are  but  loosely  held  in  their  places, 
rattle  and  rumble  ominously,  as  the  experienced,  sagacious  animals 
pick  their  way  cautiously  and  gingerly  among  the  dangerous  holes 
and  crevices;  lastly,  you  plunge  with  a  horrible  jolt  into  a  second 
mud  zone,  and  finally  regain  terra  firma,  conscious  of  that  pleasant 
sensation  which  a  young  officer  may  be  supposed  to  feel  after  his 
first  cavalry  charge  in  real  warfare. 

Of  course  here,  as  elsewhere,  familiarity  breeds  indifference. 
When  you  have  successfully  crossed  without  serious  accident  a  few 
hundred  bridges  of  this  kind  you  learn  to  be  as  cool  and  fatalistic 
as  your  yamstchih. 

The  reader  who  has  heard  of  the  gigantic  reforms  that  have  been 
repeatedly  imposed  on  Russia  by  a  paternal  Government  may 
naturally  be  astonished  to  learn  that  the  roads  are  still  in  such  a 
disgraceful  condition.  But  for  this,  as  for  everything  else  in  the 
world,  there  is  a  good  and  sufficient  reason.  The  country  is  still, 
comparatively  speaking,  thinly  populated,  and  in  many  regions 
it  is  difficult,  or  practically  impossible,  to  procure  in  sufficient 
quantity  stone  of  any  kind,  and  especially  hard  stone  fit  for  road- 
making.  Besides  this,  when  roads  are  made,  the  severity  of  the 
climate  renders  it  difficult  to  keep  them  in  good  repair. 

When  a  long  journey  has  to  be  undertaken  through  a  region  in 
which  there  are  no  railways,  there  are  several  ways  in  which  it  may 
be  effected.  In  former  days,  when  time  was  of  still  less  value 
than  at  present,  many  landed  proprietors  travelled  with  their  own 
horses,  and  carried  with  them,  in  one  or  more  capacious,  lumbering 
vehicles,  all  that  was  required  for  the  degree  of  civilisation  which 
they  had  attained ;  and  their  requirements  were  often  considerable. 
The  grand  seigneur,  for  instance,  who  spent  the  greater  part  of  his 
life  amidst  the  luxury  of  the  court  society,  naturally  took  with  him 
all  the  portable  elements  of  civilisation.  His  baggage  included, 
therefore,  camp-beds,  table-linen,  silver  plate,  a  hatterie  de  cuisme, 
and  a  French  cook.  The  pioneers  and  part  of  the  commissariat 
force  were  sent  on  in  advance,  so  that  his  Excellency  found  at  each 


TRAVELLING    IN   RUSSIA  15 

halting-place  everything  prepared  for  his  arrival.  The  poor  owner 
of  a  few  dozen  serfs  dispensed,  of  course,  with  the  elaborate  com- 
missariat department,  and  contented  himself  with  such  modest 
fare  as  could  be  packed  in  the  holes  and  corners  of  a  single 
tarantass. 

It  will  be  well  to  explain  here,  parenthetically,  what  a  tarantass 
is,  for  I  shall  often  have  occasion  to  use  the  word.  It  may  be 
briefly  defined  as  a  phaeton  without  springs.  The  function  of 
springs  is  imperfectly  fulfilled  by  two  parallel  wooden  bars,  placed 
longitudinally,  on  which  is  fixed  the  body  of  the  vehicle.  It  is 
commonly  drawn  by  three  horses — a  strong,  fast  trotter  in  the 
shafts,  flanked  on  each  side  by  a  light,  loosely-attached  horse  that 
goes  along  at  a  gallop.  The  points  of  the  shafts  are  connected 
by  the  duga,  which  looks  like  a  gigantic,  badly  formed  horse- 
shoe rising  high  above  the  collar  of  the  trotter.  To  the  top  of  the 
duga  is  attached  the  bearing-rein,  and  underneath  the  highest  part 
of-it  is  fastened  a  big  bell — in  the  southern  provinces  I  found  two, 
and  sometimes  even  three  bells — which,  when  the  country  is  open 
and  the  atmosphere  still,  may  be  heard  a  mile  off.  The  use  of  the 
bell  is  variously  explained.  Some  say  it  is  in  order  to  frighten  the 
wolves,  and  others  that  it  is  to  avoid  collisions  on  the  narrow  forest- 
paths.  But  neither  of  these  explanations  is  entirely  satisfactory. 
It  is  used  chiefly  in  summer,  when  there  is  no  danger  of  an  attack 
from  wolves ;  and  the  number  of  bells  is  greater  in  the  south,  where 
there  are  no  forests.  Perhaps  the  original  intention  was — I  throw 
out  the  hint  for  the  benefit  of  a  certain  school  of  archaeologists — to 
frighten  away  evil  spirits ;  and  the  practice  has  been  retained  partly 
from  unreasoning  conservatism,  and  partly  with  a  view  to  lessen 
the  chances  of  collisions.  As  the  roads  are  noiselessly  soft,  and  the 
drivers  not  always  vigilant,  the  dangers  of  collision  are  considera- 
bly diminished  by  the  ceaseless  peal. 

Altogether,  the  tarantass  is  well  adapted  to  the  conditions  in 
which  it  is  used.  By  the  curious  way  in  which  the  horses  are  har- 
nessed it  recalls  the  war-chariot  of  ancient  times.  The  horse  in 
the  shafts  is  compelled  by  the  bearing-rein  to  keep  his  head  high 
and  straight  before  him — though  the  movement  of  his  ears  shows 
plainly  that  he  would  very  much  like  to  put  it  somewhere  farther 
away  from  the  tongue  of  the  bell— but  the  side  horses  gallop  freely, 
turning  their  heads  outwards  in  classical  fashion.  I  believe  that 
this  position  is  assumed  not  from  any  sympathy  on  the  part  of  these 
animals  for  the  remains  of  classical  art,  but  rather  from  the  natural 
desire  to  keep  a  sharp  eye  on  the  driver.     Every  movement  of  his 


16  EUSSIA 

right  hand  they  watch  with  close  attention,  and  as  soon  as  they 
discover  any  symptoms  indicating  an  intention  of  using  the  whip 
they  immediately  show  a  desire  to  quicken  the  pace. 

Now  that  the  reader  has  gained  some  idea  of  what  a  tarantass 
is,  we  may  return  to  the  modes  of  travelling  through  the  regions 
which  are  not  yet  supplied  with  railways. 

However  enduring  and  long-winded  horses  may  be,  they  must  be 
allowed  sometimes,  during  a  long  journey,  to  rest  and  feed.  Trav- 
elling long  distances  with  one's  own  horses  is  therefore  necessarily 
a  slow  operation,  and  is  now  quite  antiquated.  People  who  value 
their  time  prefer  to  make  use  of  the  Imperial  Post  organisation. 
On  all  the  principal  lines  of  communication  there  are  regular  post- 
stations,  at  from  ten  to  twenty  miles  apart,  where  a  certain  number 
of  horses  and  vehicles  are  kept  for  the  convenience  of  travellers. 
To  enjoy  the  privilege  of  this  arrangement,  one  has  to  apply  to  the 
proper  authorities  for  a  podorozhnaya — a  large  sheet  of  paper 
stamped  with  the  Imperial  Eagle,  and  bearing  the  name  of  the 
recipient,  the  destination,  and  the  number  of  horses  to  be  sup- 
plied. In  return,  a  small  sum  is  paid  for  imaginary  road-repairs ; 
the  rest  of  the  sum  is  paid  by  instalments  at  the  respective  stations. 

Armed  with  this  document  you  go  to  the  post-station  and 
demand  the  requisite  number  of  horses.  Three  is  the  number 
generally  used,  but  if  you  travel  lightly  and  are  indifferent  to 
appearances,  you  may  content  yourself  with  a  pair.  The  vehicle 
is  a  kind  of  tarantass,  but  not  such  as  I  have  just  described. 
The  essentials  in  both  are  the  same,  but  those  which  the  Imperial 
Government  provides  resemble  an  enormous  cradle  on  wheels 
rather  than  a  phaeton.  An  armful  of  hay  spread  over  the  bot- 
tom of  the  wooden  box  is  supposed  to  play  the  part  of  seats 
and  cushions.  You  are  expected  to  sit  under  the  arched  covering, 
and  extend  your  legs  so  that  the  feet  lie  beneath  the  driver's  seat ; 
but  it  is  advisable,  unless  the  rain  happens  to  be  coming  down  in 
torrents,  to  get  this  covering  unshipped,  and  travel  without  it. 
When  used,  it  painfully  curtails  the  little  freedom  of  movement 
that  you  enjoy,  and  when  you  are  shot  upwards  by  some  obstruc- 
tion on  the  road  it  is  apt  to  arrest  your  ascent  by  giving  you  a 
violent  blow  on  the  top  of  the  head. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  you  are  in  no  hurry  to  start,  otherwise 
your  patience  may  be  sorely  tried.  The  horses,  when  at  last  pro- 
duced, may  seem  to  you  the  most  miserable  screws  that  it  was  ever 
your  misfortune  to  behold ;  but  you  had  better  refrain  from  express- 
ing your  feelings,  for  if  you  use  violent,  uncomplimentary  Ian- 


TRAVELLING   IN   EUSSIA  17 

guage,  it  may  turn  out  that  you  have  been  guilty  of  gross  calumny. 
I  have  seen  many  a  team  composed  of  animals  which  a  third-class 
London  costermongor  would  have  spurned,  and  in  which  it  was 
barely  possible  to  recognise  the  equine  form,  do  their  duty  in 
highly  creditable  style,  and  go  along  at  the  rate  of  ten  or  twelve 
miles  an  hour,  under  no  stronger  incentive  then  the  voice  of  the 
yamstchik.  Indeed,  the  capabilities  of  these  lean,  slouching, 
ungainly  (juadrujjcds  are  often  astounding  when  they  are  under 
the  guidance  of  a  man  who  knows  how  to  drive  them.  Though  such 
a  man  commonly  carries  a  little  harmless  whip,  he  rarely  uses  it 
except  by  waving  it  horizontally  in  the  air.  His  incitements  are 
all  oral.  He  talks  to  his  cattle  as  he  would  to  animals  of  his  own 
species — now  encouraging  them  by  tender,  caressing  epithets,  and 
now  launching  at  them  expressions  of  indignant  scorn.  At  one 
moment  they  are  his  "  little  doves,"  and  at  the  next  they  have  been 
transformed  into  "  cursed  hounds."  How  far  they  understand  and 
appreciate  this  curious  mixture  of  endearing  cajolery  and  con- 
temptuous abuse  it  is  difficult  to  say,  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  it 
somehow  has  upon  them  a  strange  and  powerful  influence. 

Any  one  who  undertakes  a  journey  of  this  kind  should  possess  a 
well-knit,  muscular  frame  and  good  tough  sinews,  capable  of  sup- 
porting an  unlimited  amount  of  jolting  and  shaking;  at  the  same 
time  he  should  be  well  inured  to  all  the  hardships  and  discomforts 
incidental  to  what  is  vaguely  termed  "  roughing  it."  When  he 
wishes  to  sleep  in  a  post-station,  he  will  find  nothing  softer  than  a 
wooden  bench,  unless  he  can  induce  the  keeper  to  put  for  him  on 
the  floor  a  bundle  of  hay,  which  is  perhaps  softer,  but  on  the 
whole  more  disagreeabl-e  than  the  deal  board.  Sometimes  he  will 
not  get  even  the  wooden  bench,  for  in  ordinary  post-stations  there 
is  but  one  room  for  travellers,  and  the  two  benches — there  are  rarely 
more — may  be  already  occupied.  When  he  does  obtain  a  bench, 
and  succeeds  in  falling  asleep,  he  must  not  be  astonished  if  he  is 
disturbed  once  or  twice  during  the  night  by  people  who  use  the 
apartment  as  a  waiting-room  whilst  the  post-horses  are  being 
changed.  These  passers-by  may  even  order  a  samovar,  and  drink 
tea,  chat,  laugh,  smoke,  and  make  themselves  otherwise  disagreeable, 
utterly  regardless  of  the  sleepers.  Then  there  are  the  other  intru- 
ders, smaller  in  size  but  equally  objectionable,  of  which  I  have 
already  spoken  when  describing  the  steamers  on  the  Don.  Regard- 
ing them  I  desire  to  give  merely  one  word  of  advice:  As  you  will 
have  abundant  occupation  in  the  work  of  self-defence,  learn  to  dis- 
tinguish between  belligerents  and  neutrals,  and  follow  the  simple 


18  RUSSIA 

principle  of  international  law,  that  neutrals  should  not  he  molested. 
They  may  be  very  ugly,  but  ugliness  does  not  justify  assassination. 
If,  for  instance,  you  should  happen  in  awaking  to  notice  a  few 
black  or  brown  beetles  running  about  your  pillow,  restrain  your 
murderous  hand !  If  you  kill  them  you  commit  an  act  of  unneces- 
sary bloodshed ;  for  though  they  may  playfully  scamper  around  you, 
they  will  do  you  no  bodily  harm. 

Another  requisite  for  a  journey  in  unfrequented  districts  is  a 
knowledge  of  the  language.  It  is  popularly  supposed  that  if  you 
are  familiar  with  French  and  German  you  may  travel  anywhere  in 
Russia.  So  far  as  the  great  cities  and  chief  lines  of  communica- 
tion are  concerned,  this  may  be  true,  but  beyond  that  it  is  a  delusion. 
The  Russian  has  not,  any  more  than  the  West-European,  received 
from  Nature  the  gift  of  tongues.  Educated  Russians  often  speak 
one  or  two  foreign  languages  fluently,  but  the  peasants  know  no 
language  but  their  own,  and  it  is  with  the  peasantry  that  one  comes 
in  contact.  And  to  converse  freely  with  the  peasant  requires  a 
considerable  familiarity  with  the  language — far  more  than  is 
required  for  simply  reading  a  book.  Though  there  are  few  pro- 
vincialisms, and  all  classes  of  the  people  use  the  same  words — 
except  the  words  of  foreign  origin,  which  are  used  only  by  the 
upper  classes — the  peasant  always  speaks  in  a  more  laconic  and 
more  idiomatic  way  than  the  educated  man. 

In  the  winter  months  travelling  is  in  some  respects  pleasanter 
than  in  summer,  for  snow  and  frost  are  great  macadamisers.  If 
the  snow  falls  evenly,  there  is  for  some  time  the  most  delightful 
road  that  can  be  imagined.  No  jolts,  no  shaking,  but  a  smooth, 
gliding  motion,  like  that  of  a  boat  in  calm  water,  and  the  horses 
gallop  along  as  if  totally  unconscious  of  the  sledge  behind  them. 
Unfortunately,  this  happy  state  of  things  does  not  last  all  through 
the  winter.  The  road  soon  gets  cut  up,  and  deep  transverse 
furrows  {ukliaby)  are  formed.  How  these  furrows  come  into  exis- 
tence I  have  never  been  able  clearly  to  comprehend,  though  I  have 
often  heard  the  phenomenon  explained  by  men  who  imagined  they 
understood  it.  Whatever  the  cause  and  mode  of  formation  may  be, 
certain  it  is  that  little  hills  and  valleys  do  get  formed,  and  the 
sledge,  as  it  crosses  over  them,  bobs  up  and  down  like  a  boat  in  a 
chopping  sea,  with  this  important  difference,  that  the  boat  falls 
into  a  yielding  liquid,  whereas  the  sledge  falls  upon  a  solid  sub- 
stance, unyielding  and  unelastic.  The  shaking  and  jolting  which 
result  may  readily  be  imagined. 

There  are  other  discomforts,  too,  in  winter  travelling.     So  long 


TRAVELLING   IN   RUSSIA  19 

as  the  air  is  perfectly  still,  the  cold  may  be  very  intense  without 
being  disagreeable;  but  if  a  strong  head  wind  is  blowing,  and  the 
thermometer  ever  so  many  degrees  below  zero,  driving  in  an  open 
sledge  is  a  very  disagreeable  operation,  and  noses  may  get  frost- 
bitten without  their  owners  perceiving  the  fact  in  time  to  take 
preventive  measures.  Then  why  not  take  covered  sledges  on  such 
occasions  ?  For  the  simple  reason  that  they  are  not  to  be  had ;  and 
if  they  could  be  procured,  it  would  be  well  to  avoid  using  them,  for 
they  are  apt  to  produce  something  very  like  seasickness.  Besides 
this,  when  the  sledge  gets  overturned,  it  is  pleasanter  to  be  shot 
out  on  to  the  clean,  refreshing  snow  than  to  be  buried  ignominiously 
under  a  pile  of  miscellaneous  baggage. 

The  chief  requisite  for  winter  travelling  in  these  icy  regions  is  a 
plentiful  supply  of  warm  furs.  An  Englishman  is  very  apt  to  be 
imprudent  in  this  respect,  and  to  trust  too  much  to  his  natural 
power  of  resisting  cold.  To  a  certain  extent  this  confidence  is 
justifiable,  for  an  Englishman  often  feels  quite  comfortable  in  an 
ordinary  great  coat  when  his  Russian  friends  consider  it  necessary 
to  envelop  themselves  in  furs  of  the  warmest  kind;  but  it  may  be 
carried  too  far,  in  which  case  severe  punishment  is  sure  to  follow, 
as  I  once  learned  by  experience.  I  may  relate  the  incident  as  a 
warning  to  others : 

One  day  in  mid-winter  I  started  from  Novgorod,  with  the 
intention  of  visiting  some  friends  at  a  cavalry  barracks  situated 
about  ten  miles  from  the  town.  As  the  sun  was  shining  brightly, 
and  the  distance  to  be  traversed  was  short,  I  considered  that  a 
light  fur  and  a  haslilyl- — a  cloth  hood  which  protects  the  ears — 
would  be  quite  sufficient  to  keep  out  the  cold,  and  foolishly  disre- 
garded the  warnings  of  a  Russian  friend  who  happened  to  call  as 
I  was  about  to  start.  Our  route  lay  along  the  river  due  northward, 
right  in  the  teeth  of  a  strong  north  wind.  A  wintry  north  wind 
is  always  and  everyM^here  a  disagreeable  enemy  to  face;  let  the 
reader  try  to  imagine  what  it  is  when  the  Fahrenheit  thermometer 
is  at  30°  below  zero — or  rather  let  him  refrain  from  such  an 
attempt,  for  the  sensation  produced  cannot  be  imagined  by  those 
who  have  not  experienced  it.  Of  course  I  ought  to  have  turned 
back — at  least,  as  soon  as  a  sensation  of  faintness  warned  me  that 
the  circulation  was  being  seriously  impeded — but  I  did  not  wish 
to  confess  my  imprudence  to  the  friend  who  accompanied  me. 
When  we  had  driven  about  three-fourths  of  the  way  we  met  a 
peasant-woman,  who  gesticulated  violently,  and  shouted  something 
to  us  as  we  passed.     I  did  not  hear  what  she  said,  but  my  friend 


30  EUSSIA 

turned  to  me  and  said  in  an  alarming  tone — "we  had  been  speaking 
German — "  ]\Iein  Gott !  Ihre  Nase  ist  abgefroren !  "  Now  the 
word  "  a&gef roren,"  as  the  reader  will  understand,  seemed  to  indi- 
cate that  my  nose  was  frozen  off,  so  I  put  up  my  hand  in  some  alarm 
to  discover  whether  I  had  inadvertently  lost  the  whole  or  part  of 
the  member  referred  to.  It  was  still  in  situ  and  entire,  but  as  hard 
and  insensible  as  a  bit  of  wood. 

"  You  may  still  save  it,"  said  my  companion,  "  if  you  get  out 
at  once  and  rub  it  vigorously  with  snow." 

I  got  out  as  directed,  but  was  too  faint  to  do  anything  vigorously. 
My  fur  cloak  flew  open,  the  cold  seemed  to  grasp  me  in  the  region 
of  the  heart,  and  I  fell  insensible. 

How  long  I  remained  unconscious  I  know  not.  When  I  awoke 
I  found  myself  in  a  strange  room,  surrounded  by  dragoon  officers 
in  uniform,  and  the  first  words  I  heard  were,  "  He  is  out  of  danger 
now,  but  he  will  have  a  fever." 

These  words  were  spoken,  as  I  afterwards  discovered,  by  a  very 
competent  surgeon ;  but  the  prophecy  was  not  fulfilled.  The  prom- 
ised fever  never  came.  The  only  bad  consequences  were  that  for 
some  days  my  right  hand  remained  stiff,  and  for  a  week  or  two  I 
had  to  conceal  my  nose  from  public  view. 

If  this  little  incident  justifies  me  in  drawing  a  general  con- 
clusion, I  should  say  that  exposure  to  extreme  cold  is  an  almost 
painless  form  of  death;  but  that  the  process  of  being  resuscitated 
is  very  painful  indeed — so  painful,  that  the  patient  may  be  excused 
for  momentarily  regretting  that  officious  people  prevented  the 
temporary  insensibility  from  becoming  "the  sleep  that  knows  no 
waking." 

Between  the  alternate  reigns  of  winter  and  summer  there  is 
always  a  short  interregnum,  during  which  travelling  in  Kussia  by 
road  is  almost  impossible.  Woe  to  the  ill-fated  mortal  who  has 
to  make  a  long  road-journey  immediately  after  the  winter  snow  has 
melted;  or,  worse  still,  at  the  beginning  of  winter,  when  the 
autumn  mud  has  been  petrified  by  the  frost,  and  not  yet  levelled 
by  the  snow ! 

At  all  seasons  the  monotony  of  a  journey  is  pretty  sure  to  be 
broken  by  little  unforeseen  episodes  of  a  more  or  less  disagreeable 
kind.  An  axle  breaks,  or  a  wheel  comes  off,  or  there  is  a  difficulty 
in  procuring  horses.  As  an  illustration  of  the  graver  episodes 
which  may  occur,  I  shall  make  here  a  quotation  from  my  note-book : 

Early  in  the  morning  we  arrived  at  Maikop,  a  small  town  com- 
manding the  entrance  to  one  of  the  valleys  which  run  up  towards 


TEAVELLIXG    IN   EUSSIA  21 

the  main  range  of  the  Caucasus.  On  alighting  at  the  post-station, 
we  at  once  ordered  horses  for  the  next  stage,  and  received  the 
laconic  reply,  "  There  are  no  horses." 

"  And  when  will  there  be  some  ?  " 

"  To-morrow ! " 

This  last  reply  we  took  for  a  piece  of  playful  exaggeration,  and 
demanded  the  book  in  which,  according  to  law,  the  departure  of 
horses  is  duly  inscribed,  and  from  which  it  is  easy  to  calculate 
when  the  first  team  should  be  ready  to  start.  A  short  calculation 
proved  that  we  ought  to  get  horses  by  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
so  we  showed  the  station-keeper  various  documents  signed  by  the 
Minister  of  the  Interior  and  other  influential  personages,  and 
advised  him  to  avoid  all  contravention  of  the  postal  regulations. 

These  documents,  which  proved  that  we  enjoyed  the  special  pro- 
tection of  the  authorities,  had  generally  been  of  great  service  to  us 
in  our  dealings  with  rascally  station-keepers;  but  this  station- 
keeper  was  not  one  of  the  ordinary  tj]ye.  He  was  a  Cossack,  of 
herculean  proportions,  with  a  bullet-shaped  head,  short-cropped 
bristly  hair,  shaggy  eyebrows,  an  enormous  pendent  moustache,  a 
defiant  air,  and  a  peculiar  expression  of  countenance  which  plainly 
indicated  "an  ugly  customer."  Though  it  was  still  early  in  the 
day,  he  had  evidently  already  imbibed  a  considerable  quantity  of 
alcohol,  and  his  whole  demeanour  showed  clearly  enough  that  he 
was  not  of  those  who  are  "  pleasant  in  their  liquor."  After  glanc- 
ing superciliously  at  the  documents,  as  if  to  intimate  he  could 
read  them  were  he  so  disposed,  he  threw  them  down  on  the  table, 
and,  thrusting  his  gigantic  paws  into  his  capacious  trouser-pockets, 
remarked  slowly  and  decisively,  in  something  deeper  than  a  double- 
bass  voice,  "  You'll  have  horses  to-morrow  morning." 

Wishing  to  avoid  a  quarrel  we  tried  to  hire  horses  in  the  village, 
and  when  our  efforts  in  that  direction  proved  fruitless,  we  applied 
to  the  head  of  the  rural  police.  He  came  and  used  all  his  influence 
with  the  refractory  station-keeper,  but  in  vain.  Hercules  was  not 
in  a  mood  to  listen  to  officials  any  more  than  to  ordinary  mortals. 
At  last,  after  considerable  trouble  to  himself,  our  friend  of  the 
police  contrived  to  find  horses  for  us,  and  we  contented  ourselves 
with  entering  an  account  of  the  circumstances  in  the  Complaint 
Book,  but  our  difiiculties  were  by  no  means  at  an  end.  As  soon 
as  Hercules  perceived  that  we  had  obtained  horses  without  his 
assistance,  and  that  he  had  thereby  lost  his  opportunity  of  black- 
mailing us,  he  ofi'ered  us  one  of  his  own  teams,  and  insisted  on 
detaining  us  until  we  should  cancel  the  complaint  against  him. 


22  EUSSIA 

This  we  refused  to  do,  and  our  relations  with  him  became  what  is 
called  in  diplomatic  language  "  extremement  tendues."  Again  we 
had  to  apply  to  the  police. 

My  friend  mounted  guard  over  the  baggage  whilst  I  went  to  the 
police  oflSce.  I  was  not  long  absent,  but  I  found,  on  my  return, 
that  important  events  had  taken  place  in  the  interval.  A  crowd 
had  collected  round  the  post-station,  and  on  the  steps  stood  the 
keeper  and  his  post-boys,  declaring  that  the  traveller  inside  had 
attempted  to  shoot  them !  I  rushed  in  and  soon  perceived,  by  the 
smell  of  gunpowder,  that  firearms  had  been  used,  but  found  no 
trace  of  casualties.  My  friend  was  tramping  up  and  down  the  little 
room,  and  evidently   for  the  moment  there  was  an  armistice. 

In  a  very  short  time  the  local  authorities  had  assembled,  a  candle 
had  been  lit,  two  armed  Cossacks  stood  as  sentries  at  the  door, 
and  the  preliminary  investigation  had  begun.  The  Chief  of  Police 
sat  at  the  table  and  wrote  rapidly  on  a  sheet  of  foolscap.  The 
investigation  showed  that  two  shots  had  been  fired  from  a  revolver, 
and  two  bullets  were  found  imbedded  in  the  wall.  All  those  who 
had  been  present,  and  some  who  knew  nothing  of  the  incident  except 
by  hearsay,  were  duly  examined.  Our  opponents  always  assumed 
that  my  friend  had  been  the  assailant,  in  spite  of  his  protestations 
to  the  contrary,  and  more  than  once  the  words  poTcyshenie  na 
ubiistvo  (attempt  to  murder)  were  pronounced.  Things  looked 
very  black  indeed.  We  had  the  prospect  of  being  detained  for  days 
and  weeks  in  the  miserable  place,  till  the  insatiable  demon  of 
ofiicial  formality  had  been  propitiated.     And  then? 

When  things  were  thus  at  their  blackest  they  suddenly  took  an 
unexpected  turn,  and  the  deus  ex  macMna  appeared  precisely  at 
the  right  moment.  Just  as  if  we  had  all  been  puppets  in  a  sensation 
novel.  There  was  the  usual  momentary  silence,  and  then,  mixed 
with  the  sound  of  an  approaching  tarantass,  a  confused  murmur : 
"  There  he  is !  He  is  coming !  "  The  "  he  "  thus  vaguely  and 
mysteriously  indicated  turned  out  to  be  an  oflBcial  of  the  judicial 
administration,  who  had  reason  to  visit  the  village  for  an  entirely 
different  affair.  As  soon  as  he  had  been  told  briefly  what  had 
happened  he  took  the  matter  in  hand  and  showed  himself  equal  to 
the  occasion.  Unlike  the  majority  of  Eussian  officials  he  disliked 
lengthy  procedure,  and  succeeded  in  making  the  case  quite  clear 
in  a  very  short  time.  There  had  been,  he  perceived,  no  attempt 
to  murder  or  anyihing  of  the  kind.  The  station-keeper  and  his 
two  post-boys,  who  had  no  right  to  be  in  the  traveller's  room,  had 
entered  with  threatening  mien,  and  when  they  refused  to  retire 


TRAVELLING    IN    RUSSIA  23 

peaceably,  my  friend  had  fired  two  shots  in  order  to  frighten  them 
and  bring  assistance.  The  falsity  of  their  statement  that  he  had 
fired  at  them  as  they  entered  the  room  was  proved  by  the  fact  that 
the  bullets  were  lodged  near  the  ceiling  in  the  wall  farthest  away 
from  the  door. 

I  must  confess  that  I  was  agreeably  surprised  by  this  unexpected 
turn  of  aft'airs.  The  conclusions  arrived  at  were  nothing  more 
than  a  simple  statement  of  what  had  taken  place;  but  I  was  sur- 
prised at  the  fact  that  a  man  who  was  at  once  a  lawj'er  and  a  Rus- 
sian official  should  have  been  able  to  take  such  a  plain,  common- 
sense  view  of  the  case. 

Before  midnight  we  were  once  more  free  men,  driving  rapidly  in 
the  clear  moonlight  to  the  next  station,  under  the  escort  of  a 
fully-armed  Circassian  Cossack;  but  the  idea  that  we  might  have 
been  detained  for  weeks  in  that  miserable  place  haunted  us  like 
a  nightmare. 


CHAPTER   II 

IN    THE    NORTHERN    FORESTS 

Bird's-eye  View  of  Russia — The  Northern  Forests — Purpose  of  my 
Journey — Negotiations — The  Road — A  Village — A  Peasant's  House 
— Vapour-Baths — Curious  Custom — Arrival. 

THEEE  are  many  ways  of  describing  a  country  that  one  has 
visited.  The  simplest  and  most  common  method  is  to  give  a 
chronological  account  of  the  journey;  and  this  is  perhaps  the  best 
way  when  the  journey  does  not  extend  over  more  than  a  few  weeks. 
But  it  cannot  be  conveniently  employed  in  the  case  of  a  residence 
of  many  years.  Did  I  adopt  it,  I  should  very  soon  exhaust  the 
reader's  patience.  I  should  have  to  take  him  with  me  to  a  secluded 
village,  and  make  him  wait  for  me  till  I  had  learned  to  speak  the 
language.  Thence  he  would  have  to  accompany  me  to  a  provincial 
town,  and  spend  months  in  a  public  office,  whilst  I  endeavoured  to 
master  the  mysteries  of  local  self-government.  After  this  he  would 
have  to  spend  two  years  with  me  in  a  big  library,  where  I  studied 
the  history  and  literature  of  the  country.  And  so  on,  and  so  on. 
Even  my  journeys  would  prove  tedious  to  him,  as  they  often  were 
to  myself,  for  he  would  have  to  drive  with  me  many  a  score  of 
weary  miles,  where  even  the  most  zealous  diary-writer  would  find 
nothing  to  record  beyond  the  names  of  the  post-stations. 

It  will  be  well  for  me,  then,  to  avoid  the  strictly  chronological 
method,  and  confine  myself  to  a  description  of  the  more  striking 
objects  and  incidents  that  came  under  my  notice.  The  knowledge 
which  I  derived  from  books  will  help  me  to  supply  a  running 
commentary  on  what  I  happened  to  see  and  hear. 

Instead  of  beginning  in  the  usual  way  with  St.  Petersburg,  I 
prefer  for  many  reasons  to  leave  the  description  of  the  capital  till 
some  future  time,  and  plunge  at  once  into  the  great  northern 
forest  region. 

If  it  were  possible  to  get  a  bird's-eye  view  of  European  Eussia, 
the  spectator  would  perceive  that  the  country  is  composed  of  two 
halves  widely  differing  from  each  other  in  character.  The  northern 
half  is  a  land  of  forest  and  morass,  plentifully  supplied  with  water 

24 


IN    THE    NORTHERN    FORESTS  25 

in  the  form  of  rivers,  lakes,  and  marshes,  and  broken  up  by  numer- 
ous patches  of  cultivation.  The  southern  half  is,  as  it  were,  the 
other  side  of  the  pattern — an  immense  expanse  of  rich,  arable  land, 
broken  up  by  occasional  patches  of  sand  or  forest.  The  imaginary 
undulating  line  separating  those  two  regions  starts  from  the 
western  frontier  about  the  50th  parallel  of  latitude,  and  runs  in  a 
northeasterly  direction  till  it  enters  the  Ural  range  at  about  56° 
N.L. 

Well  do  I  remember  my  first  experience  of  travel  in  the  northern 
region,  and  the  weeks  of  voluntary  exile  which  formed  the  goal 
of  the  journey.  It  was  in  the  summer  of  1870.  My  reason  for 
undertaking  the  journey  was  this:  a  few  months  of  life  in  St, 
Petersburg  had  fully  convinced  me  that  the  Russian  language 
is  one  of  those  things  which  can  only  be  acquired  by  practice,  and 
that  even  a  person  of  antediluvian  longevity  might  spend  all  his 
life  in  that  city  without  learning  to  express  himself  fluently  in  the 
vernacular — especially  if  he  has  the  misfortune  of  being  able  to 
speak  English,  French,  and  German.  With  his  friends  and  associ- 
ates he  speaks  French  or  English.  German  serves  as  a  medium  of 
communication  with  waiters,  shop  keepers,  and  other  people  of 
that  class.  It  is  only  with  isvoslitcliiki — the  drivers  of  the  little 
open  droshkis  which  fulfil  the  function  of  cabs — that  he  is  obliged 
to  use  the  native  tongue,  and  with  them  a  very  limited  vocabulary 
suffices.  The  ordinal  numerals  and  four  short,  easily-acquired 
expressions — poshol  (go  on),  na  prdvo  (to  the  right),  na  lyevo  (to 
the  left),  and  stoi  (stop) — are  all  that  is  required. 

Whilst  I  was  considering  how  I  could  get  beyond  the  sphere  of 
West-European  languages,  a  friend  came  to  my  assistance,  and 
suggested  that  I  should  go  to  his  estate  in  the  province  of  Novgorod, 
where  I  should  find  an  intelligent,  amiable  parish  priest,  quite 
innocent  of  any  linguistic  acquirements.  This  proposal  I  at  once 
adopted,  and  accordingly  found  myself  one  morning  at  a  small 
station  of  the  Moscow  Railway,  endeavouring  to  explain  to  a 
peasant  in  sheep's  clothing  that  I  wished  to  be  conveyed  to  Ivan- 
ofka,  the  village  where  my  future  teacher  lived.  At  that  time  I 
still  spoke  Russian  in  a  very  fragmentary  and  confused  way — 
pretty  much  as  Spanish  cows  are  popularly  supposed  to  speak 
French.  My  first  remark  therefore  being  literally  interpreted,  was 
— "Ivanofka.  Horses.  You  can?"  The  point  of  interrogation 
was  expressed  by  a  simultaneous  raising  of  the  voice  and  the 
eyebrows. 

"  Ivanof ka  ? "  cried  the  peasant,  in  an  interrogatory  tone  of 


26  EUSSIA 

voice.  In  Eussia,  as  in  other  countries,  the  peasantry  when  speak- 
ing with  strangers  like  to  repeat  questions,  apparently  for  the  pur- 
pose of  gaining  time. 

"  Ivanof ka,"  I  replied. 

"Now?" 

«  Now ! " 

After  some  reflection  the  peasant  nodded  and  said  something 
which  I  did  not  understand,  but  which  I  assumed  to  mean  that  he 
was  open  to  consider  proposals  for  transporting  me  to  my 
destination. 

"  Boubles.     How  many  ?  " 

To  judge  by  the  knitting  of  the  brows  and  the  scratching  of  the 
head,  I  should  say  that  that  question  gave  occasion  to  a  very 
abstruse  mathematical  calculation.  Gradually  the  look  of  concen- 
trated attention  gave  place  to  an  expression  such  as  children  assume 
when  they  endeavour  to  get  a  parental  decision  reversed  by  means 
of  coaxing.  Then  came  a  stream  of  soft  words  which  were  to  me 
utterly  unintelligible. 

I  must  not  weary  the  reader  with  a  detailed  account  of  tba  suc- 
ceeding negotiations,  which  were  conducted  with  extreme  diplo- 
matic caution  on  both  sides,  as  if  a  cession  of  territory  or  the 
payment  of  a  war  indemnity  had  been  the  subject  of  discussion. 
Three  times  he  drove  away  and  three  times  returned.  Each  time 
he  abated  his  pretensions,  and  each  time  I  slightly  increased  my 
offer.  At  last,  when  I  began  to  fear  that  he  had  finally  taken  his 
departure  and  had  left  me  to  my  own  devices,  he  re-entered  the 
room  and  took  up  my  baggage,  indicating  thereby  that  he  agreed  to 
my  last  offer. 

The  sum  agreed  upon  would  have  been,  under  ordinary  circum- 
stances, more  than  sufficient,  but  before  proceeding  far  I  discovered 
that  the  circumstances  were  by  no  means  ordinary,  and  I  began  to 
understand  the  pantomimic  gesticulation  which  had  puzzled  me 
during  the  negotiations.  Heavy  rain  had  fallen  without  inter- 
ruption for  several  days,  and  now  the  track  on  which  we  were 
travelling  could  not,  without  poetical  license,  be  described  as  a 
road.  In  some  parts  it  resembled  a  water-course,  in  others  a 
quagmire,  and  at  least  during  the  first  half  of  the  journey  I  was 
constantly  reminded  of  that  stage  in  the  work  of  creation  when 
the  water  was  not  yet  separated  from  the  dry  land.  During  the  few 
moments  when  the  work  of  keeping  my  balance  and  preventing  my 
baggage  from  being  lost  did  not  engross  all  my  attention,  I  specu- 
lated on  the  possibility  of  inventing  a  boat-carriage,  to  be  drawn 


IN    THE    NORTHERN    FORESTS  27 

by  some  amphibious  quadruped.  Fortunately  our  two  lean,  wiry 
little  horses  did  not  object  to  being  used  as  aquatic  animals.  They 
took  the  water  bravely,  and  plunged  through  the  mud  in  gallant 
style.  The  telega  in  which  we  were  seated — a  four-wheeled  skele- 
ton cart — did  not  submit  to  the  ill-treatment  so  silently.  It  creaked 
out  its  remonstrances  and  entreaties,  and  at  the  more  difificult  spots 
threatened  to  go  to  pieces;  but  its  owner  understood  its  character 
and  capabilities,  and  paid  no  attention  to  its  ominous  threats. 
Once,  indeed,  a  wheel  came  off,  but  it  was  soon  fished  out  of  the 
mud  and  replaced,  and  no  further  casualty  occurred. 

The  horses  did  their  work  so  well  that  when  about  midday  we 
arrived  at  a  vUlage,  I  could  not  refuse  to  let  them  have  some  rest 
and  refreshment — all  the  more  as  my  own  thoughts  had  begun  to 
turn  in  that  direction. 

The  village,  like  villages  in  that  part  of  the  country  generally, 
consisted  of  two  long  parallel  rows  of  wooden  houses.  The  road — 
if  a  stratum  of  deep  mud  can  be  called  by  that  name — formed  the 
intervening  space.  All  the  houses  turned  their  gables  to  the  passer- 
by, and  some  of  them  had  pretensions  to  architectural  decoration 
in  the  form  of  rude  perforated  woodwork.  Between  the  houses, 
and  in  a  line  with  them,  were  great  wooden  gates  and  high  wooden 
fences,  separating  the  courtyards  from  the  road.  Into  one  of  these 
yards,  near  the  farther  end  of  the  village,  our  horses  turned  of 
their  own  accord. 

"  An  inn  ?  "  I  said,  in  an  interrogative  tone. 

The  driver  shook  his  head  and  said  something,  in  which  I 
detected  the  word  "  friend."  Evidently  there  was  no  hostelry  for 
man  and  beast  in  the  village,  and  the  driver  was  using  a  friend's 
house  for  the  purpose. 

The  yard  was  flanked  on  the  one  side  by  an  open  shed,  containing 
rude  agricultural  implements  which  might  throw  some  light  on  the 
agriculture  of  the  primitive  Aryans,  and  on  the  other  side  by 
the  dwelling-house  and  stable.  Both  the  house  and  stable  were 
built  of  logs,  nearly  cylindrical  in  form,  and  placed  in  horizontal 
tiers. 

Two  of  the  strongest  of  human  motives,  hunger  and  curiosity, 
impelled  me  to  enter  the  house  at  once.  Without  waiting  for  an 
invitation,  I  went  up  to  the  door — half  protected  against  the  winter 
snows  by  a  small  open  portico — and  unceremoniously  walked  in. 
The  first  apartment  was  empty,  but  I  noticed  a  low  door  in  the 
wall  to  the  left,  and  passing  through  this,  entered  the  principal 
room.     As  the  scene  was  new  to  me,  I  noted  the  principal  objects. 


28  KUSSIA 

In  the  wall  before  me  were  two  small  square  windows  looking  out 
upon  the  road,  and  in  the  corner  to  the  right,  nearer  to  the  ceiling 
than  to  the  floor,  was  a  little  triangular  shelf,  on  which  stood  a 
religious  picture.  Before  the  picture  hung  a  curious  oil  lamp.  In 
the  corner  to  the  left  of  the  door  was  a  gigantic  stove,  built  of 
brick,  and  whitewashed.  From  the  top  of  the  stove  to  the  wall 
on  the  right  stretched  what  might  be  called  an  enormous  shelf, 
six  or  eight  feet  in  breadth.  This  is  the  so-called  paldti,  as  I  after- 
wards discovered,  and  serves  as  a  bed  for  part  of  the  family.  The 
furniture  consisted  of  a  long  wooden  bench  attached  to  the  wall 
on  the  right,  a  big,  heavy,  deal  table,  and  a  few  wooden  stools. 

Whilst  I  was  leisurely  surveying  these  objects,  I  heard  a  noise 
on  the  top  of  the  stove,  and,  looking  up,  perceived  a  human  face, 
with  long  hair  parted  in  the  middle,  and  a  full  yellow  beard.  I 
was  considerably  astonished  by  this  apparition,  for  the  air  in  the 
room  was  stifling,  and  I  had  some  difiiculty  in  believing  that  any 
created  being — except  perhaps  a  salamander  or  a  negro — could 
exist  in  such  a  position.  I  looked  hard  to  convince  myself  that 
I  was  not  the  victim  of  a  delusion.  As  I  stared,  the  head  nodded 
slowly  and  pronounced  the  customary  form  of  greeting. 

I  returned  the  greeting  slowly,  wondering  what  was  to  come 
next. 

"  111,  very  ill !  "  sighed  the  head. 

"  I^m  not  astonished  at  that,"  I  remarked,  in  an  "  aside."  "  If 
I  were  lying  on  the  stove  as  you  are  I  should  be  very  ill  too." 

"  Hot,  very  hot  ?  "  I  remarked,  interrogatively. 

"  Nitchevo  " — that  is  to  say,  "  not  particularly."  This  remark 
astonished  me  all  the  more  as  I  noticed  that  the  body  to  which  the 
head  belonged  was  enveloped  in  a  sheep-skin ! 

After  living  some  time  in  Eussia  I  was  no  longer  surprised  by 
such  incidents,  for  I  soon  discovered  that  the  Russian  peasant  has 
a  marvellous  power  of  bearing  extreme  heat  as  well  as  extreme 
cold.  When  a  coachman  takes  his  master  or  mistress  to  the 
theatre  or  to  a  party,  he  never  thinks  of  going  home  and  returning 
at  an  appointed  time.  Hour  after  hour  he  sits  placidly  on  the 
box,  and  though  the  cold  be  of  an  intensity  such  as  is  never  ex- 
perienced in  our  temperate  climate,  he  can  sleep  as  tranquilly  as 
the  lazzaroni  at  midday  in  Naples.  In  that  respect  the  Eussian 
peasant  seems  to  be  first-cousin  to  the  polar  bear,  but,  unlike  the 
animals  of  the  Arctic  regions,  he  is  not  at  all  incommoded  by 
excessive  heat.  On  the  contrary,  he  likes  it  when  he  can  get  it, 
and  never  omits  an  opportunity  of  laying  in  a  reserve  supply  of 


IN"    THE    NORTHERN    FORESTS  29 

caloric.  He  even  delights  in  rapid  transitions  from  one  extreme 
to  the  other,  as  is  amply  proved  by  a  curious  custom  which  deserves 
to  be  recorded. 

The  reader  must  know  that  in  the  life  of  the  Russian  peasantry 
the  weekly  vapour-bath  plays  a  most  important  part.  It  has  even 
a  certain  religious  signification,  for  no  good  orthodox  peasant 
would  dare  to  enter  a  church  after  being  soiled  by  certain  kinds 
of  pollution  without  cleansing  himself  physically  and  morally  by 
means  of  the  ])ath.  In  tlie  weekly  arrangements  it  forms  the  occu- 
pation for  Saturday  afternoon,  and  care  is  taken  to  avoid  there- 
after all  pollution  until  after  the  morning  service  on  Sunday. 
Many  villages  possess  a  public  or  communal  bath  of  the  most 
primitive  construction,  but  in  some  parts  of  the  country — I  am  not 
sure  how  far  the  practice  extends — the  peasants  take  their  vapour- 
bath  in  the  household  oven  in  which  the  bread  is  baked !  In  all 
cases  the  operation  is  pushed  to  the  extreme  limit  of  human  en- 
durance— far  beyond  the  utmost  limit  that  can  be  endured  by 
those  who  have  not  been  accustomed  to  it  from  childhood.  For  my 
own  part,  I  only  made  the  experiment  once;  and  when  I  informed 
my  attendant  that  my  life  was  in  danger  from  congestion  of  the 
brain,  he  laughed  outright,  and  told  me  that  the  operation  had 
only  begun.  Most  astounding  of  all — and  this  brings  me  to  the 
fact  which  led  me  into  this  digression — the  peasants  in  winter 
often  rush  out  of  the  bath  and  roll  themselves  in  the  snow !  This 
aptly  illustrates  a  common  Russian  proverb,  which  says  that  what 
is  health  to  the  Russian  is  death  to  the  German. 

Cold  water,  as  well  as  hot  vapour,  is  sometimes  used  as  a  means 
of  purification.  In  the  villages  the  old  pagan  habit  of  masquerad- 
ing in  absurd  costumes  at  certain  seasons — as  is  done  during  the 
carnival  in  Roman  Catholic  countries  with  the  approval,  or  at  least 
connivance,  of  the  Church — still  survives ;  but  it  is  regarded  as  not 
altogether  sinless.  He  who  uses  such  disguises  places  himself  to 
a  certain  extent  under  the  influence  of  the  Evil  One,  thereby  put- 
ting his  soul  in  jeopardy;  and  to  free  himself  from  this  danger 
he  has  to  purify  himself  in  the  following  way:  When  the  annual 
mid-winter  ceremony  of  ])lessing  the  waters  is  performed,  by 
breaking  a  hole  in  the  ice  and  immersing  a  cross  with  certain 
religious  rites,  he  should  plunge  into  the  hole  as  soon  as  possible 
after  the  ceremony.  I  remember  once  at  Yaroslavl,  on  the  Volga, 
two  young  peasants  successfully  accomplished  this  feat — though 
the  police  have  orders  to  prevent  it — and  escaped,  apparently  with- 
out evil  consequences,  though  the  Fahrenheit  thermometer  was 


30  RUSSIA 

below  zero.  How  far  the  custom  has  really  a  purifying  influence, 
is  a  question  which  must  be  left  to  theologians;  but  even  an  ordi- 
nary mortal  can  understand  that,  if  it  be  regarded  as  a  penance, 
it  must  have  a  certain  deterrent  effect.  The  man  who  foresees  the 
necessity  of  undergoing  this  severe  penance  will  think  twice  before 
putting  on  a  disguise.  So  at  least  it  must  have  been  in  the  good 
old  times;  but  in  these  degenerate  days — among  the  Russian  peas- 
antry as  elsewhere — the  fear  of  the  Devil,  which  was  formerly,  if 
not  the  beginning,  at  least  one  of  the  essential  elements,  of  wisdom, 
has  greatly  decreased.  Many  a  young  peasant  will  now  thought- 
lessly disguise  himself,  and  when  the  consecration  of  the  water  is 
performed,  will  stand  and  look  on  passively  like  an  ordinary  spec- 
tator! It  would  seem  that  the  Devil,  like  his  enemy  the  Pope, 
is  destined  to  lose  gradually  his  temporal  power. 

But  all  this  time  I  am  neglecting  my  new  acquaintance  on  the 
top  of  the  stove.  In  reality  I  did  not  neglect  him,  but  listened 
most  attentively  to  every  word  of  the  long  tale  that  he  recited. 
What  it  was  all  about  I  could  only  vaguely  guess,  for  I  did  not 
understand  more  than  ten  per  cent,  of  the  words  used,  but  I 
assumed  from  the  tone  and  gestures  that  he  was  relating  to  me  all 
the  incidents  and  symptoms  of  his  illness.  And  a  very  severe 
illness  it  must  have  been,  for  it  requires  a  very  considerable  amount 
of  physical  suffering  to  make  the  patient  Russian  peasant  groan. 
Before  he  had  finished  his  tale  a  woman  entered,  apparently  his 
wife. 

To  her  I  explained  that  I  had  a  strong  desire  to  eat  and  drink, 
and  that  I  wished  to  know  what  she  would  give  me.  By  a 
good  deal  of  laborious  explanation  I  was  made  to  understand  that 
I  could  have  eggs,  black  bread,  and  milk,  and  we  agreed  that  there 
should  be  a  division  of  labour:  my  hostess  should  prepare  the 
samovar  for  boiling  water,  whilst  I  should  fry  the  eggs  to  my  own 
satisfaction. 

In  a  few  minutes  the  repast  was  ready,  and,  though  not  very 
delicate,  was  highly  acceptable.  The  tea  and  sugar  I  had  of  course 
brought  with  me ;  the  eggs  were  not  very  highly  flavoured ;  and  the 
black  rye-bread,  strongly  intermixed  with  sand,  could  be  eaten  by 
a  peculiar  and  easily-acquired  method  of  mastication,  in  which  the 
upper  molars  are  never  allowed  to  touch  those  of  the  lower  jaw. 
In  this  way  the  grating  of  the  sand  between  the  teeth  is  avoided. 

Eggs,  black  bread,  milk,  and  tea — these  formed  my  ordinary 
articles  of  food  during  all  my  wanderings  in  Northern  Russia. 
Occasionally  potatoes  could  be  got,  and  afforded  the  possibility 


IN   THE    NORTHERN   FORESTS  31 

of  var3ring  the  bill  of  fare.  The  favourite  materials  employed  in 
the  native  cookery  are  sour  cabbage,  cucumbers,  and  Jcvass — a  kind 
of  very  small  beer  made  from  black  bread.  None  of  these  can  be 
recommended  to  the  traveller  who  is  not  already  accustomed  to 
them. 

The  remainder  of  the  journey  was  accomplished  at  a  rather  more 
rapid  pace  than  the  preceding  part,  for  the  road  was  decidedly 
better,  though  it  was  traversed  by  numerous  half-buried  roots, 
which  produced  violent  Jolts.  From  the  conversation  of  the  driver 
I  gathered  that  wolves,  bears,  and  elks  were  found  in  the  forest 
through  which  we  were  passing. 

The  sun  had  long  since  set  when  we  reached  our  destination, 
and  I  found  to  my  dismay  that  the  priest's  house  was  closed  for  the 
night.  To  rouse  the  reverend  personage  from  his  slumbers,  and 
endeavour  to  explain  to  him  with  my  limited  vocabulary  the  object 
of  my  visit,  was  not  to  be  thought  of.  On  the  other  hand,  there 
was  no  inn  of  any  kind  in  the  vicinity.  When  I  consulted  the 
driver  as  to  what  was  to  be  done,  he  meditated  for  a  little,  and  then 
pointed  to  a  large  house  at  some  distance  where  there  were  still 
lights.  It  turned  out  to  be  the  country-house  of  the  gentleman 
who  had  advised  me  to  undertake  the  Journey,  and  here,  after  a 
short  explanation,  though  the  owner  was  not  at  home,  I  was 
hospitably  received. 

It  had  been  my  intention  to  live  in  the  priest's  house,  but  a 
short  interview  with  him  on  the  following  day  convinced  me  that 
that  part  of  my  plan  could  not  be  carried  out.  The  preliminary  ob- 
jections that  I  should  find  but  poor  fare  in  his  humble  household, 
and  much  more  of  the  same  kind,  were  at  once  put  aside  by  my 
assurance,  made  partly  by  pantomime,  that,  as  an  old  traveller,  I 
was  well  accustomed  to  simple  fare,  and  could  always  accommodate 
myself  to  the  habits  of  people  among  whom  my  lot  happened  to 
be  cast.  But  there  was  a  more  serious  difficulty.  The  priest's 
family  had,  as  is  generally  the  case  with  priests'  families,  been 
rapidly  increasing  during  the  last  few  years,  and  his  house  had  not 
been  growing  with  equal  rapidity.  The  natural  consequence  of 
this  was  that  he  had  not  a  room  or  a  bed  to  spare.  The  little  room 
which  he  had  formerly  kept  for  occasional  visitors  was  now  occu- 
pied by  his  eldest  daughter,  who  had  returned  from  a  "  school  for 
the  daughters  of  the  clergy,"  where  she  had  been  for  the  last  two 
years.  Under  these  circumstances,  I  was  constrained  to  accept  the 
kind  proposal  made  to  me  by  the  representative  of  my  absent 
friend,  that  I  should  take  up  my  quarters  in  one  of  the  numerous 


32  EUSSIA 

unoccupied  rooms  in  tlie  manor-house.  This  arrangement  I  was 
reminded,  would  not  at  all  interfere  with  my  proposed  studies,  for 
the  priest  lived  close  at  hand,  and  I  might  spend  with  him  as  much 

time  as  I  liked.  n  ,      i  a 

And  now  let  me  introduce  the  reader  to  my  reverend  teacher  and 
one  or  two  other  personages  whose  acquaintance  I  made  during  my 
voluntary  exile. 


CHAPTEE   III 

VOLUNTARY    EXILE 

Ivanoflca — History  of  the  Place — The  Steward  of  the  Estate — Slav  and 
Teutonic  Natures — A  German's  View  of  the  Emancipation — Justices 
of  the  Peace — New  School  of  Morals — The  Russian  Language — Lin- 
guistic Talent  of  the  Russians — My  Teacher — A  Big  Dose  of  Current 
History. 

'T'HIS  village,  Ivanofka  by  name,  in  which  I  proposed  to  spend 
^  some  months,  was  rather  more  picturesque  than  villages  in 
these  northern  forests  commonly  are.  The  peasants'  huts,  built 
on  both  sides  of  a  straight  road,  were  colourless  enough,  and  the 
big  church,  with  its  fiye  pear-shaped  cupolas  rising  out  of  the 
bright  green  roof  and  its  ugly  belfry  in  the  Renaissance  style,  was 
not  by  any  means  beautiful  in  itself;  but  when  seen  from  a  little 
distance,  especially  in  the  soft  evening  twilight,  the  whole  might 
have  been  made  the  subject  of  a  very  pleasing  picture.  From  the 
point  that  a  landscape-painter  would  naturally  have  chosen, 
the  foreground  was  formed  by  a  meadow,  through  which  flowed 
sluggishly  a  meandering  stream.  On  a  bit  of  rising  ground  to  the 
right,  and  half  concealed  by  an  intervening  cluster  of  old  rich- 
coloured  pines,  stood  the  manor-house — a  big,  box-shaped,  white- 
washed building,  with  a  verandah  in  front,  overlooking  a  small 
plot  that  might  some  day  become  a  flower-garden.  To  the  left  of 
this  stood  the  village,  the  houses  grouping  prettily  with  the  big 
church,  and  a  little  farther  in  this  direction  was  an  avenue  of 
graceful  birches.  On  the  extreme  left  were  fields,  bounded  by  a 
dark  border  of  fir-trees.  Could  the  spectator  have  raised  himself 
a  few  hundred  feet  from  the  ground,  he  would  have  seen  that  there 
M-ere  fields  beyond  the  village,  and  that  the  whole  of  this  agricul- 
tural oasis  was  imbedded  in  a  forest  stretching  in  all  directions  as 
far  as  the  eye  could  reach. 

The  history  of  the  place  may  be  told  in  a  few  words.  In  former 
times  the  estate,  including  the  village  and  all  its  inhabitants,  had 
belonged  to  a  monastery,  but  when,  in  17G4,  the  Church  lands 
were  secularised  by  Catherine,  it  became  the  property  of  the 
State.     Some  years  afterwards  the  Empress  granted  it,  with  the 

33 


34  EUSSIA 

serfs  and  everything  else  which  it  contained,  to  an  old  general  who 
had  distinguished  himself  in  the  Turkish  wars.     From  that  time 

it  had  remained  in  the  K family.     Some  time  between  the 

years  1820  and  1840  the  big  church  and  the  mansion-house  had 
been  built  by  the  actual  possessor's  father,  who  loved  country 
life,  and  devoted  a  large  part  of  his  time  and  energies  to  the 
management  of  his  estate.  His  son,  on  the  contrary,  preferred 
St.  Petersburg  to  the  country,  served  in  one  of  the  public  offices, 
loved  passionately  French  plays  and  other  products  of  urban  civili- 
sation, and  left  the  entire  management  of  the  property  to  a  Ger- 
man steward,  popularly  known  as  Karl  Karl'itch,  whom  I  shall 
introduce  to  the  reader  presently. 

The  village  annals  contained  no  important  events,  except  bad 
harvests,  cattle-plagues,  and  destructive  fires,  with  which  the  in- 
habitants seem  to  have  been  periodically  visited  from  time  im- 
memorial. If  good  harvests  were  ever  experienced,  they  must  have 
faded  from  the  popular  recollection.  Then  there  were  certain 
ancient  traditions  which  might  have  been  lessened  in  bulk  and 
improved  in  quality  by  being  subjected  to  searching  historical 
criticism.  More  than  once,  for  instance,  a  lesJiie,  or  wood-sprite, 
had  been  seen  in  the  neighbourhood ;  and  in  several  households  the 
domovoi,  or  brownie,  had  been  known  to  play  strange  pranks  until 
he  was  properly  propitiated.  And  as  a  set-off  against  these  mani- 
festations of  evil  powers,  there  were  well-authenticated  stories  about 
a  miracle-working  image  that  had  mysteriously  appeared  on  the 
branch  of  a  tree,  and  about  numerous  miraculous  cures  that  had 
been  effected  by  means  of  pilgrimages  to  holy  shrines. 

But  it  is  time  to  introduce  the  principal  personages  of  this  little 
community.  Of  these,  by  far  the  most  important  was  Karl 
Karl'itch,  the  steward. 

First  of  all  I  ought,  perhaps,  to  explain  how  Karl  Schmidt,  the 
son  of  a  well-to-do  Bauer  in  the  Prussian  village  of  Schonhausen, 
became  Karl  Karl'itch,  the  principal  personage  in  the  Eussian 
village  of  Ivanofka. 

About  the  time  of  the  Crimean  War  many  of  the  Eussian  landed 
proprietors  had  become  alive  to  the  necessity  of  improving  the 
primitive,  traditional  methods  of  agriculture,  and  sought  for  this 
purpose  German  stewards  for  their  estates.  Among  these  pro- 
prietors was  the  owner  of  Ivanofka.  Through  the  medium  of  a 
friend  in  Berlin  he  succeeded  in  engaging  for  a  moderate  salary 
a  young  man  who  had  just  finished  his  studies  in  one  of  the  Ger- 
man schools  of  agriculture — the  institution  at  Hohenheim,  if  my 


VOLUNTAEY    EXILE  35 

memory  does  not  deceive  me.  This  young  man  had  arrived  in 
Kussia  as  phiin  Karl  Schmidt,  but  his  name  was  soon  transformed 
into  Karl  Karl'itch,  not  from  any  desire  of  his  own,  but  in  accord- 
ance with  a  curious  Russian  custom.  In  Russia  one  usually  calls 
a  man  not  by  his  family  name,  but  l)y  his  Christian  name  and 
patronymic — the  latter  being  formed  from  the  name  of  his  father. 
Thus,  if  a  man's  name  is  Nicholas,  and  his  father's  Christian  name 
is — or  was — Ivan,  you  address  him  as  Nikolai  Ivanovitch  (pro- 
nounced Ivan'itch) ;  and  if  this  man  should  happen  to  have  a 
sister  called  Mary,  you  will  address  her — even  though  she  should 
be  married — as  Marya  Ivanovna  (pronounced  Ivanna). 

Immediately  on  his  arrival  young  Schinidt  had  set  himself 
vigorously  to  reorganise  the  estate  and  improve  the  method  of 
agriculture.  Some  ploughs,  harrows,  and  other  implements  which 
had  been  imported  at  a  former  period  were  dragged  out  of  the 
obscurity  in  which  they  had  lain  for  several  years,  and  an  attempt 
was  made  to  farm  on  scientific  principles.  The  attempt  was  far 
from  being  completely  successful,  for  the  serfs — this  was  before 
the  Emancipation — could  not  be  made  to  work  like  regularly 
trained  German  labourers.  In  spite  of  all  admonitions,  threats, 
and  punishments,  they  persisted  in  working  slowly,  listlessly,  in- 
accurately, and  occasionally  they  broke  the.  new  instruments  from 
carelessness  or  some  more  culpable  motive.  Karl  Karl'itch  was  not 
naturally  a  hard-hearted  man,  but  he  was  very  rigid  in  his  notions 
of  duty,  and  could  be  cruelly  severe  when  his  orders  were  not 
executed  with  an  accuracy  and  punctuality  that  seemed  to  the 
Russian  rustic  mind  mere  useless  pedantry.  The  serfs  did  not 
offer  him  any  open  opposition,  and  were  always  obsequiously  re- 
spectful in  their  demeanour  towards  him,  but  they  invariably 
frustrated  his  plans  by  their  carelessness  and  stolid,  passive 
resistance. 

Thus  arose  that  silent  conflict  and  that  smouldering  mutual 
enmity  which  almost  always  result  from  the  contact  of  the  Teuton 
with  the  Slav.  The  serfs  instinctively  regretted  the  good  old 
times,  when  they  lived  under  the  rough-and-ready  patriarchal  rule 
of  their  masters,  assisted  by  a  native  "  bur  mister"  or  overseer,  who 
was  one  of  themselves.  The  Imrmister  had  not  always  been  honest 
in  his  dealings  with  them,  and  the  master  had  often,  when  in 
anger,  ordered  severe  punishments  to  be  inflicted;  but  the  hur- 
mister  had  not  attempted  to  make  them  change  their  old  habits, 
and  had  shut  his  eyes  to  many  little  sins  of  omission  and  commis- 
sion, whilst  the  master  was  always  ready  to  assist  them  in  difficulties. 


36  ETJSSIA 

and  commonly  treated  them  in  a  kindly,  familiar  way.  As  the 
old  Eussian  proverb  has  it,  "Where  danger  is,  there  too  is  kindly 
forgiveness."  Karl  Karl'itch,  on  the  contrary,  was  the  personifi- 
cation of  uncompassionate,  inflexible  law.  Blind  rage  and  com- 
passionate kindliness  were  alike  foreign  to  his  system  of  govern- 
ment. If  he  had  any  feeling  towards  the  serfs,  it  was  one  of 
chronic  contempt.  The  word  durdh  (blockhead)  was  constantly 
on  his  lips,  and  when  any  bit  of  work  was  well  done,  he  took  it  as 
a  matter  of  course,  and  never  thought  of  giving  a  word  of  approval 
or  encouragement. 

When  it  became  evident,  in  1859,  that  the  emancipation  of  the 
serfs  was  at  hand,  Karl  Karl'itch  confidently  predicted  that  the 
country  would  inevitably  go  to  ruin.  He  knew  by  experience  that 
the  peasants  were  lazy  and  improvident,  even  when  they  lived  under 
the  tutelage  of  a  master,  and  with  the  fear  of  the  rod  before  their 
eyes.  What  would  they  become  when  this  guidance  and  salutary 
restraint  should  be  removed?  The  prospect  raised  terrible  fore- 
bodings in  the  mind  of  the  worthy  steward,  who  had  his  employer's 
interests  really  at  heart;  and  these  forebodings  were  considerably 
increased  and  intensified  when  he  learned  that  the  peasants  were  to 
receive  by  law  the  land  which  they  occupied  on  sufferance,  and 
which  comprised  about  a  half  of  the  whole  arable  land  of  the 
estate.  This  arrangement  he  declared  to  be  a  dangerous  and  un- 
justifiable infraction  of  the  sacred  rights  of  property,  which  sa- 
voured strongly  of  communism,  and  could  have  but  one  practical 
result:  the  emancipated  peasants  would  live  by  the  cultivation  of 
their  own  land,  and  would  not  consent  on  any  terms  to  work  for 
their  former  master. 

In  the  few  months  which  immediately  followed  the  publication  of 
the  Emancipation  Edict  in  1861,  Karl  Karl'itch  found  much 
to  confirm  his  most  gloomy  apprehensions.  The  peasants  showed 
themselves  dissatisfied  with  the  privileges  conferred  upon  them, 
and  sought  to  evade  the  corresponding  duties  imposed  on  them  by 
the  new  law.  In  vain  he  endeavoured,  by  exhortations,  promises, 
and  threats,  to  get  the  most  necessary  part  of  the  field-work  done, 
and  showed  the  peasants  the  provision  of  the  law  enjoining  them 
to  obey  and  work  as  of  old  until  some  new  arrangement  should  be 
made.  To  all  his  appeals  they  replied  that,  having  been  freed  by 
the  Tsar,  they  were  no  longer  obliged  to  work  for  their  former 
master ;  and  he  was  at  last  forced  to  appeal  to  the  authorities.  This 
step  had  a  certain  effect,  but  the  field-work  was  executed  that  year 
even  worse  than  usual,  and  the  harvest  suffered  in  consequence. 


VOLUNTAEY    EXILE  37 

Since  that  time  things  had  gradually  improved.  The  peasants 
had  discovered  that  they  could  not  support  themselves  and  pay 
their  taxes  from  the  land  ceded  to  them,  and  had  accordingly  con- 
sented to  till  the  proprietor's  fields  for  a  moderate  recompense. 
"  These  last  two  years,"  said  Karl  Karl'itch  to  me,  with  an  air  of 
honest  self-satisfaction,  "I  have  been  able,  after  paying  all  ex- 
penses, to  transmit  little  sums  to  the  young  master  in  St.  Peters- 
burg. It  was  certainly  not  much,  but  it  shows  that  things  are 
better  than  they  were.  Still,  it  is  hard,  uphill  work.  The  peas- 
ants have  not  been  improved  by  liberty.  They  now  work  less  and 
drink  more  than  they  did  in  the  times  of  serfage,  and  if  you  say 
a  word  to  them  they'll  go  away,  and  not  work  for  you  at  all." 
Here  Karl  Karl'itch  indemnified  himself  for  his  recent  self-control 
in  the  presence  of  his  workers  by  using  a  series  of  the  strongest 
epithets  which  the  combined  languages  of  his  native  and  of  his 
adopted  country  could  supply.  "But  laziness  and  drunkenness 
are  not  their  only  faults.  They  let  their  cattle  wander  into  our 
fields,  and  never  lose  an  opportunity  of  stealing  firewood  from  the 
forest." 

"  But  you  have  now  for  such  matters  the  rural  justices  of  the 
peace,"  I  ventured  to  suggest. 

"  The  justices  of  the  peace !  "  .  .  .  Here  Karl  Karl'itch  used 
an  inelegant  expression,  which  showed  plainly  that  he  was  no 
unqualified  admirer  of  the  new  judicial  institutions.  "What  is 
the  use  of  applying  to  the  justices  ?  The  nearest  one  lives  six  miles 
off,  and  when  I  go  to  him  he  evidently  tries  to  make  me  lose  as 
much  time  as  possible.  I  am  sure  to  lose  nearly  a  whole  day,  and 
at  the  end  of  it  I  may  find  that  I  have  got  nothing  for  my  pains. 
These  justices  always  try  to  find  some  excuse  for  the  peasant,  and 
when  they  do  condemn,  by  way  of  exception,  the  affair  does  not 
end  there.  There  is  pretty  sure  to  be  a  pettifogging  practitioner 
prowling  about — some  rascally  scribe  who  has  been  dismissed  from 
the  public  offices  for  pilfering  and  extorting  too  openly — and  he 
is  always  ready  to  whisper  to  the  peasant  that  he  should  appeal. 
The  peasant  knows  that  the  decision  is  just,  but  he  is  easily  per- 
suaded that  by  appealing  to  the  j\IonthIy  Sessions  he  gets  another 
chance  in  the  lottery,  and  may  perhaps  draw  a  prize.  He  lets  the 
rascally  scribe,  therefore,  prepare  an  appeal  for  him,  and  I  receive 
an  invitation  to  attend  the  Session  of  Justices  in  the  district  town 
on  a  certain  day. 

"  It  is  a  good  five-and-thirty  miles  to  the  district  town,  as  you 
know,  but  I  get  up  early,  and  arrive  at  eleven  o'clock,  the  hour 


38  EUSSIA 

stated  in  the  official  notice.  A  crowd  of  peasants  are  hanging 
about  the  door  of  the  court,  but  the  only  official  present  is  the 
porter.  I  enquire  of  him  when  my  case  is  likely  to  come  on, 
and  receive  the  laconic  answer,  '  How  should  I  know  ? '  After  half 
an  hour  the  secretary  arrives.  I  repeat  my  question,  and  receive 
the  same  answer.  Another  half  hour  passes,  and  one  of  the  justices 
drives  up  in  his  tarantass.  Perhaps  he  is  a  glib-tongued  gentle- 
man, and  assures  me  that  the  proceedings  will  commence  at  once: 
'  Sei  tchas !  sei  tchas ! '  Don't  believe  what  the  priest  or  the  dic- 
tionary tells  you  about  the  meaning  of  that  expression.  The 
dictionary  will  tell  you  that  it  means  '  immediately,'  but  that's  all 
nonsense.  In  the  mouth  of  a  Eussian  it  means  *in  an  hour,' 
'  next  week,'  '  in  a  year  or  two,'  ^  never ' — most  commonly  '  never.' 
Like  many  other  words  in  Eussian,  '  sei  tchas '  can  be  understood 
only  after  long  experience.  A  second  justice  drives  up,  and  then 
a  third.  No  more  are  required  by  law,  but  these  gentlemen  must 
first  smoke  several  cigarettes  and  discuss  all  the  local  news  before 
they  begin  work. 

"  At  last  they  take  their  seats  on  the  bench — a  slightly  elevated 
platform  at  one  end  of  the  room,  behind  a  table  covered  with 
green  baize — and  the  proceedings  commence.  My  case  is  sure  to 
be  pretty  far  down  on  the  list — the  secretary  takes,  I  believe, 
a  malicious  pleasure  in  watching  my  impatience — and  before  it 
is  called  the  justices  have  to  retire  at  least  once  for  refreshments 
and  cigarettes.  I  have  to  amuse  myself  by  listening  to  the  other 
cases,  and  some  of  them,  I  can  assure  you,  are  amusing  enough. 
The  walls  of  that  room  must  be  by  this  time  pretty  well  saturated 
with  perjury,  and  many  of  the  witnesses  catch  at  once  the  infection. 
Perhaps  I  may  tell  you  some  other  time  a  few  of  the  amusing 
incidents  that  I  have  seen  there.  At  last  my  case  is  called.  It  is 
as  clear  as  daylight,  but  the  rascally  pettifogger  is  there  with  a 
long-prepared  speech.  He  holds  in  his  hand  a  small  volume  of  the 
codified  law,  and  quotes  paragraphs  which  no  amount  of  human 
ingenuity  can  make  to  bear  upon  the  subject.  Perhaps  the  previous 
decision  is  confirmed ;  perhaps  it  is  reversed ;  in  either  case,  I  have 
lost  a  second  day  and  exhausted  more  patience  than  I  can  con- 
veniently spare.  And  something  even  worse  may  happen,  as  I 
know  by  experience.  Once  during  a  case  of  mine  there  was  some 
little  informality — someone  inadvertently  opened  the  door  of  the 
consulting-room  when  the  decision  was  being  written,  or  some  other 
little  incident  of  the  sort  occurred,  and  the  rascally  pettifogger 
complained  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  Eevision,  which  is  a  part  of 


VOLUNTAEY   EXILE  39 

the  Senate.  The  case  was  all  about  a  few  roubles,  but  it  was 
discussed  in  St.  Petersburg,  and  afterwards  tried  over  again  by 
another  court  of  justices.  Now  I  have  paid  my  Lehrgeld,  and  go 
no  more  to  law." 

"  Then  you  must  expose  yourself  to  all  kinds  of  extortion  ?  " 

"  Not  so  much  as  you  might  imagine.  I  have  my  own  way  of 
dispensing  justice.  When  I  catch  a  peasant's  horse  or  cow  in  our 
fields,  I  lock  it  up  and  make  the  owner  pay  a  ransom." 

"  Is  it  not  rather  dangerous,"  I  inquired,  "  to  take  the  law  thus 
into  your  own  hands?  I  have  heard  that  the  Russian  justices  are 
extremely  severe  against  any  one  who  has  recourse  to  what  your 
German  jurists  call  Selbsthiilfe" 

"  That  they  are !  So  long  as  you  are  in  Eussia,  you  had  much 
better  let  yourself  be  quietly  robbed  than  use  any  violence  against 
the  robber.  It  is  less  trouble,  and  it  is  cheaper  in  the  long  run. 
If  you  do  not,  you  may  unexpectedly  find  yourself  some  fine  morn- 
ing in  prison!  You  must  know  that  many  of  the  young  justices 
belong  to  the  new  school  of  morals." 

"  What  is  that  ?  I  have  not  heard  of  any  new  discoveries  lately 
in  the  sphere  of  speculative  ethics." 

"  Well,  to  tell  you  the  truth,  I  am  not  one  of  the  initiated,  and 
I  can  only  tell  you  what  I  hear.  So  far  as  I  have  noticed,  the 
representatives  of  the  new  doctrine  talk  chiefly  about  Gumannost' 
and  Tchelovetclieskoe  dostoinstvo.    You  know  what  these  words 


mean 


?" 


"  Humanity,  or  rather  humanitarianism  and  human  dignity,"  I 
replied,  not  sorry  to  give  a  proof  that  I  was  advancing  in  my 
studies. 

"  There,  again,  you  allow  your  dictionary  and  your  priest  to 
mislead  you.  These  terms,  when  used  by  a  Eussian,  cover  much 
more  than  we  understand  by  them,  and  those  who  use  them  most 
frequently  have  generally  a  special  tenderness  for  all  kinds  of 
malefactors.  In  the  old  times,  malefactors  were  popularly  believed 
to  be  bad,  dangerous  people;  but  it  has  been  lately  discovered  that 
this  is  a  delusion.  A  young  proprietor  who  lives  not  far  oif  assures 
me  that  they  are  the  true  Protestants,  and  the  most  powerful  social 
reformers !  They  protest  practically  against  those  imperfections  of 
social  organisation  of  which  they  are  the  involuntary  victims.  The 
feeble,  characterless  man  quietly  submits  to  his  chains;  the  bold, 
generous,  strong  man  breaks  his  fetters,  and  helps  others  to  do 
the  same.  A  very  ingenious  defence  of  all  kinds  of  rascality, 
isn't  it?" 


40  RUSSIA 

"  Well,  it  is  a  theory  that  might  certainly  be  carried  too  far,  and 
might  easily  lead  to  very  inconvenient  conclusions;  but  I  am  not 
sure  that,  theoretically  speaking,  it  does  not  contain  a  certain 
element  of  truth.  It  ought  at  least  to  foster  that  charity  which 
we  are  enjoined  to  practise  towards  all  men.  But  perhaps  'all 
men'  does  not  include  publicans  and  sinners?" 

On  hearing  these  words  Karl  Karl'itch  turned  to  me,  and  every 
feature  of  his  honest  German  face  expressed  the  most  undisguised 
astonishment.  "Are  you,  too,  a  Nihilist?"  he  inquired,  as  soon 
as  he  had  partially  recovered  his  breath. 

"  I  really  don't  know  what  a  Nihilist  is,  but  I  may  assure  you 
that  I  am  not  an  '  ist '  of  any  kind.     What  is  a  Nihilist?  " 

"  If  you  live  long  in  Eussia  you'll  learn  that  without  my  telling 
you.  As  I  was  saying,  I  am  not  at  all  afraid  of  the  peasants  citing 
me  before  the  justice.  They  know  better  now.  If  they  gave  me 
too  much  trouble  I  could  starve  their  cattle." 

"  Yes,  when  you  catch  them  in  your  fields,"  I  remarked,  taking 
no  notice  of  the  abrupt  turn  which  he  had  given  to  the  conversation. 

"I  can  do  it  without  that.  You  must  know  that,  by  the 
Emancipation  Law,  the  peasants  received  arable  land,  but  they 
received  little  or  no  pasturage.  I  have  the  whip  hand  of  them 
there!" 

The  remarks  of  Karl  Karl'itch  on  men  and  things  were  to  me 
always  interesting,  for  he  was  a  shrewd  observer,  and  displayed 
occasionally  a  pleasant,  dry  humour.  But  I  very  soon  discovered 
that  his  opinions  were  not  to  be  accepted  without  reserve.  His 
strong,  inflexible  Teutonic  nature  often  prevented  him  from  judg- 
ing impartially.  He  had  no  sympathy  with  the  men  and  the 
institutions  around  him,  and  consequently  he  was  unable  to  see 
things  from  the  inside.  The  specks  and  blemishes  on  the  surface 
he  perceived  clearly  enough,  but  he  had  no  knowledge  of  the  secret, 
deep-rooted  causes  by  which  these  specks  and  blemishes  were  pro- 
duced. The  simple  fact  that  a  man  was  a  Eussian  satisfactorily 
accounted,  in  his  opinion,  for  any  kind  of  moral  deformity;  and 
his  knowledge  turned  out  to  be  by  no  means  so  extensive  as  I  had 
at  first  supposed.  Though  he  had  been  many  years  in  the  country, 
he  knew  very  little  about  the  life  of  the  peasants  beyond  that  small 
part  of  it  which  concerned  directly  his  own  interests  and  those  of 
his  employer.  Of  the  communal  organisation,  domestic  life,  relig- 
ious beliefs,  ceremonial  practices,  and  nomadic  habits  of  his 
humble  neighbours,  he  knew  little,  and  the  little  he  happened  to 
know  was  far  from  accurate.     In  order  to  gain  a  knowledge  of 


VOLUNTAKY   EXILE  41 

these  matters  it  would  be  better,  I  perceived,  to  consult  the  priest, 
or,  better  still,  the  peasants  themselves.  But  to  do  this  it  would 
be  necessary  to  understand  easily  and  speak  fluently  the  colloquial 
language,  and  I  was  still  very  far  from  having  acquired  the 
requisite  proficiency. 

Even  for  one  who  possesses  a  natural  facility  for  acquiring 
foreign  tongues,  the  learning  of  Eussian  is  by  no  means  an  easy 
task.  Though  it  is  essentially  an  Aryan  language  like  our  own, 
and  contains  only  a  slight  intermixture  of  Tartar  words, — such  as 
hashlyh  (a  hood),  kalpah  (a  night-cap),  ai-huz  (a  water-melon), 
etc. — it  has  certain  sounds  unknown  to  West-European  ears,  and 
difficult  for  West-European  tongues,  and  its  roots,  though  in  great 
part  derived  from  the  same  original  stock  as  those  of  the  GraBCO- 
Latin  and  Teutonic  languages,  are  generally  not  at  all  easily  recog- 
nised. As  an  illustration  of  this,  take  the  Eussian  word  otets. 
Strange  as  it  may  at  first  sight  appear,  this  word  is  merely  another 
form  of  our  word  father,  of  the  German  vater,  and  of  the  French 
pcre.  The  syllable  ets  is  the  ordinary  Eussian  termination  denoting 
the  agent,  corresponding  to  the  English  and  German  ending  er,  as 
we  see  in  such  words  as — Imp-ets  (a  buyer),  plov-ets  (a  swimmer), 
and  many  others.  The  root  ot  is  a  mutilated  form  of  vot,  as  we 
see  in  the  word  otchina  (a  paternal  inheritance),  which  is  fre- 
quently written  votcliina.  Now  vot  is  evidently  the  same  root  as 
the  German  vat  in  Yater,  and  the  English  fath  in  father.  Quod 
erat  demonstrandum. 

All  this  is  simple  enough,  and  goes  to  prove  the  fundamental 
identity,  or  rather  the  community  of  origin,  of  the  Slav  and 
Teutonic  languages;  but  it  will  be  readily  understood  that 
etymological  analogies  so  carefully  disguised  are  of  little  practical 
use  in  helping  us  to  acquire  a  foreign  tongue.  Besides  this, 
the  grammatical  forms  and  constructions  in  Eussian  are  very 
peculiar,  and  present  a  great  many  strange  irregidarities.  As  an 
illustration  of  this  we  may  take  the  future  tense.  The  Eussian 
verb  has  commonly  a  simple  and  a  frequentative  future.  The 
latter  is  always  regularly  formed  by  means  of  an  auxiliary  with 
the  infinitive,  as  in  English,  but  the  former  is  constructed  in  a 
variety  of  ways,  for  which  no  rule  can  be  given,  so  that  the  simple 
future  of  each  individual  verb  must  be  learned  by  a  pure  effort  of 
memory.  In  many  verbs  it  is  formed  by  prefixing  a  preposition, 
but  it  is  impossible  to  determine  by  rule  which  preposition  should 
be  used.  Thus  idu  (1  go)  becomes  poidu;  pishu  (I  write)  becomes 
napishu;  pyu  (I  drink)  becomes  vuipyu,  and  so  on. 


43  EUSSIA 

Closely  akin  to  the  difficulties  of  pronunciation  is  the  difficulty 
of  accentuating  the  proper  syllable.  In  this  respect  Eussian  is 
like  Greek ;  you  can  rarely  tell  a  priori  on  what  syllable  the  accent 
falls.  But  it  is  more  puzzling  than  Greek,  for  two  reasons :  firstly, 
it  is  not  customary  to  print  Eussian  with  accents;  and  secondly, 
no  one  has  yet  been  able  to  lay  down  precise  rules  for  the  trans- 
position of  the  accent  in  the  various  inflections  of  the  same  word. 
Of  this  latter  peculiarity,  let  one  illustration  suffice.  The  word 
Tukd  (hand)  has  the  accent  on  the  last  syllable,  but  in  the  accusa- 
tive {ruku)  the  accent  goes  back  to  the  first  syllable.  It  must  not, 
however,  be  assumed  that  in  all  words  of  this  type  a  similar  trans- 
position takes  place.  The  word  heda  (misfortune),  for  instance, 
as  well  as  very  many  others,  always  retains  the  accent  on  the  last 
syllable. 

These  and  many  similar  difficulties,  which  need  not  be  here 
enumerated,  can  be  mastered  only  by  long  practice.  Serious  as 
they  are,  they  need  not  frighten  any  one  who  is  in  the  habit  of 
learning  foreign  tongues.  The  ear  and  the  tongue  gradually  be- 
come familiar  with  the  peculiarities  of  inflection  and  accentuation, 
and  practice  fulfils  the  same  function  as  abstract  rules. 

It  is  commonly  supposed  that  Eussians  have  been  endowed  by 
Nature  with  a  peculiar  linguistic  talent.  Their  own  language,  it 
is  said,  is  so  difficult  that  they  have  no  difficulty  in  acquiring  others. 
This  common  belief  requires,  as  it  seems  to  me,  some  explanation. 
That  highly  educated  Eussians  are  better  linguists  than  the  edu- 
cated classes  of  Western  Europe  there  can  be  no  possible  doubt, 
for  they  almost  always  speak  French,  and  often  English  and  Ger- 
man also.  The  question,  however,  is  whether  this  is  the  result  of 
a  psychological  peculiarity,  or  of  other  causes.  Now,  without 
venturing  to  deny  the  existence  of  a  natural  faculty,  I  should  say 
that  the  other  causes  have  at  least  exercised  a  powerful  influence. 
Any  Eussian  who  wishes  to  be  regarded  as  civilise  must  possess  at 
least  one  foreign  language;  and,  as  a  consequence  of  this,  the 
children  of  the  upper  classes  are  always  taught  at  least  French  in 
their  infancy.  Many  households  comprise  a  German  nurse,  a 
French  tutor,  and  an  English  governess;  and  the  children  thus 
become  accustomed  from  their  earliest  years  to  the  use  of  these 
three  languages.  Besides  this,  Eussian  is  phonetically  very  rich 
and  contains  nearly  all  the  sounds  which  are  to  be  found  in  West- 
European  tongues.  Perhaps  on  the  whole  it  would  be  well  to 
apply  here  the  Darwinian  theory,  and  suppose  that  the  Eussian 
Noblesse,  having  been  obliged  for  several  generations  to  acquire 


VOLUNTARY   EXILE  43 

foreign  languages,  have  gradually  developed  a  hereditary  polyglot 
talent. 

Several  circumstances  concurred  to  assist  me  in  my  efforts, 
during  my  voluntary  exile,  to  acquire  at  least  such  a  knowledge  of 
the  language  as  would  enable  me  to  converse  freely  with  the  peas- 
antry. In  the  first  place,  my  reverend  teacher  was  an  agreeable, 
kindly,  talkative  man,  who  took  a  great  delight  in  telling  inter- 
minable stories,  quite  independently  of  any  satisfaction  which  he 
might  derive  from  the  consciousness  of  their  being  understood  and 
appreciated.  Even  when  walking  alone  he  was  always  muttering 
something  to  an  imaginary  listener.  A  stranger  meeting  him  on 
such  occasions  might  have  supposed  that  he  was  holding  converse 
with  unseen  spirits,  though  his  broad  muscular  form  and  rubicund 
face  militated  strongly  against  such  a  supposition;  but  no  man, 
woman,  or  child  living  within  a  radius  of  ten  miles  would  ever 
have  fallen  into  this  mistake.  Every  one  in  the  neighbourhood 
knew  that  "Batushka"  (papa),  as  he  was  familiarly  called,  was 
too  prosaical,  practical  a  man  to  see  things  ethereal,  that  he  was 
an  irrepressible  talker,  and  that  when  he  could  not  conveniently 
find  an  audience  he  created  one  by  his  own  imagination.  This 
peculiarity  of  his  rendered  me  good  service.  Though  for  some 
time  I  understood  very  little  of  what  he  said,  and  very  often  mis- 
placed the  positive  and  negative  monosyllables  which  I  hazarded 
occasionally  by  way  of  encouragement,  he  talked  vigorously  all  the 
same.  Like  all  garrulous  people,  he  was  constantly  repeating  him- 
self; but  to  this  I  did  not  object,  for  the  custom — however  dis- 
agreeable in  ordinary  society — was  for  me  highly  beneficial,  and 
when  I  had  already  heard  a  story  once  or  twice  before,  it  was  much 
easier  for  me  to  assume  at  the  proper  moment  the  requisite 
expression  of  countenance. 

Another  fortunate  circumstance  was  that  at  Ivanofka  there  were 
no  distractions,  so  that  the  whole  of  the  day  and  a  great  part  of 
the  night  could  be  devoted  to  study.  My  chief  amusement  was  an 
occasional  walk  in  the  fields  with  Karl  Karl'itch;  and  even  this 
mild  form  of  dissipation  could  not  always  be  obtained,  for  as  soon 
as  rain  had  fallen  it  was  difficult  to  go  beyond  the  verandah — the 
mud  precluding  the  possibility  of  a  constitutional.  The  nearest 
approach  to  excitement  was  mushroom-gathering ;  and  in  this  occu- 
pation my  inability  to  distinguish  the  edible  from  the  poisonous 
species  made  my  efforts  unacceptable.  We  lived  so  "  far  from  the 
madding  crowd  "  that  its  din  scarcely  reached  our  ears.  A  week  or 
ten  days  might  pass  without  our  receiving  any  intelligence  from 


44  RUSSIA 

the  outer  world.  The  nearest  post-office  was  in  the  district  town, 
and  with  that  distant  point  we  had  no  regular  system  of  communi- 
cation. Letters  and  newspapers  remained  there  till  called  for, 
and  were  brought  to  us  intermittently  when  some  one  of  our 
neighbours  happened  to  pass  that  way.  Current  history  was  thus 
administered  to  us  in  big  doses. 

One  very  big  dose  I  remember  well.  For  a  much  longer  time 
than  usual  no  volunteer  letter-carrier  had  appeared,  and  the  delay 
was  more  than  usually  tantalising,  because  it  was  known  that  war 
had  broken  out  between  France  and  Germany.  At  last  a  big 
bundle  of  a  daily  paper  called  the  Golos  was  brought  to  me.  Im- 
patient to  learn  whether  any  great  battle  had  been  fought,  I  began 
by  examining  the  latest  number,  and  stumbled  at  once  on  an  article 
headed,  "  Latest  Intelligence :  the  Emperor  at  Wilhelmshohe ! ! !  " 
The  large  type  in  which  the  heading  was  printed  and  the  three 
marks  of  exclamation  showed  plainly  that  the  article  was  very 
important.  I  began  to  read  with  avidity,  but  was  utterly  mystified. 
What  emperor  was  this?  Probably  the  Tsar  or  the  Emperor  of 
Austria,  for  there  was  no  German  Emperor  in  those  days.  But 
no!  It  was  evidently  the  Emperor  of  the  French.  And  how  did 
ISTapoleon  get  to  Wilhelmshohe?  The  French  must  have  broken 
through  the  Ehine  defences,  and  pushed  far  into  Germany.  But 
no !  As  I  read  further,  I  found  this  theory  equally  untenable.  It 
turned  out  that  the  Emperor  was  surrounded  by  Germans,  and — a 
prisoner!  In  order  to  solve  the  mystery,  I  had  to  go  back  to  the 
preceding  numbers  of  the  paper,  and  learned,  at  a  sitting,  all 
about  the  successive  German  victories,  the  defeat  and  capitulation 
of  Macmahon's  army  at  Sedan,  and  the  other  great  events  of  that 
momentous  time.  The  impression  produced  can  scarcely  be  real- 
ised by  those  who  have  always  imbibed  current  history  in  the 
homoeopathic  doses  administered  by  the  morning  and  evening  daily 
papers. 

By  the  useful  loquacity  of  my  teacher  and  the  possibility  of 
devoting  all  my  time  to  my  linguistic  studies,  I  made  such  rapid 
progress  in  the  acquisition  of  the  language  that  I  was  able  after 
a  few  weeks  to  understand  much  of  what  was  said  to  me,  and  to 
express  myself  in  a  vague,  roundabout  way.  In  the  latter  operation 
I  was  much  assisted  by  a  peculiar  faculty  of  divination  which  the 
Eussians  possess  in  a  high  degree.  If  a  foreigner  succeeds  in 
expressing  about  one-fourth  of  an  idea,  the  Russian  peasant  can 
generally  fill  up  the  remaining  three-fourths  from  his  own 
intuition. 


VOLUNTAEY   EXILE  45 

As  my  powers  of  comprehension  increased,  my  long  conversations 
with  the  priest  became  more  and  more  instructive.  At  first  his 
remarks  and  stories  had  for  me  simply  a  philological  interest,  but 
gradually  I  perceived  that  his  talk  contained  a  great  deal  of  solid, 
curious  information  regarding  himself  and  the  class  to  which  he 
belonged— information  of  a  kind  not  commonly  found  in  gram- 
matical exercises.  Some  of  this  I  now  propose  to  communicate 
to  the  reader. 


CHAPTER   IV 

THE   VILLAGE   PRIEST 

Priests'  Names— Clerical  Marriages— The  White  and  the  Black  Clergy 
— Why  the  People  do  not  Respect  the  Parish  Priests — History  of  the 
White  Clergy — ^The  Parish  Priest  and  the  Protestant  Pastor — In 
What  Sense  the  Russian  People  are  Religious — Icons — The  Clergy 
and  Popular  Education — Ecclesiastical  Reform — Premonitory  Symp- 
toms of  Change — Two  Typical  Specimens  of  the  Parochial  Clergy 
of  the  Present  Day. 

IN  formal  introductions  it  is  customary  to  pronounce  in  a  more 
or  less  inaudible  voice  the  names  of  the  two  persons  introduced. 
Circumstances  compel  me  in  the  present  case  to  depart  from  re- 
ceived custom.  The  truth  is,  I  do  not  know  the  names  of  the  two 
people  whom  I  wish  to  bring  together!  The  reader  who  knows 
his  own  name  will  readily  pardon  one-half  of  my  ignorance,  but 
he  may  naturally  expect  that  I  should  know  the  name  of  a  man 
with  whom  I  profess  to  be  acquainted,  and  with  whom  I  daily  held 
long  conversations  during  a  period  of  several  months.  Strange 
as  it  may  seem,  I  do  not.  During  all  the  time  of  my  sojourn  in 
Ivanof ka  I  never  heard  him  addressed  or  spoken  of  otherwise  than 
as  "Batushka."  Now  "Batushka"  is  not  a  name  at  all.  It  is 
simply  the  diminutive  form  of  an  obsolete  word  meaning  "  father," 
and  is  usually  applied  to  all  village  priests.  The  ushha  is  a 
common  diminutive  termination,  and  the  root  Bat  is  evidently  the 
same  as  that  which  appears  in  the  Latin  pater. 

Though  I  do  not  happen  to  know  what  Batushka's  family  name 
was,  I  can  communicate  two  curious  facts  concerning  it:  he  had 
not  possessed  it  in  his  childhood,  and  it  was  not  the  same  as  his 
father's. 

The  reader  whose  intuitive  powers  have  been  preternaturally 
sharpened  by  a  long  course  of  sensation  novels  will  probably  leap 
to  the  conclusion  that  Batushka  was  a  mysterious  individual,  very 
different  from  what  he  seemed — either  the  illegitimate  son  of  some 
great  personage,  or  a  man  of  high  birth  who  had  committed  some 
great  sin,  and  who  now  sought  oblivion  and  expiation  in  the  humble 
duties  of  a  parish  priest.     Let  me  dispel  at  once  all  delusions  of 

46 


THE    VILLAGE    PEIEST  47 

this  kind.  Batushka  was  actually  as  well  as  legally  the  legitimate 
son  of  an  ordinary  parish  priest,  who  was  still  living,  about  twenty 
miles  off,  and  for  many  generations  all  his  paternal  and  maternal 
ancestors,  male  and  female,  had  belonged  to  the  priestly  caste. 
He  was  thus  a  Levite  of  the  purest  water,  and  thoroughly  Levitical 
in  his  character.  Though  he  knew  by  experience  something  about 
the  weakness  of  the  flesh,  he  had  never  committed  any  sins  of  the 
heroic  kind,  and  had  no  reason  to  conceal  his  origin.  The  curious 
facts  above  stated  were  simply  the  result  of  a  peculiar  custom  which 
exists  among  the  Eussian  clergy.  According  to  this  custom,  when 
a  boy  enters  the  seminary  he  receives  from  the  Bishop  a  new  family 
name.  The  name  may  be  Bogoslafski,  from  a  word  signifying 
"  Theology,"  or  Bogolubof,  "  the  love  of  God,"  or  some  similar 
term;  or  it  may  be  derived  from  the  name  of  the  boy^s  native 
village,  or  from  any  other  word  which  the  Bishop  thinks  fit  to 
choose.  I  know  of  one  instance  where  a  Bishop  chose  two  French 
words  for  the  purpose.  He  had  intended  to  call  the  boy  A-^eliko- 
selski,  after  his  native  place,  Velikoe  Selo,  which  means  "  big  vil- 
lage"; but  finding  that  there  was  already  a  Velikoselski  in  the 
seminary,  and  being  in  a  facetious  frame  of  mind,  he  called  the 
new  comer  Grandvillageski — a  word  that  may  perhaps  sorely  puzzle 
some  philologist  of  the  future. 

My  reverend  teacher  was  a  tall,  muscular  man  of  about  forty 
years  of  age,  with  a  full  dark-brown  beard,  and  long  lank  hair 
falling  over  his  shoulders.  The  visible  parts  of  his  dress  consisted 
of  three  articles — a  dingy-brown  robe  of  coarse  material  buttoned 
closely  at  the  neck  and  descending  to  the  ground,  a  wideawake  hat, 
and  a  pair  of  large,  heavy  boots.  As  to  the  esoteric  parts  of  his 
attire,  I  refrained  from  making  investigations.  His  life  had  been 
an  uneventful  one.  At  an  early  age  he  had  been  sent  to  the 
seminary  in  the  chief  town  of  the  province,  and  had  made  for 
himself  the  reputation  of  a  good  average  scholar.  "  The  seminary 
of  that  time,"  he  used  to  say  to  me,  referring  to  that  part  of  his 
life,  "  was  not  what  it  is  now.  Nowadays  the  teachers  talk  about 
humanitarianism,  and  the  boys  would  think  that  a  crime  had  been 
committed  against  human  dignity  if  one  of  them  happened  to  be 
flogged.  But  they  don't  consider  that  human  dignity  is  at  all 
affected  by  their  getting  drunk,  and  going  to — to — to  places  that 
I  never  went  to.  I  was  flogged  often  enough,  and  I  don't  think 
that  I  am  a  worse  man  on  that  account;  and  though  I  never  heard 
then  anything  about  pedagogical  science  that  they  talk  so  much 
about  now,  I'll  read  a  bit  of  Latin  yet  with  the  best  of  them. 


48  .  EUSSIA 

"When  my  studies  were  finished,"  said  Batnshka,  continuing 
the  simple  story  of  his  life,  "the  Bishop  found  a  wife  for  me, 
and  I  succeeded  her  father,  who  was  then  an  old  man.  In  that 
way  I  became  a  priest  of  Ivanofka,  and  have  remained  here  ever 
since.  It  is  a  hard  life,  for  the  parish  is  big,  and  my  bit  of  land 
is  not  very  fertile ;  but,  praise  be  to  God !  I  am  healthy  and  strong, 
and  get  on  well  enough." 

"  You  said  that  the  Bishop  found  a  wife  for  you,"  I  remarked. 
"  I  suppose,  therefore,  that  he  was  a  great  friend  of  yours." 

"  Not  at  all.  The  Bishop  does  the  same  for  all  the  seminarists 
who  wish  to  be  ordained:  it  is  an  important  part  of  his  pastoral 
duties." 

"  Indeed !  "  I  exclaimed  in  astonishment.  "  Surely  that  is  car- 
rying the  system  of  paternal  government  a  little  too  far.  Why 
should  his  Eeverence  meddle  with  things  that  don't  concern  him  ?  " 

"  But  these  matters  do  concern  him.  He  is  the  natural  pro- 
tector of  widows  and  orphans,  especially  among  the  clergy  of  his 
own  diocese.  When  a  parish  priest  dies,  what  is  to  become  of  his 
wife  and  daughters  ?  " 

Not  perceiving  clearly  the  exact  bearing  of  these  last  remarks, 
I  ventured  to  suggest  that  priests  ought  to  economise  in  view  of 
future  contingencies. 

"  It  is  easy  to  speak,"  replied  Batushka :  "  ^  A  story  is  soon  told,' 
as  the  old  proverb  has  it,  '  but  a  thing  is  not  soon  done.'  How  are 
we  to  economise?  Even  without  saving  we  have  the  greatest 
difficulty  to  make  the  two  ends  meet." 

"  Then  the  widow  and  daughters  might  work  and  gain  a  liveli- 
hood." 

"  What,  pray,  could  they  work  at  ?  "  asked  Batushka,  and  paused 
for  a  reply.  Seeing  that  I  had  none  to  offer  him,  he  continued, 
"  Even  the  house  and  land  belong  not  to  them,  but  to  the  new 
priest." 

"  If  that  position  occurred  in  a  novel,"  I  said,  "  I  could  foretell 
what  would  happen.  The  author  would  make  the  new  priest  fall  in 
love  with  and  marry  one  of  the  daughters,  and  then  the  whole  family, 
including  the  mother-in-law,  would  live  happily  ever  afterwards," 

"  That  is  exactly  how  the  Bishop  arranges  the  matter.  What 
the  novelist  does  with  the  puppets  of  his  imagination,  the  Bishop 
does  with  real  beings  of  flesh  and  blood.  As  a  rational  being  he 
cannot  leave  things  to  chance.  Besides  this,  he  must  arrange  the 
matter  before  the  young  man  takes  orders,  because,  by  the  rules  of 
the  Church,  the  marriage  cannot  take  place  after  the  ceremony 


THE    VILLAGE    PRIEST  49 

of  ordination.  "When  the  affair  is  arranged  before  the  charge  be- 
comes vacant,  the  old  priest  can  die  with  the  pleasant  consciousness 
that  his  family  is  provided  for." 

"  Well,  Btitushka,  you  certainly  put  the  matter  in  a  very  plausible 
way,  but  there  seem  to  be  two  flaws  in  the  analogy.  The  novelist 
can  make  two  people  fall  in  love  with  each  other,  and  make  them 
live  happily  together  with  the  mother-in-law,  but  that — with  all 
due  respect  to  his  Reverence,  be  it  said — is  beyond  the  power  of  a 
Bishop." 

"  I  am  not  sure,"  said  Batnshka,  avoiding  the  point  of  the 
objection,  "that  love-marriages  are  always  the  happiest  ones;  and 
as  to  the  mother-in-law,  there  are — or  at  least  there  were  until  the 
emancipation  of  the  serfs — a  mother-in-law  and  several  daughters- 
in-law  in  almost  every  peasant  household." 

"  And  does  harmony  generally  reign  in  peasant  households  ?  " 

"  That  depends  upon  the  head  of  the  house.  If  he  is  a  man  of 
the  right  sort,  he  can  keep  the  women-folks  in  order."  This  re- 
mark was  made  in  an  energetic  tone,  with  the  evident  intention 
of  assuring  me  that  the  speaker  was  himself  "  a  man  of  the  right 
sort " ;  but  I  did  not  attribute  much  importance  to  it,  for  I  have 
occasionally  heard  henpecked  husbands  talk  in  this  grandiloquent 
way  when  their  wives  were  out  of  hearing.  Altogether  I  was  by 
no  means  convinced  that  the  system  of  providing  for  the  widows 
and  orphans  of  the  clergy  by  means  of  manages  de  convenance  was 
a  good  one,  but  I  determined  to  suspend  my  judgment  until  I 
should  obtain  fuller  information. 

An  additional  bit  of  evidence  came  to  me  a  week  or  two  later. 
One  morning,  on  going  into  the  priest's  house,  I  found  that  he 
had  a  friend  with  him — the  priest  of  a  village  some  fifteen  miles 
off.  Before  we  had  got  through  the  ordinary  conventional  re- 
marks about  the  weather  and  the  crops,  a  peasant  drove  up  to  the 
door  in  his  cart  with  n  message  that  an  old  peasant  was  dying  in  a 
neighbouring  village,  and  desired  the  last  consolations  of  religion. 
Batushka  was  thus  obliged  to  leave  us,  and  his  friend  and  I  agreed  to 
stroll  leisurely  in  the  direction  of  the  village  to  which  he  was  going, 
so  as  to  meet  him  on  his  way  home.  The  harvest  was  already 
finished,  so  that  our  road,  after  emerging  from  the  village,  lay 
through  stubble-fields.  Beyond  this  we  entered  the  pine  forest, 
and  by  the  time  we  had  reached  this  point  1  had  succeeded  in 
leading  the  conversation  to  the  subject  of  clerical  marriages. 

"  I  have  been  thinking  a  good  deal  on  this  subject,"  I  said,  "  and 
I  should  very  much  like  to  know  your  opinion  about  the  system." 


50  EUSSIA 

My  new  acquaintance  was  a  tall,  lean,  black-haired  man,  with  a 
sallow  complexion  and  vinegar  aspect — evidently  one  of  those 
unhappy  mortals  who  are  intended  by  Nature  to  take  a  pessimistic 
view  of  all  things,  and  to  point  out  to  their  fellows  the  deep 
shadows  of  human  life.  I  was  not  at  all  surprised,  therefore,  when 
he  replied  in  a  deep,  decided  tone,  "  Bad,  very  bad — utterly  bad !  " 

The  way  in  which  these  words  were  pronounced  left  no  doubt 
as  to  the  opinion  of  the  speaker,  but  I  was  desirous  of  knowing 
on  what  that  opinion  was  founded — more  especially  as  I  seemed 
to  detect  in  the  tone  a  note  of  personal  grievance.  My  answer  was 
shaped  accordingly. 

"  I  suspected  that ;  but  in  the  discussions  which  I  have  had  I 
have  always  been  placed  at  a  disadvantage,  not  being  able  to 
adduce  any  definite  facts  in  support  of  my  opinion." 

"  You  may  congratulate  yourself  on  being  unable  to  find  any  in 
your  own  experience.  A  mother-in-law  living  in  the  house  does 
not  conduce  to  domestic  harmony.  I  don't  know  how  it  is  in  your 
country,  but  so  it  is  with  us." 

I  hastened  to  assure  him  that  this  was  not  a  peculiarity  of 
Russia. 

"  I  know  it  only  too  well,"  he  continued.  "  My  mother-in-law 
lived  with  me  for  some  years,  and  I  was  obliged  at  last  to  insist 
on  her  going  to  another  son-in-law." 

"  Rather  selfish  conduct  towards  your  brother-in-law,"  I  said 
to  myself,  and  then  added  audibly,  "  I  hope  you  have  thus  solved 
the  difficulty  satisfactorily." 

"  Not  at  all.  Things  are  worse  now  than  they  were.  I  agreed 
to  pay  her  three  roubles  a  month,  and  have  regularly  fulfilled  my 
promise,  but  lately  she  has  thought  it  not  enough,  and  she  made 
a  complaint  to  the  Bishop.  Last  week  I  went  to  him  to  defend 
myself,  but  as  I  had  not  money  enough  for  all  the  officials  in  the 
Consistorium,  I  could  not  obtain  justice.  My  mother-in-law  had 
made  all  sorts  of  absurd  accusations  against  me,  and  consequently 
I  was  laid  under  an  inhibition  for  six  weeks ! " 

"  And  what  is  the  effect  of  an  inhibition  ?  " 

"  The  effect  is  that  I  cannot  perform  the  ordinary  rites  of  our 
religion.  It  is  really  very  unjust,"  he  added,  assuming  an  indig- 
nant tone,  "  and  very  annoying.  Think  of  all  the  hardship  and 
inconvenience  to  which  it  gives  rise." 

As  I  thought  of  the  hardship  and  ineonvenience  to  which  the 
parishioners  must  be  exposed  through  the  inconsiderate  conduct 
of  the  old  mother-in-law,  I  could  not  but  sympathise  with  my  new 


THE    VILLAGE    PRIEST  51 

acquaintance's  indignation.  My  sympathy  was,  however,  some- 
what cooled  when  I  perceived  that  I  was  on  a  wrong  tack,  and  that 
the  priest  was  looking  at  the  matter  from  an  entirely  difEerent  point 
of  view. 

"  You  see,"  he  said,  "  it  is  a  most  unfortunate  time  of  year.  The 
peasants  have  gathered  in  their  harvest,  and  can  give  of  their 
abundance.  There  are  merry-makings  and  marriages,  besides  the 
ordinary  deaths  and  baptisms.  Altogether  I  shall  lose  by  the 
thing  more  than  a  hundred  roubles ! " 

I  confess  I  was  a  little  shocked  on  hearing  the  priest  thus  speak 
of  his  sacred  functions  as  if  they  were  an  ordinary  marketable 
commodity,  and  talk  of  the  inhibition  as  a  pushing  undertaker 
might  talk  of  sanitary  improvements.  My  surprise  was  caused  not 
by  the  fact  that  he  regarded  the  matter  from  a  pecuniary  point  of 
view — for  I  was  old  enough  to  know  that  clerical  human  nature 
is  not  altogether  insensible  to  pecuniary  considerations — but  by  the 
fact  that  he  should  thus  undisguisedly  express  his  opinions  to  a 
stranger  without  in  the  least  suspecting  that  there  was  anything 
unseemly  in  his  way  of  speaking.  The  incident  appeared  to  me 
very  characteristic,  but  I  refrained  from  all  audible  comments,  lest 
I  should  inadvertently  check  his  communicativeness.  With  the 
view  of  encouraging  it,  I  professed  to  be  very  much  interested,  as  I 
really  was,  in  what  he  said,  and  I  asked  him  how  in  his  opinion  the 
present  unsatisfactory  state  of  things  might  be  remedied. 

"  There  is  but  one  cure,"  he  said,  with  a  readiness  that  showed 
he  had  often  spoken  on  the  theme  already,  "  and  that  is  freedom 
and  publicity.  We  full-grown  men  are  treated  like  children,  and 
watched  like  conspirators.  If  I  wish  to  preach  a  sermon — not  that 
I  often  wish  to  do  such  a  thing,  but  there  are  occasions  when  it  is 
advisable — I  am  expected  to  show  it  first  to  the  Blagotchinny, 
and " 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  who  is  the  Blagotchinny  ?  " 

"  The  Blagotchinny  is  a  parish  priest  who  is  in  direct  relations 
with  the  Consistory  of  the  Province,  and  who  is  supposed  to 
exercise  a  strict  supervision  over  all  the  other  parish  priests  of  his 
district.  He  acts  as  the  spy  of  the  Consistory,  which  is  filled  with 
greedy,  shameless  officials,  deaf  to  any  one  who  does  not  come 
provided  with  a  handful  of  roubles.  The  Bishop  may  be  a  good, 
well-intentioned  man,  but  he  always  sees  and  acts  through  these 
worthless  subordinates.  Besides  this,  the  Bishops  and  heads  of 
monasteries,  who  monopolise  the  higher  places  in  the  ecclesiastical 
Administration,  all  belong  to  the  Black  Clergy — that  is  to  say. 


52  EUSSIA 

they  are  all  monks — and  consequently  cannot  understand  our 
wants.  How  can  they,  on  whom  celibacy  is  imposed  by  the  rules 
of  the  Church,  understand  the  position  of  a  parish  priest  who  has 
to  bring  up  a  family  and  to  struggle  with  domestic  cares  of  every 
kind?  What  they  do  is  to  take  all  the  comfortable  places  for 
themselves,  and  leave  us  all  the  hard  work.  The  monasteries  are 
rich  enough,  and  you  see  how  poor  we  are.  Perhaps  you  have 
heard  that  the  parish  priests  extort  money  from  the  peasants — 
refusing  to  perform  the  rites  of  baptism  or  burial  until  a  consider- 
able sum  has  been  paid.  It  is  only  too  true,  but  who  is  to  blame? 
The  priest  must  live  and  bring  up  his  family,  and  you  cannot 
imagine  the  humiliations  to  which  he  has  to  submit  in  order  to 
gain  a  scanty  pittance.  I  know  it  by  experience.  WTien  I  make 
the  periodical  visitation  I  can  see  that  the  peasants  grudge  every 
handful  of  rye  and  every  egg  that  they  give  me.  I  can  overhear 
their  sneers  as  I  go  away,  and  I  know  they  have  many  sayings  such 
as — '  The  priest  takes  from  the  living  and  from  the  dead.'  Many 
of  them  fasten  their  doors,  pretending  to  be  away  from  home, 
and  do  not  even  take  the  precaution  of  keeping  silent  till  I  am  out 
of  hearing.'' 

"  You  surprise  me,"  I  said,  in  reply  to  the  last  part  of  this  long 
tirade ;  "  I  have  always  heard  that  the  Kussians  are  a  very  religious 
people — at  least,  the  lower  classes." 

"  So  they  are ;  but  the  peasantry  are  poor  and  heavily  taxed. 
They  set  great  importance  on  the  sacraments,  and  observe  rigor- 
ously the  fasts,  which  comprise  nearly  a  half  of  the  year ;  but  they 
show  very  little  respect  for  their  priests,  who  are  almost  as  poor 
as  themselves." 

"  But  I  do  not  see  clearly  how  you  propose  to  remedy  this  state 
of  things." 

"  By  freedom  and  publicity,  as  I  said  before."  The  worthy  man 
seemed  to  have  learned  this  formula  by  rote.  "  First  of  all,  our 
wants  must  be  made  known.  In  some  provinces  there  have  been 
attempts  to  do  this  by  means  of  provincial  assemblies  of  the  clergy, 
but  these  efforts  have  always  been  strenuously  opposed  by  the 
Consistories,  whose  members  fear  publicity  above  all  things.  But 
in  order  to  have  publicity  we  must  have  more  freedom." 

Here  followed  a  long  discourse  on  freedom  and  publicity,  which 
seemed  to  me  very  confused.  So  far  as  I  could  understand  the 
argument,  there  was  a  good  deal  of  reasoning  in  a  circle.  Freedom 
was  necessary  in  order  to  get  publicity,  and  publicity  was  necessary 
in  order  to  get  freedom ;  and  the  practical  result  would  be  that  the 


THE    VILLAGE    PRIEST  53 

clergy  would  enjoy  bigger  salaries  and  more  popular  respect.  We 
had  only  got  thus  far  in  the  investigation  of  the  subject  when  our 
conversation  was  interrupted  by  the  rumbling  of  a  peasant's  cart. 
In  a  few  seconds  our  friend  Batushka  appeared,  and  the  conversa- 
tion took  a  different  turn. 

Since  that  time  I  have  frequently  spoken  on  this  subject  with 
competent  authorities,  and  nearly  all  have  admitted  that  the  present 
condition  of  the  clergy  is  highly  unsatisfactory,  and  that  the  parish 
priest  rarely  enjoys  the  respect  of  his  parishioners.  In  a  semi- 
ofEcial  report,  which  I  once  accidentally  stumbled  upon  when 
searching  for  material  of  a  different  kind,  the  facts  are  stated  in 
the  following  plain  language :  "  The  people  " — I  seek  to  translate 
as  literally  as  possible — "  do  not  respect  the  clergy,  but  persecute 
them  with  derision  and  reproaches,  and  feel  them  to  be  a  burden. 
In  nearly  all  the  popular  comic  stories  the  priest,  his  wife,  or 
his  labourer  is  held  up  to  ridicule,  and  in  all  the  proverbs  and 
popular  sayings  where  the  clergy  are  mentioned  it  is  always 
with  derision.  The  people  shun  the  clergy,  and  have  recourse  to 
them  not  from  the  inner  impulse  of  conscience,  but  from  neces- 
sity. .  .  .  And  why  do  the  people  not  respect  the  clergy? 
Because  it  forms  a  class  apart;  because,  having  received  a  false 
kind  of  education,  it  does  not  introduce  into  the  life  of  the 
people  the  teaching  of  the  Spirit,  but  remains  in  the  mere  dead 
forms  of  outward  ceremonial,  at  the  same  time  despising  these 
forms  even  to  blasphemy;  because  the  clergy  itself  continually 
presents  examples  of  want  of  respect  to  religion,  and  transforms  the 
service  of  God  into  a  profitable  trade.  Can  the  people  respect  the 
clergy  when  they  hear  how  one  priest  stole  money  from  below  the 
pillow  of  a  dying  man  at  the  moment  of  confession,  how  another 
was  publicly  dragged  out  of  a  house  of  ill-fame,  how  a  third 
christened  a  dog,  how  a  fourth  whilst  officiating  at  the  Easter  service 
was  dragged  by  the  hair  from  the  altar  by  the  deacon?  Is  it  pos- 
sible for  the  people  to  respect  priests  who  spend  their  time  in  the 
gin-shop,  write  fraudulent  petitions,  fight  with  the  cross  in  their 
hands,  and  abuse  each  other  in  bad  language  at  the  altar  ? 

"  One  might  fill  several  pages  with  examples  of  this  kind — in 
each  instance  naming  the  time  and  place — without  overstepping  the 
boundaries  of  the  province  of  Xizhni-Novgorod.  Is  it  possible  for 
the  people  to  respect  the  clergy  when  they  see  everywhere  amongst 
them  simony,  carelessness  in  performing  the  religious  rites,  and 
disorder  in  administering  the  sacraments?  Is  it  possible  for  the 
people  to  respect  the  clergy  when  they  see  that  truth  has  disap- 


54  EUSSIA 

peared  from  it,  and  that  the  Consistories,  guided  in  their  decisions 
not  by  rules,  but  by  personal  friendship  and  bribery,  destroy  in  it 
the  last  remains  of  truthfulness?  If  we  add  to  all  this  the  false 
certificates  which  the  clergy  give  to  those  who  do  not  wish  to  par- 
take of  the  Eucharist,  the  dues  illegally  extracted  from  the  Old 
Eitualists,  the  conversion  of  the  altar  into  a  source  of  revenue,  the 
giving  of  churches  to  priests'  daughters  as  a  dowry,  and  similar 
phenomena,  the  question  as  to  whether  the  people  can  respect  the 
clergy  requires  no  answer." 

As  these  words  were  written  by  an  orthodox  Eussian,*  celebrated 
for  his  extensive  and  intimate  knowledge  of  Eussian  provincial 
life,  and  were  addressed  in  all  seriousness  to  a  member  of  the 
Imperial  family,  we  may  safely  assume  that  they  contain  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  truth.  The  reader  must  not,  however,  imagine 
that  all  Evissian  priests  are  of  the  kind  above  referred  to.  Many  of 
them  are  honest,  respectable,  well-intentioned  men,  who  conscien- 
tiously fulfil  their  humble  duties,  and  strive  hard  to  procure  a  good 
education  for  their  children.  If  they  have  less  learning,  culture, 
and  refinement  than  the  Eoman  Catholic  priesthood,  they  have  at 
the  same  time  infinitely  less  fanaticism,  less  spiritual  pride,  and  less 
intolerance  towards  the  adherents  of  other  faiths. 

Both  the  good  and  the  bad  qualities  of  the  Eussian  priesthood  at 
the  present  time  can  be  easily  explained  by  its  past  history,  and  by 
certain  peculiarities  of  the  national  character. 

The  Eussian  White  Clergy — that  is  to  say,  the  parish  priests,  as 
distinguished  from  the  monks,  who  are  called  the  Black  Clergy — 
have  had  a  curious  history.  In  primitive  times  the;y  were  drawn 
from  all  classes  of  the  population,  and  freely  elected  by  the 
parishioners.  When  a  man  was  elected  by  the  popular  vote,  he 
was  presented  to  the  Bishop,  and  if  he  was  found  to  be  a  fit  and 
proper  person  for  the  office,  he  was  at  once  ordained.  But  this 
custom  early  fell  into  disuse.  The  Bishops,  finding  that  many 
of  the  candidates  presented  were  illiterate  peasants,  gradually 
assumed  the  right  of  appointing  the  priests,  with  or  without  the 
consent  of  the  parishioners;  and  their  choice  generally  fell  on 
the  sons  of  the  clergy  as  the  men  best  fitted  to  take  orders. 
The  creation  of  Bishops'  schools,  afterwards  called  seminaries, 
in  which  the  sons  of  the  clergy  were  educated,  naturally  led, 
in  the  course  of  time,  to  the  total  exclusion  of  the  other  classes. 
The  policy  of  the  civil  Government  led  to  the  same  end.     Peter 

*  Mr.  Melnikof,  in  a  "  secret "  Report  to  the  Grand  Duke  Constantine 
Nikolaievitch. 


THE   VILLAGE   PEIEST  55 

the  Great  laid  down  the  principle  that  every  subject  should  in 
some  way  serve  the  State — the  nobles  as  ofificers  in  the  army  or  navy, 
or  as  officials  in  the  civil  service;  the  clergy  as  ministers  of  religion; 
and  the  lower  classes  as  soldiers,  sailors,  or  tax-payers.  Of  these 
three  classes  the  clergy  had  by  far  the  lightest  burdens,  and  con- 
sequently many  nobles  and  peasants  would  willingly  have  entered 
its  ranks.  But  this  species  of  desertion  the  Government  could  not 
tolerate,  and  accordingly  the  priesthood  was  surrounded  by  a  legal 
barrier  which  prevented  all  outsiders  from  entering  it.  Thus  by 
the  combined  efforts  of  the  ecclesiastical  and  the  civil  Administra- 
tion the  clergy  became  a  separate  class  or  caste,  legally  and  actually 
incapable  of  mingling  with  the  other  classes  of  the  population. 

The  simple  fact  that  the  clergy  became  an  exclusive  caste,  with  a 
peculiar  character,  peculiar  habits,  and  peculiar  ideals,  would  in 
itself  have  had  a  prejudicial  influence  on  the  priesthood;  but  this 
was  not  all.  The  caste  increased  in  numbers  by  the  process  of 
natural  reproduction  much  more  rapidly  than  the  offices  to  be  filled, 
so  that  the  supply  of  priests  and  deacons  soon  far  exceeded  the 
demand ;  and  the  disproportion  between  supply  and  demand  became 
every  year  greater  and  greater.  In  this  way  was  formed  an  ever- 
increasing  clerical  Proletariat,  which — as  is  always  the  case  with 
a  Proletariat  of  any  kind — gravitated  towards  the  towns.  In  vain 
the  Government  issued  ukazes  prohibiting  the  priests  from  quit- 
ting their  places  of  domicile,  and  treated  as  vagrants  and  runaways 
those  who  disregarded  the  prohibition ;  in  vain  successive  sovereigns 
endeavoured  to  diminish  the  number  of  these  supernumeraries  by 
drafting  them  wholesale  into  the  army.  In  Moscow,  St.  Peters- 
burg, and  all  the  larger  towns  the  cry  was,  "  Still  they  come ! " 
Every  morning,  in  the  Kremlin  of  Moscow,  a  large  crowd  of  them 
assembled  for  the  purpose  of  being  hired  to  officiate  in  the  private 
chapels  of  the  rich  nobles,  and  a  great  deal  of  hard  bargaining  took 
place  between  the  priests  and  the  lackeys  sent  to  hire  them — con- 
ducted in  the  same  spirit,  and  in  nearly  the  same  forms,  as  that 
which  simultaneously  took  place  in  the  bazaar  close  by  between 
extortionate  traders  and  thrifty  housewives.  "Listen  to  me,"  a 
priest  would  say,  as  an  ultimatum,  to  a  lackey  who  was  trying  to 
beat  down  the  price:  "if  you  don't  give  me  seventy-five  kopeks 
without  further  ado,  I'll  take  a  bite  of  this  roll,  and  that  will  be 
an  end  to  it !  "  And  that  would  have  been  an  end  to  the  bargaining, 
for,  according  to  the  rules  of  the  Church,  a  priest  cannot  officiate 
after  breaking  his  fast.  The  ultimatum,  however,  could  be  used 
with  effect  only  to  country  servants  who  had  recently  come  to 


56  EUSSIA 

town.  A  sharp  lackey,  experienced  in  this  kind  of  diplomacy, 
would  have  laughed  at  the  threat,  and  replied  coolly,  "  Bite  away, 
Batushka ;  I  can  find  plenty  more  of  your  sort !  "  Amusing  scenes 
of  this  kind  I  have  heard  described  by  old  people  who  professed  to 
have  been  eye-witnesses. 

The  condition  of  the  priests  who  remained  in  the  villages  was 
not  much  better.  Those  of  them  who  were  fortunate  enough  to 
find  places  were  raised  at  least  above  the  fear  of  absolute  destitu- 
tion, but  their  position  was  by  no  means  enviable.  They  received 
little  consideration  or  respect  from  the  peasantry,  and  still  less 
from  the  nobles.  When  the  church  was  situated  not  on  the  State 
Domains,  but  on  a  private  estate,  they  were  practically  under  the 
power  of  the  proprietor — almost  as  completely  as  his  serfs;  and 
sometimes  that  power  was  exercised  in  a  most  humiliating  and 
shameful  way.  I  have  heard,  for  instance,  of  one  priest  who  was 
ducked  in  a  pond  on  a  cold  winter  day  for  the  amusement  of  the 
proprietor  and  his  guests — choice  spirits,  of  rough,  jovial  tempera- 
ment; and  of  another  who,  having  neglected  to  take  off  his  hat  as 
he  passed  the  proprietor's  house,  was  put  into  a  barrel  and  rolled 
down  a  hill  into  the  river  at  the  bottom ! 

In  citing  these  incidents,  I  do  not  at  all  mean  to  imply  that  they 
represent  the  relations  which  usually  existed  between  proprietors 
and  village  priests,  for  I  am  quite  aware  that  wanton  cruelty  was 
not  among  the  ordinary  vices  of  Russian  serf -owners.  My  object 
in  mentioning  the  incidents  is  to  show  how  a  brutal  proprietor — 
and  it  must  be  admitted  that  they  were  not  a  few  brutal  individuals 
in  the  class — could  maltreat  a  priest  without  much  danger  of  be- 
ing called  to  account  for  his  conduct.  Of  course  such  conduct 
was  an  offence  in  the  eyes  of  the  criminal  law;  but  the  crim- 
inal law  of  that  time  was  very  shortsighted,  and  strongly  dis- 
posed to  close  its  eyes  completely  when  the  offender  was  an  influ- 
ential proprietor.  Had  the  incidents  reached  the  ears  of  the 
Emperor  Nicholas  he  would  probably  have  ordered  the  culprit  to 
be  summarily  and  severely  punished ;  but,  as  the  Russian  proverb 
has  it,  "  Heaven  is  high,  and  the  Tsar  is  far  off."  A  village 
priest  treated  in  this  barbarous  way  could  have  little  hope  of 
redress,  and,  if  he  were  a  prudent  man,  he  would  make  no  attempt 
to  obtain  it ;  for  any  annoyance  which  he  might  give  the  proprietor 
by  complaining  to  the  ecclesiastical  authorities  would  be  sure  to 
be  paid  back  to  him  with  interest  in  some  indirect  way. 

The  sons  of  the  clergy  who  did  not  succeed  in  finding  regular 
sacerdotal  employment  were  in  a  still  worse  position.     Many  of 


THE   VILLAGE   PEIEST  57 

them  served  as  scribes  or  subordinate  officials  in  the  public  offices, 
where  they  commonly  eked  out  their  scanty  salaries  by  unblushing 
extortion  and  pilfering.  Those  who  did  not  succeed  in  gaining 
even  modest  employment  of  this  kind  had  to  keep  off  starvation  by 
less  lawful  means,  and  not  unfrequently  found  their  way  into  the 
prisons  or  to  Siberia. 

In  judging  of  the  Eussian  priesthood  of  the  present  time,  we 
must  call  to  mind  this  severe  school  through  which  it  has  passed, 
and  we  must  also  take  into  consideration  the  spirit  which  has  been 
for  centuries  predominant  in  the  Eastern  Church — I  mean  the 
strong  tendency  both  in  the  clergy  and  in  the  laity  to  attribute  an 
inordinate  importance  to  the  ceremonial  element  of  religion.  Prim- 
itive mankind  is  everywhere  and  always  disposed  to  regard  religion 
as  simply  a  mass  of  mysterious  rites  which  have  a  secret  magical 
power  of  averting  evil  in  this  world  and  securing  felicity  in  the 
next.  To  this  general  rule  the  Eussian  peasantry  are  no  exception, 
and  the  Eussian  Church  has  not  done  all  it  might  have  done  to 
eradicate  this  conception  and  to  bring  religion  into  closer  associa- 
tion with  ordinary  morality.  Hence  such  incidents  as  the  following 
are  still  possible :  A  robber  kills  and  rifles  a  traveller,  but  he  refrains 
from  eating  a  piece  of  cooked  meat  which  he  finds  in  the  cart, 
because  it  happens  to  be  a  fast-day;  a  peasant  prepares  to  rob  a 
young  attache  of  the  Austrian  Embassy  in  St.  Petersburg,  and  ulti- 
mately kills  his  victim,  but  before  going  to  the  house  he  enters  a 
church  and  commends  his  undertaking  to  the  protection  of  the 
saints;  a  housebreaker,  when  in  the  act  of  robbing  a  church, 
finds  it  difficult  to  extract  the  jewels  from  an  Icon,  and  makes  a 
vow  that  if  a  certain  saint  assists  him  he  will  place  a  rouble's-worth 
of  tapers  before  the  sainfs  image!  These  facts  are  within  the 
memory  of  the  present  generation.  I  knew  the  young  attache, 
and  saw  him  a  few  days  before  his  death. 

All  these  are  of  course  extreme  cases,  but  they  illustrate  a 
tendency  which  in  its  milder  forms  is  only  too  general  amongst 
the  Eussian  people — the  tendency  to  regard  religion  as  a  mass  of 
ceremonies  which  have  a  magical  rather  than  a  spiritual  signifi- 
cance. The  poor  woman  who  kneels  at  a  religious  procession  in 
order  that  the  Icon  may  be  carried  over  her  head,  and  the  rich 
merchant  who  invites  the  priests  to  bring  some  famous  Icon  to  his 
house,  illustrates  this  tendency  in  a  more  harmless  form. 

According  to  a  popular  saying,  "  As  is  the  priest,  so  is  the  par- 
ish," and  the  converse  proposition  is  equally  true — as  is  the  parish, 
so  is  the  priest.     The  great  majority  of  priests,  like  the  great 


58  EUSSIA 

majority  of  men  in  general,  content  themselves  with  simply  striving 
to  perform  what  is  expected  of  them,  and  their  character  is  con- 
sequently determined  to  a  certain  extent  by  the  ideas  and  con- 
ceptions of  their  parishioners.  This  will  become  more  apparent  if 
we  contrast  the  Eussian  priest  with  the  Protestant  pastor. 

According  to  Protestant  conceptions,  the  village  pastor  is  a  man 
of  grave  demeanour  and  exemplary  conduct,  and  possesses  a  certain 
amount  of  education  and  refinement.  He  ought  to  expound  weekly 
to  his  flock,  in  simple,  impressive  words,  the  great  truths  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  exhort  his  hearers  to  walk  in  the  paths  of  righteous- 
ness. Besides  this,  he  is  expected  to  comfort  the  afilicted,  to  assist 
the  needy,  to  counsel  those  who  are  harassed  with  doubts,  and  to 
admonish  those  who  openly  stray  from  the  narrow  path.  Such 
is  the  ideal  in  the  popular  mind,  and  pastors  generally  seek  to 
realise  it,  if  not  in  very  deed,  at  least  in  appearance.  The  Eussian 
priest,  on  the  contrary,  has  no  such  ideal  set  before  him  by  his 
parishioners.  He  is  expected  merely  to  conform  to  certain  observ- 
ances, and  to  perform  punctiliously  the  rites  and  ceremonies 
prescribed  by  the  Church.  If  he  does  this  without  practising  extor- 
tion his  parishioners  are  quite  satisfied.  He  rarely  preaches  or 
exhorts,  and  neither  has  nor  seeks  to  have  a  moral  influence  over 
his  flock.  I  have  occasionally  heard  of  Eussian  priests  who  approach 
to  what  I  have  termed  the  Protestant  ideal,  and  I  have  even  seen 
one  or  two  of  them,  but  I  fear  they  are  not  numerous. 

In  the  above  contrast  I  have  accidentally  omitted  one  important 
feature.  The  Protestant  clergy  have  in  all  countries  rendered 
valuable  service  to  the  cause  of  popular  education.  The  reason  of 
this  is  not  difiicult  to  find.  In  order  to  be  a  good  Protestant  it  is 
necessary  to  "  search  the  Scriptures,"  and  to  do  this,  one  must  be 
able  at  least  to  read.  To  be  a  good  member  of  the  Greek  Orthodox 
Church,  on  the  contrary,  according  to  popular  conceptions,  the 
reading  of  the  Scriptures  is  not  necessary,  and  therefore  primary 
education  has  not  in  the  eyes  of  the  Greek  Orthodox  priest  the 
same  importance  which  it  has  in  the  eyes  of  the  Protestant  pastor. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  the  Eussian  people  are  in  a  certain  sense 
religious.  They  go  regularly  to  church  on  Sundays  and  holy-days, 
cross  themselves  repeatedly  when  they  pass  a  church  or  Icon,  take 
the  Holy  Communion  at  stated  seasons,  rigorously  abstain  from 
animal  food — not  only  on  Wednesdays  and  Fridays,  but  also  during 
Lent  and  the  other  long  fasts — make  occasional  pilgrimages  to 
holy  shrines,  and,  in  a  word,  fulfil  punctiliously  the  ceremonial 
observances  which  they  suppose  necessary  for  salvation.     But  here 


THE    VILLAGE   PEIEST  59 

their  religiousness  ends.  They  are  generally  profoundly  ignorant 
of  religious  doctrine,  and  know  little  or  nothing  of  Holy  Writ. 
A  peasant,  it  is  said,  was  once  asked  by  a  priest  if  he  could  name  the 
three  Persons  of  the  Trinity,  and  replied  without  a  moment's  hesi- 
tation, "How  can  one  not  know  that,  Btitushka?  Of  course  it  is 
the  Saviour,  the  Mother  of  God,  and  Saint  Nicholas  the  miracle- 
worker  ! " 

That  answer  represents  fairly  enough  the  theological  attainments 
of  a  very  large  section  of  the  peasantry.  The  anecdote  is  so  often 
repeated  that  it  is  probably  an  invention,  but  it  is  not  a  calumny. 
Of  theology  and  of  what  Protestants  term  the  "inner  religious 
life  "  the  orthodox  Russian  peasant — of  Dissenters,  to  whom  these 
remarks  do  not  apply,  I  shall  speak  later — has  no  conception.  For 
him  the  ceremonial  part  of  religion  suffices,  and  he  has  the  most 
unbounded,  childlike  confidence  in  the  saving  efficacy  of  the  rites 
which  he  practises.  If  he  has  been  baptised  in  infancy,  has  regu- 
larly observed  the  fasts,  has  annually  partaken  of  the  Holy  Com- 
munion, and  has  just  confessed  and  received  extreme  unction,  he 
feels  death  approach  with  the  most  perfect  tranquillity.  He  is 
tormented  with  no  doubts  as  to  the  efficacy  of  faith  or  works,  and 
has  no  fears  that  his  past  life  may  possibly  have  rendered  him  unfit 
for  eternal  felicity.  Like  a  man  in  a  sinking  ship  who  has  buckled 
on  his  life-preserver,  he  feels  perfectly  secure.  With  no  fear  for 
the  future  and  little  regret  for  the  present  or  the  past,  he  awaits 
calmly  the  dread  summons,  and  dies  with  a  resignation  which  a 
Stoic  philosopher  might  envy. 

In  the  above  paragraph  I  have  used  the  word  Icon,  and  perhaps 
the  reader  may  not  clearly  understand  the  word.  Let  me  explain 
then,  briefly,  what  an  Icon  is— a  very  necessary  explanation,  for 
the  Icons  play  an  important  part  in  the  religious  observances  of  the 
Eussian  people. 

Icons  are  pictorial,  usually  half-length,  representations  of  the 
Saviour,  of  the  Madonna,  or  of  a  saint,  executed  in  archaic  Byzan- 
tine style,  on  a  yellow  or  gold  ground,  and  varying  in  size  from  a 
square  inch  to  several  square  feet.  Very  often  the  whole  picture, 
with  the  exception  of  the  face  and  hauds  of  the  figure,  is  covered 
with  a  metal  plaque,  embossed  so  as  to  represent  the  form  of  the 
figure  and  the  drapery.  When  this  plaque  is  not  used,  the  crown 
and  costume  are  often  adorned  with  pearls  and  other  precious 
stones — sometimes  of  great  price. 

In  respect  of  religious  significance.  Icons  are  of  two  kinds: 
simple,  and  miraculous  or  miracle-working  {tchudotvormj) .     The 


60  RUSSIA 

former  are  manufactured  in  enormous  quantities — chiefly  in  the 
province  of  Vladimir,  wliere  whole  villages  are  employed  in  this 
kind  of  ^ork — and  are  to  be  found  in  every  Eussian  house,  from 
the  hut  of  the  peasant  to  the  palace  of  the  Emperor.  They  are 
generally  placed  high  up  in  a  corner  facing  the  door,  and  good 
orthodox  Christians  on  entering  bow  in  that  direction,  making  at 
the  same  time  the  sign  of  the  cross.  Before  and  after  meals  the 
same  short  ceremony  is  always  performed.  On  the  eve  of  fete- 
days  a  small  lamp  is  kept  burning  before  at  least  one  of  the  Icons 
in  the  house. 

The  wonder-working  Icons  are  comparatively  few  in  number, 
and  are  always  carefully  preserved  in  a  church  or  chapel.  They 
are  commonly  believed  to  have  been  "  not  made  with  hands,"  and 
to  have  appeared  in  a  miraculous  way.  A  monk,  or  it  may  be 
a  common  mortal,  has  a  vision,  in  which  he  is  informed  that  he 
may  find  a  miraculous  Icon  in  such  a  place,  and  on  going  to  the 
spot  indicated  he  finds  it,  sometimes  buried,  sometimes  hanging  on 
a  tree.  The  sacred  treasure  is  then  removed  to  a  church,  and  the 
news  spreads  like  wildfire  through  the  district.  Thousands  flock 
to  prostrate  themselves  before  the  heaven-sent  picture,  and  some  are 
healed  of  their  diseases — a  fact  that  plainly  indicates  its  miracle- 
working  power.  The  whole  affair  is  then  officially  reported  to  the 
Most  Holy  Synod,  the  highest  ecclesiastical  authority  in  Eussia, 
in  order  that  the  existence  of  the  miracle-working  power  may  be 
fully  and  regularly  proved.  The  official  recognition  of  the  fact 
is  by  no  means  a  mere  matter  of  form,  for  the  Synod  is  well  aware 
that  wonder-working  Icons  are  always  a  rich  source  of  revenue  to 
the  monasteries  where  they  are  kept,  and  that  zealous  Superiors 
are  consequently  apt  in  such  cases  to  lean  to  the  side  of  credulity, 
rather  than  that  of  over-severe  criticism.  A  regular  investigation 
is  therefore  made,  and  the  formal  recognition  is  not  granted  till 
the  testimony  of  the  finder  is  thoroughly  examined  and  the  alleged 
miracles  duly  authenticated.  If  the  recognition  is  granted,  the 
Icon  is  treated  with  the  greatest  veneration,  and  is  sure  to  be 
visited  by  pilgrims  from  far  and  near. 

Some  of  the  most  revered  Icons — as,  for  instance,  the  Kazan 
Madonna — have  annual  fete-days  instituted  in  their  honour;  or, 
more  correctly  speaking,  the  anniversary  of  their  miraculous  appear- 
ance is  observed  as  a  religious  holiday.  A  few  of  them  have  an 
additional  title  to  popular  respect  and  veneration:  that  of  being 
intimately  associated  with  great  events  in  the  national  history. 
The  Vladimir  Madonna,  for  example,  once  saved  Moscow  from  the 


THE    VILLAGE    PEIEST  61 

Tartars;  the  Smolensk  Madonna  accompanied  the  army  in  the 
glorious  campaign  against  Napoleon  in  1813;  and  when  in  that 
year  it  was  known  in  Moscow  that  the  French  were  advancing  on 
the  city,  the  people  wished  the  Metropolitan  to  take  the  Iberian 
Madonna,  which  may  still  be  seen  near  one  of  the  gates  of  the 
Kremlin,  and  to  lead  them  out  armed  with  hatchets  against  the 
enemy. 

If  the  Eussian  priests  have  done  little  to  advance  popular 
education,  they  have  at  least  never  intentionally  opposed  it. 
Unlike  their  Roman  Catholic  brethren,  they  do  not  hold  that  "  a 
little  learning  is  a  dangerous  thing,"  and  do  not  fear  that  faith 
may  be  endangered  by  knowledge.  Indeed,  it  is  a  remarkable  fact 
that  the  Russian  Church  regards  with  profound  apathy  those  vari- 
ous intellectual  movements  which  cause  serious  alarm  to  many 
thoughtful  Christians  in  Western  Europe.  It  considers  religion 
as  something  so  entirely  apart  that  its  votaries  do  not  feel  the 
necessity  of  bringing  their  theological  beliefs  into  logical  harmony 
with  their  scientific  conceptions.  A  man  may  remain  a  good  ortho- 
dox Christian  long  after  he  has  adopted  scientific  opinions  irrec- 
oncilable with  Eastern  Orthodoxy,  or,  indeed,  with  dogmatic 
Christianity  of  any  kind.  In  the  confessional  the  priest  never 
seeks  to  ferret  out  heretical  opinions ;  and  I  can  recall  no  instance  in 
Eussian  history  of  a  man  being  burnt  at  the  stake  on  the  demand 
of  the  ecclesiastical  authorities,  as  so  often  happened  in  the  Roman 
Catholic  world,  for  his  scientific  views.  This  tolerance  proceeds 
partly,  no  doubt,  from  the  fact  that  the  Eastern  Church  in  general, 
and  the  Russian  Church  in  particular,  have  remained  for  centu- 
ries in  a  kind  of  intellectual  torpor.  Even  such  a  fervent  orthodox 
Christian  as  the  late  Ivan  Aksakof  perceived  this  absence  of  healthy 
vitality,  and  he  did  not  hesitate  to  declare  his  conviction  that 
"neither  the  Russian  nor  the  Slavonic  world  will  be  resusci- 
tated ...  so  long  as  the  Church  remains  in  such  lifelessness 
(mertvennost'),  which  is  not  a  matter  of  chance,  but  the  legitimate 
fruit  of  some  organic  defect."  * 

Though  the  unsatisfactory  condition  of  the  parochial  clergy  is 
generally  recognised  by  the  educated  classes,  very  few  people  take 
the  trouble  to  consider  seriously  how  it  might  be  improved.  Dur- 
ing the  Reform  enthusiasm  which  raged  for  some  years  after  the 
Crimean  War  ecclesiastical  affairs  were  entirely  overlooked.  Many 
of  the  reformers  of  those  days  were  so  very  "advanced"  that 

*  Solovyoff.  "  Otcberki  ig  istorii  Russkoi  Literaturi  XIX.  veka."  St. 
Petersburg,  1903,  p.  269. 


62  RUSSIA 

religion  in  all  its  forms  seemed  to  them  an  old-world  superstition 
which  tended  to  retard  rather  than  accelerate  social  progress,  and 
which  consequently  should  be  allowed  to  die  as  tranquilly  as  pos- 
sible; whilst  the  men  of  more  moderate  views  found  they  had 
enough  to  do  in  emancipating  the  serfs  and  reforming  the  corrupt 
civil  and  judicial  Administration.  During  the  subsequent  reaction- 
ary period,  which  culminated  in  the  reign  of  the  late  Emperor, 
Alexander  III.,  much  more  attention  was  devoted  to  Church 
matters,  and  it  came  to  be  recognised  in  official  circles  that 
something  ought  to  be  done  for  the  parish  clergy  in  the  way  of 
improving  their  material  condition  so  as  to  increase  their  moral 
influence.  With  this  object  in  view,  M.  Pobedonostsef,  the  Pro- 
curator of  the  Holy  Synod,  induced  the  Government  in  1893  to 
make  a  State-grant  of  about  6,500,000  roubles,  which  should  be 
increased  every  year,  but  the  sum  was  very  inadequate,  and  a  large 
portion  of  it  was  devoted  to  purposes  of  political  propaganda  in  the 
form  of  maintaining  Greek  Orthodox  priests  in  districts  where  the 
population  was  Protestant  or  Roman  Catholic.  Consequently,  of 
the  35,865  parishes  which  Russia  contains,  only  18,936,  or  a  little 
more  than  one-half,  were  enabled  to  benefit  by  the  grant.  In  an 
optimistic,  semi-official  statement  published  as  late  as  1896  it  is 
admitted  that  "  the  means  for  the  support  of  the  parish  clergy  must 
even  now  be  considered  insufficient  and  wanting  in  stability,  making 
the  priests  dependent  on  the  parishioners,  and  thereby  preventing 
the  establishment  of  the  necessary  moral  authority  of  the  spiritual 
father  over  his  flock." 

In  some  places  the  needs  of  the  Church  are  attended  to  by 
voluntary  parish-curatorships  which  annually  raise  a  certain  sum 
of  money,  and  the  way  in  which  they  distribute  it  is  very  char- 
acteristic of  the  Russian  people,  who  have  a  profound  veneration 
for  the  Church  and  its  rites,  but  very  little  consideration  for  the 
human  beings  who  serve  at  the  altar.  In  14,564  parishes  possessing 
such  curatorships  no  less  than  2,500,000  roubles  were  collected,  but 
of  this  sum  2,000,000  were  expended  on  the  maintenance  and 
embellishment  of  churches,  and  only  174,000  were  devoted  to  the 
personal  wants  of  the  clergy.  According  to  the  semi-official  docu- 
ment from  which  these  figures  are  taken  the  whole  body  of 
the  Russian  White  Clergy  in  1893  numbered  99,391,  of  whom 
42,513  were  priests,  12,953  deacons,  and  43,925  clerks. 

In  more  recent  observations  among  the  parochial  clergy  I  have 
noticed  premonitory  symptoms  of  important  changes.  This  may 
be  illustrated  by  an  entry  in  my  note-book,  written  in  a  village  of 


THE   VILLAGE    PRIEST  63 

one  of  the  Southern  provinces,  under  date  of  30th  September, 
1903: 

"  I  have  made  here  the  acquaintance  of  two  good  specimens  of 
the  parish  clergy,  both  excellent  men  in  their  way,  but  very 
different  from  each  other.  The  elder  one.  Father  Dmitri,  is  of 
the  old  school,  a  plain,  practical  man,  who  fulfils  his  duties  con- 
scientiously according  to  his  lights,  but  without  enthusiasm.  His 
intellectual  wants  are  very  limited,  and  he  devotes  his  attention 
chiefly  to  the  practical  affairs  of  everyday  life,  which  he  manages 
very  successfully.  He  does  not  squeeze  his  parishioners  unduly, 
but  he  considers  that  the  labourer  is  worthy  of  his  hire,  and  insists 
on  his  flock  providing  for  his  wants  according  to  their  means.  At 
the  same  time  he  farms  on  his  own  account  and  attends  personally 
to  all  the  details  of  his  farming  operations.  With  the  condition 
and  doings  of  every  member  of  his  flock  he  is  intimately  acquainted, 
and,  on  the  whole,  as  he  never  idealised  anything  or  anybody,  he 
has  not  a  very  high  opinion  of  them. 

"  The  younger  priest.  Father  Alexander,  is  of  a  different  type, 
and  the  difference  may  be  remarked  even  in  his  external  appear- 
ance. There  is  a  look  of  delicacy  and  refinement  about  him,  though 
his  dress  and  domestic  surroundings  are  of  the  plainest,  and  there 
is  not  a  tinge  of  affectation  in  his  manner.  His  language  is  less 
archaic  and  picturesque.  He  uses  fewer  Biblical  and  semi-Slavonic 
expressions — I  mean  expressions  which  belong  to  the  antiquated 
language  of  the  Church  Service  rather  than  to  modern  parlance — 
and  his  armoury  of  terse  popular  proverbs  which  constitute  such 
a  characteristic  trait  of  the  peasantry,  is  less  frequently  drawn  on. 
When  I  ask  him  about  the  present  condition  of  the  peasantry,  his 
account  does  not  differ  substantially  from  that  of  his  elder  col- 
league, but  he  does  not  condemn  their  sins  in  the  same  forcible 
terms.  He  laments  their  shortcomings  in  an  evangelical  spirit  and 
has  apparently  aspirations  for  their  future  improvement.  Admit- 
ting frankly  that  there  is  a  great  deal  of  lukewarmness  among  them, 
he  hopes  to  revive  their  interest  in  ecclesiastical  affairs  and  he  has 
an  idea  of  constituting  a  sort  of  church  committee  for  attending 
to  the  temporal  affairs  of  the  village  church  and  for  works  of 
charity,  but  he  looks  to  influencing  the  younger  rather  than  the 
older  generation, 

"  His  interest  in  his  parishioners  is  not  confined  to  their  spiritual 
welfare,  but  extends  to  their  material  well-being.  Of  late  an  asso- 
ciation for  mutual  credit  has  been  founded  in  the  village,  and  he 
uses  his  influence  to  induce  the  peasants  to  take  advantage  of  the 


64  KUSSIA 


benefits  it  offers,  both  to  those  who  are  in  need  of  a  little  ready 
money  and  to  those  who  might  invest  their  savings,  instead  of 
keeping  them  hidden  away  in  an  old  stocking  or  buried  m  an 
earthen  pot.  The  proposal  to  create  a  local  agricultural  society 
meets  also  with  his  sympathy."  _ 

If  the  number  of  parish  priests  of  this  type  increase,  the  clerp 
may  come  to  exercise  great  moral  influence  on  the  common  people. 


CHAPTER    V 

A    MEDICAL    CONSULTATION 

Unexpected  Illness — A  Village  Doctor — Siberian  Plajjue — My  Studies 
— Russian  Historians — A  Russian  Imitator  of  Dickens — A  ci-devunt 
Domestic  Serf — M«'(licine  and  Witchcraft — A  Remnant  of  Paganism 
— Credulity  of  the  Peasantry — Absurd  Rumours — A  Mysterious 
Visit  from  St.  Barbara — Cholera  on  Board  a  Steamer — Hospitals^ 
Lunatic  Asylums — Amongst  Maniacs. 

T  N"  enumerating  the  requisites  for  travelling  in  the  less  frequented 
•■•  parts  of  Russia,  I  omitted  to  mention  one  important  condition: 
the  traveller  should  be  always  in  good  health,  and  in  ease  of  illness 
be  ready  to  dispense  with  regular  medical  attendance.  This  I 
learned  by  experience  during  my  stay  at  Ivanofka. 

A  man  who  is  accustomed  to  be  always  well,  and  has  consequently 
cause  to  believe  himself  exempt  from  the  ordinary  ills  that  flesh 
is  heir  to,  naturally  feels  aggrieved — as  if  some  one  had  inflicted 
upon  him  an  undeserved  injury — when  he  suddenly  finds  himself 
ill.  At  first  he  refuses  to  believe  the  fact,  and,  as  far  as  possible, 
takes  no  notice  of  the  disagreeable  symptoms. 

Such  was  my  state  of  mind  on  being  awakened  early  one  morn- 
ing by  peculiar  symptoms  which  I  had  never  before  experienced. 
Unwilling  to  admit  to  myself  the  possibility  of  being  ill,  I  got  up, 
and  endeavoured  to  dress  as  usual,  but  very  soon  discovered  that  I 
was  unable  to  stand.  There  was  no  denying  the  fact;  not  only 
was  I  ill,  but  the  malady,  whatever  it  was,  surpassed  my  powers  of 
diagnosis;  and  when  the  s^Tuptoms  increased  steadily  all  that  day 
and  the  following  night,  I  was  constrained  to  take  the  humiliating 
9eeision  of  asking  for  medical  advice.  To  my  inquiries  whether 
there  was  a  doctor  in  the  neighbourhood,  the  old  servant  replied, 
"  There  is  not  exactly  a  doctor,  but  there  is  a  Feldsher  in  the 
village." 

"And  what  is  a  Feldsher?" 

"  A  Feldsher  is     ....    is  a  Feldsher." 

"  I  am  quite  aware  of  that,  but  I  would  like  to  know  what  you 
mean  by  the  word.     What  is  this  Feldsher  ?  " 

"He's  an  old  soldier  who  dresses  wounds  and  gives  physic." 

65 


66  RUSSIA 

The  definition  did  not  predispose  me  in  favour  of  the  mysterious 
personage,  but  as  there  was  nothing  better  to  be  had  I  ordered  him 
to  be  sent  for,  notv,rithstanding  the  strenuous  opposition  of  the  old 
servant,  who  evidently  did  not  believe  in  feldshers. 

In  about  half  an  hour  a  tall,  broad-shouldered  man  entered,  and 
stood  bolt  upright  in  the  middle  of  the  room  in  the  attitude  which 
is  designated  in  military  language  by  the  word  "  Attention."  His 
clean-shaven  chin,  long  moustache,  and  closely-cropped  hair  con- 
firmed one  part  of  the  old  servant's  definition ;  he  was  unmistakably 
an  old  soldier. 

"  You  are  a  Feldsher,"  I  said,  making  use  of  the  word  which  I 
had  recently  added  to  my  vocabulary. 

"  Exactly  so,  your  ISTobility !  "  These  words,  the  ordinary  form 
of  affirmation  used  by  soldiers  to  their  officers,  were  pronounced 
in  a  loud,  metallic,  monotonous  tone,  as  if  the  speaker  had  been 
an  automaton  conversing  with  a  brother  automaton  at  a  distance 
of  twenty  yards.  As  soon  as  the  words  were  pronounced  the  mouth 
of  the  machine  closed  spasmodically,  and  the  head,  which  had  been 
momentarily  turned  towards  me,  reverted  to  its  former  position  with 
a  jerk,  as  if  it  had  received  the  order  "  Eyes  front !  " 

"  Then  please  to  sit  down  here,  and  I'll  tell  you  about  my  ail- 
ment." Upon  this  the  figure  took  three  paces  to  the  front,  wheeled 
to  the  right-about,  and  sat  down  on  the  edge  of  the  chair,  retain- 
ing the  position  of  "  Attention "  as  nearly  as  the  sitting  posture 
would  allow.  When  the  symptoms  had  been  carefully  described, 
he  knitted  his  brows,  and  after  some  reflection  remarked,  "  I  can 
give  you  a  dose  of  .  .  .  ."  Here  followed  a  long  word  which 
I  did  not  understand. 

"  I  don't  wish  you  to  give  me  a  dose  of  anything  till  I  know  what 
is  the  matter  with  me.  Though  a  bit  of  a  doctor  myself,  I  have  no 
idea  what  it  is,  and,  pardon  me,  I  think  you  are  in  the  same 
position."  Noticing  a  look  of  ruffled  professional  dignity  on  his 
face,  I  added,  as  a  sedative,  "  It  is  evidently  something  very  pecul- 
iar, so  that  if  the  first  medical  practitioner  in  the  country  were 
present  he  would  probably  be  as  much  puzzled  as  ourselves." 

The  sedative  had  the  desired  effect.  "  Well,  sir,  to  tell  you  the 
truth,"  he  said,  in  a  more  human  tone  of  voice,  "  I  do  not  clearly 
understand  what  it  is." 

"  Exactly ;  and  therefore  I  think  we  had  better  leave  the  cure  to 
Nature,  and  not  interfere  with  her  mode  of  treatment." 

"  Perhaps  it  would  be  better." 

"  No  doubt.     And  now,  since  I  have  to  lie  here  on  my  back,  and 


A   MEDICAL    CONSULTATION  67 

feel  rather  lonely,  I  should  like  to  have  a  talk  with  you.  You  are 
not  in  a  hurry,  I  hope  ?  " 

"  Not  at  all.  My  assistant  knows  where  I  am,  and  will  send  for 
me  if  I  am  required." 

"  So  you  have  an  assistant,  have  you  ?  " 

"Oh,  yes;  a  very  sliarp  young  fellow,  who  has  been  two  years 
in  the  Feldsher  school,  and  has  now  come  here  to  help  me  and  learn 
more  by  practice.  That  is  a  new  way.  I  never  was  at  a  school  of 
the  kind  myself,  and  had  to  pick  up  what  I  could  when  a  servant 
in  the  hospital.  There  were,  I  believe,  no  such  schools  in  my 
time.  The  one  where  my  assistant  learned  was  opened  by  the 
Zemstvo." 

"  The  Zemstvo  is  the  new  local  administration,  is  it  not  ?  " 

"  Exactly  so.  And  I  could  not  do  without  the  assistant,"  con- 
tinued my  new  acquaintance,  gradually  losing  his  rigidity,  and 
showing  himself,  what  he  really  was,  a  kindly,  talkative  man.  "  I 
have  often  to  go  to  other  villages,  and  almost  every  day  a  number 
of  peasants  come  here.  At  first  I  had  very  little  to  do,  for  the 
people  thought  I  was  an  official,  and  would  make  them  pay  dearly 
for  what  I  should  give  them;  but  now  they  know  that  they  don't 
require  to  pay,  and  come  in  great  numbers.  And  everything  I  give 
them — though  sometimes  I  don't  clearly  understand  what  the  mat- 
ter is — seems  to  do  them  good.  I  believe  that  faith  does  as  much 
as  physic." 

"  In  my  country,"  I  remarked,  "  there  is  a  sect  of  doctors  who  get 
the  benefit  of  that  principle.  They  give  their  patients  two  or  three 
little  balls  no  bigger  than  a  pin's  head,  or  a  few  drops  of  tasteless 
liquid,  and  they  sometimes  work  wonderful  cures." 

"  That  system  would  not  do  for  us.  The  Eussian  muzhik  would 
have  no  faith  if  he  swallowed  merely  things  of  that  kind.  What 
he  believes  in  is  something  with  a  very  bad  taste,  and  lots  of  it. 
That  is  his  idea  of  a  medicine ;  and  he  thinks  that  the  more  he  takes 
of  a  medicine  the  better  chance  he  has  of  getting  well.  ^Yhen  I 
wish  to  give  a  peasant  several  doses  I  make  him  come  for  each 
separate  dose,  for  I  know  that  if  I  did  not  he  would  probably 
swallow  the  whole  as  soon  as  he  was  out  of  sight.  But  there  is 
not  much  serious  disease  here — not  like  what  I  used  to  see  on  the 
Sheksna.     You  have  been  on  the  Sheksna  ?  " 

"  Not  yet,  but  I  intend  going  there."  The  Sheksna  is  a  river 
which  falls  into  the  Volga,  and  forms  part  of  the  great  system  of 
water-communication  connecting  the  Volga  with  the  Neva. 

"  When  you  go  there  you  will  see  lots  of  diseases.     If  there  is  a 


68  EUSSIA 

hot  summer,  and  plenty  of  barges  passing,  something  is  sure  to 
break  out — typhus,  or  black  small-pox,  or  Siberian  plague,  or 
something  of  the  kind.  That  Siberian  plague  is  a  curious  thing. 
"Whether  it  really  comes  from  Siberia,  God  only  knows.  So  soon 
as  it  breaks  out  the  horses  die  by  dozens,  and  sometimes  men  and 
women  are  attacked,  though  it  is  not  properly  a  human  disease. 
They  say  that  flies  carry  the  poison  from  the  dead  horses  to  the 
people.  The  sign  of  it  is  a  thing  like  a  boil,  with  a  dark-coloured 
rim.  If  this  is  cut  open  in  time  the  person  may  recover,  but  if  it 
is  not,  the  person  dies.     There  is  cholera,  too,  sometimes." 

"  What  a  delightful  country,"  I  said  to  myself,  "  for  a 
young  doctor  who  wishes  to  make  discoveries  in  the  science  of 
disease ! " 

The  catalogue  of  diseases  inhabiting  this  favoured  region  was 
apparently  not  yet  complete,  but  it  was  cut  short  for  the  moment 
by  the  arrival  of  the  assistant,  with  the  announcement  that  his 
superior  was  wanted. 

This  first  interview  with  the  feldslier  was,  on  the  whole,  satis- 
factory. He  had  not  rendered  me  any  medical  assistance,  but  he 
had  helped  me  to  pass  an  hour  pleasantly,  and  had  given  me  a  little 
information  of  the  kind  I  desired.  My  later  interviews  with  him 
were  equally  agreeable.  He  was  naturally  an  intelligent,  observant 
man,  who  had  seen  a  great  deal  of  the  Russian  world,  and  could 
describe  graphically  what  he  had  seen.  Unfortunately  the  hori- 
zontal position  to  which  I  was  condemned  prevented  me  from  not- 
ing down  at  the  time  the  interesting  things  which  he  related  to 
me.  His  visits,  together  with  those  of  Karl  KarFitch  and  of  the 
priest,  who  kindly  spent  a  great  part  of  his  time  with  me,  helped 
me  to  while  away  many  an  hour  which  would  otherwise  have  been 
dreary  enough. 

During  the  intervals  when  I  was  alone  I  devoted  myself  to  read- 
ing— sometimes  Eussian  history  and  sometimes  works  of  fiction. 
The  history  was  that  of  Karamzin,  who  may  fairly  be  called  the 
Eussian  Livy.  It  interested  me  much  by  the  facts  which  it  con- 
tained, but  irritated  me  not  a  little  by  the  rhetorical  style  in  which 
it  is  written.  Afterwards,  when  I  had  waded  through  some  twenty 
volumes  of  the  gigantic  work  of  Solovyoif — or  Solovief,  as  the 
name  is  sometimes  unphonetically  written — which  is  simply  a 
vast  collection  of  valuable  but  undigested  material,  I  was  much  less 
severe  on  the  picturesque  descriptions  and  ornate  style  of  his  illus- 
trious predecessor.  The  first  work  of  fiction  which  I  read  was  a 
collection  of  tales  by  Grigorovitch,  which  had  been  given  to  me 


A    MEDICAL    COXSULTATION  69 

by  the  aiitlior  on  my  departure  from  St.  Petersburg.  These  tales, 
descriptive  of  rural  life  in  Eussia,  had  been  written,  as  the  author 
afterwards  admitted  to  mo,  under  the  influence  of  Dickens.  Many 
of  the  little  tricks  and  affectations  which  became  painfully  obtrusive 
in  Dickens's  later  works  I  had  no  difficulty  in  recognising  under 
their  Russian  garb.  In  spite  of  these  I  found  the  book  very  pleasant 
reading,  and  received  from  it  some  new  notions — to  be  afterwards 
verified,  of  course — about  Russian  peasant  life. 

One  of  these  tales  made  a  deep  impression  upon  me,  and  I  still 
remember  the  chief  incidents.  The  story  opens  with  the  description 
of  a  village  in  late  autumn.  It  has  been  raining  for  some  time 
heavily,  and  the  road  has  become  covered  with  a  deep  layer  of 
black  mud.  An  old  woman — a  small  proprietor — is  sitting  at 
home  with  a  friend,  drinking  tea  and  trying  to  read  the  future  by 
means  of  a  pack  of  cards.  This  occupation  is  suddenly  inter- 
rupted by  the  entrance  of  a  female  servant,  who  announces  that 
she  has  discovered  an  old  man,  apparently  very  ill,  lying  in  one 
of  the  outhouses.  The  old  woman  goes  out  to  see  her  uninvited 
guest,  and,  being  of  a  kindly  nature,  prepares  to  have  him  removed 
to  a  more  comfortable  place,  and  properly  attended  to;  but  her 
servant  whispers  to  her  that  perhaps  he  is  a  vagrant,  and  the 
generous  impulse  is  thereby  checked.  When  it  is  discovered  that 
the  suspicion  is  only  too  well  founded,  and  that  the  man  has  no 
passport,  the  old  woman  becomes  thoroughly  alarmed.  Her  imagi- 
nation pictures  to  her  the  terrible  consequences  that  would  ensue 
if  the  police  should  discover  that  she  had  harboured  a  vagrant.  All 
her  little  fortune  might  be  extorted  from  her.  And  if  the  old  man 
should  happen  to  die  in  her  house  or  farmyard !  The  consequences 
in  that  case  might  be  very  serious.  ISTot  only  might  she  lose  every- 
thing, but  she  might  even  be  dragged  to  prison.  At  the  sight  of 
these  dangers  the  old  woman  forgets  her  tender-heartedness,  and 
becomes  inexorable.  The  old  man,  sick  unto  death  though  he  be, 
must  leave  the  premises  instantly.  Knowing  full  well  that  he  will 
nowhere  find  a  refuge,  he  walks  forth  into  the  cold,  dark,  stormy 
night,  and  next  morning  a  dead  body  is  found  at  a  short  distance 
from  the  village. 

Why  this  story,  which  was  not  strikingly  remarkable  for  artistic 
merit,  impressed  me  so  deeply  I  cannot  say.  Perhaps  it  was  because 
I  was  myself  ill  at  the  time,  and  imagined  how  terrible  it  would 
be  to  be  turned  out  on  the  muddy  road  on  a  cold,  wet  October  night. 
Besides  this,  the  story  interested  me  as  illustrating  the  terror  which 
the  police  inspired  during  the  reign  of  Nicholas  I.     The  ingenious 


70  EUSSIA 

devices  which  they  employed  for  extorting  money  formed  the  sub- 
ject of  another  sketch,  which  I  read  shortly  afterwards,  and  which 
has  likewise  remained  in  my  memory.  The  facts  were  as  fol- 
lows: An  officer  of  rural  police,  when  driving  on  a  country  road, 
finds  a  dead  body  by  the  wayside.  Congratulating  himself  on  this 
bit  of  good  luck,  he  proceeds  to  the  nearest  village,  and  lets  the 
inhabitants  know  that  all  manner  of  legal  proceedings  will  be  taken 
against  them,  so  that  the  supposed  murderer  may  be  discovered. 
The  peasants  are  of  course  frightened,  and  give  him  a  considerable 
sum  of  money  in  order  that  he  may  hush  up  the  affair.  An 
ordinary  officer  of  police  would  have  been  quite  satisfied  with  this 
ransom,  but  this  officer  is  not  an  ordinary  man,  and  is  very  much  in 
need  of  money ;  he  conceives,  therefore,  the  brilliant  idea  of  repeat- 
ing the  experiment.  Taking  up  the  dead  body,  he  takes  it  away 
in  his  tarantass,  and  a  few  hours  later  declares  to  the  inhabitants 
of  a  village  some  miles  off  that  some  of  them  have  been  guilty  of 
murder,  and  that  he  intends  to  investigate  the  matter  thoroughly. 
The  peasants  of  course  pay  liberally  in  order  to  escape  the  investi- 
gation, and  the  rascally  officer,  emboldened  by  success,  repeats  the 
trick  in  different  villages  until  he  has  gathered  a  large  sum. 

Tales  and  sketches  of  this  kind  were  very  much  in  fashion  dur- 
ing the  years  which  followed  the  death  of  the  great  autocrat, 
Nicholas  I.,  when  the  long-pent-up  indignation  against  his  severe, 
repressive  regime  was  suddenly  allowed  free  expression,  and  they 
were  still  much  read  during  the  first  years  of  my  stay  in  the 
country.  Now  the  public  taste  has  changed.  The  reform  enthu- 
siasm has  evaporated,  and  the  existing  administrative  abuses,  more 
refined  and  less  comical  than  their  predecessors,  receive  compara- 
tively little  attention  from  the  satirists. 

When  I  did  not  feel  disposed  to  read,  and  had  none  of  my 
regular  visitors  with  me,  I  sometimes  spent  an  hour  or  two  in 
talking  with  the  old  man-servant  who  attended  me.  Anton  was 
decidedly  an  old  man,  but  what  his  age  precisely  was  I  never  could 
discover;  either  he  did  not  know  himself,  or  he  did  not  wish  to 
tell  me.  In  appearance  he  seemed  about  sixty,  but  from  certain 
remarks  which  he  made  I  concluded  that  he  must  be  nearer  seventy, 
though  he  had  scarcely  a  grey  hair  on  his  head.  As  to  who  his 
father  was  he  seemed,  like  the  famous  Topsy,  to  have  no  very  clear 
ideas,  but  he  had  an  advantage  over  Topsy  with  regard  to  his 
maternal  ancestry.  His  mother  had  been  a  serf  who  had  fulfilled 
for  some  time  the  functions  of  a  lady's  maid,  and  after  the  death 
of  her  mistress  had  been  promoted  to  a  not  very  clearly  defined 


A   MEDICAL   CONSULTATION  71 

position  of  responsibility  in  the  household.  Anton,  too,  had  been 
promoted  in  his  time.  His  first  function  in  the  household  had 
been  that  of  assistant-keeper  of  the  tobacco-pipes,  from  which 
humble  office  he  had  gradually  risen  to  a  position  which  may  be 
roughly  designated  as  that  of  butler.  All  this  time  he  had  been, 
of  course,  a  serf,  as  his  mother  had  been  before  him;  but  being 
naturally  a  man  of  sluggish  intellect,  he  had  never  thoroughly 
realised  the  fact,  and  had  certainly  never  conceived  the  possibility 
of  being  anything  different  from  what  he  was.  His  master  was 
master,  and  he  himself  was  Anton,  obliged  to  obey  his  master,  or 
at  least  conceal  disobedience — these  were  long  the  main  facts  in  his 
conception  of  the  universe,  and,  as  philosophers  generally  do  with 
regard  to  fundamental  facts  or  axioms,  he  had  accepted  them  with- 
out examination.  By  means  of  these  simple  postulates  he  had  led 
a  tranquil  life,  untroubled  by  doubts,  until  the  year  1861,  when 
the  so-called  freedom  was  brought  to  Ivanofka.  He  himself  had 
not  gone  to  the  church  to  hear  Batushka  read  the  Tsar's  manifesto, 
but  his  master,  on  returning  from  the  ceremony,  had  called  him 
and  said,  "  Anton,  you  are  free  now,  but  the  Tsar  says  you  are  to 
serve  as  you  have  done  for  two  years  longer." 

To  this  startling  announcement  Anton  had  replied  coolly, 
"  Slushayus,"  or,  as  we  would  say,  "  Yes,  sir,"  and  without  further 
comment  had  gone  to  fetch  his  master's  breakfast ;  but  what  he  saw 
and  heard  during  the  next  few  weeks  greatly  troubled  his  old 
conceptions  of  human  society  and  the  fitness  of  things.  From  that 
time  must  be  dated,  I  suppose,  the  expression  of  mental  confusion 
which  his  face  habitually  wore. 

The  first  thing  that  roused  his  indignation  was  the  conduct  of 
his  fellow-servants.  Nearly  all  the  unmarried  ones  seemed  to  be 
suddenly  attacked  by  a  peculiar  matrimonial  mania.  The  reason 
of  this  was  that  the  new  law  expressly  gave  permission  to  the 
emancipated  serfs  to  marry  as  they  chose  without  the  consent  of 
their  masters,  and  nearly  all  the  unmarried  adults  hastened  to  take 
advantage  of  their  newly-acquired  privilege,  though  many  of  them 
had  great  difiiculty  in  raising  the  capital  necessary  to  pay  the 
priest's  fees.  Then  came  disorders  among  the  peasantry,  the  death 
of  the  old  master,  and  the  removal  of  the  family  first  to  St.  Peters- 
burg, and  afterwards  to  Germany.  Anton's  mind  had  never  been 
of  a  very  powerful  order,  and  these  great  events  had  exercised  a 
deleterious  influence  upon  it.  When  Karl  Karl'itch,  at  the  expiry 
of  the  two  years,  informed  him  that  he  might  now  go  where  he 
chose,  he  replied,  with  a  look  of  blank,  unfeigned  astonishment. 


72  KUSSIA 

"  Where  can  I  go  to  ?  "  He  had  never  conceived  the  possibility  of 
being  forced  to  earn  his  bread  in  some  new  way,  and  begged  Karl 
Karl'itch  to  let  him  remain  where  he  was.  This  request  was 
readily  granted,  for  Anton  was  an  honest,  faithful  servant,  and  sin- 
cerely attached  to  the  family,  and  it  was  accordingly  arranged  that 
he  should  receive  a  small  monthly  salary,  and  occupy  an  inter- 
mediate position  between  those  of  major-domo  and  head  watch-dog. 

Had  Anton  been  transformed  into  a  real  watch-dog  he  could 
scarcely  have  slept  more  than  he  did.  His  power  of  sleeping,  and 
his  somnolence  when  he  imagined  he  was  awake,  were  his  two  most 
prominent  characteristics.  Out  of  consideration  for  his  years  and 
his  love  of  repose,  I  troubled  him  as  little  as  possible ;  but  even  the 
small  amount  of  service  which  I  demanded  he  contrived  to  curtail 
in  an  ingenious  way.  The  time  and  exertion  required  for  travers- 
ing the  intervening  space  between  his  own  room  and  mine  might, 
he  thought,  be  more  profitably  employed;  and  accordingly  he 
extemporised  a  bed  in  a  small  ante-chamber,  close  to  my  door,  and 
took  up  there  his  permanent  abode.  If  sonorous  snoring  be  suffi- 
cient proof  that  the  performer  is  asleep,  then  I  must  conclude  that 
Anton  devoted  about  three-fourths  of  his  time  to  sleeping  and  a 
large  part  of  the  remaining  fourth  to  yawning  and  elongated  gut- 
tural ejaculations.  At  first  this  little  arrangement  considerably 
annoyed  me,  but  I  bore  it  patiently,  and  afterwards  received  my 
reward,  for  during  my  illness  I  found  it  very  convenient  to  have  an 
attendant  within  call.  And  I  must  do  Anton  the  justice  to  say 
that  he  served  me  well  in  his  own  somnolent  fashion.  He  seemed 
to  have  the  faculty  of  hearing  when  asleep,  and  generally  appeared 
in  my  room  before  he  had  succeeded  in  getting  his  eyes  com- 
pletely open. 

Anton  had  never  found  time,  during  his  long  life,  to  form  many 
opinions,  but  he  had  somehow  imbibed  or  inhaled  a  few  convictions, 
all  of  a  decidedly  conservative  kind,  and  one  of  these  was  that 
feldshers  were  useless  and  dangerous  members  of  society.  Again 
and  again  he  had  advised  me  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  one 
who  visited  me,  and  more  than  once  he  recommended  to  me  an  old 
woman  of  the  name  of  Masha,  who  lived  in  a  village  a  few  miles  off. 
Masha  was  what  is  known  in  Kussia  as  a  znahharJca — that  is  to 
say,  a  woman  who  is  half  witch,  half  medical  practitioner — the 
whole  permeated  with  a  strong  leaven  of  knavery.  According  to 
Anton,  she  could  effect  by  means  of  herbs  and  charms  every  possible 
cure  short  of  raising  from  the  dead,  and  even  with  regard  to  this 
last  operation  he  cautiously  refrained  from  expressing  an  opinion. 


A   MEDICAL   CONSULTATION  73 

The  idea  of  being  subjected  to  a  course  of  ]ior])s  and  charms  l)y 
an  old  woman  who  pro])ably  knew  very  little  about  the  hidden 
properties  of  either,  did  not  seem  to  me  inviting,  and  more  than  once 
I  flatly  refused  to  have  recourse  to  such  unhallowed  means.  On 
due  consideration,  however,  I  thought  that  a  professional  inter- 
view with  the  old  witch  would  be  rather  amusing,  and  then  a 
brilliant  idea  occurred  to  me!  I  would  bring  together  the  fohhher 
and  the  znakharha,  who  no  doubt  hated  each  other  with  a  Kilkenny- 
cat  hatred,  and  let  them  fight  out  their  differences  before  me  for 
the  benefit  of  science  and  my  own  delectation. 

The  more  I  thought  of  my  project,  the  more  I  congratulated 
myself  on  having  conceived  such  a  scheme;  but,  alas!  in  this 
very  imperfectly  organised  world  of  ours  brilliant  ideas  are  seldom 
realised,  and  in  this  case  I  was  destined  to  be  disappointed.  Did 
the  old  woman's  black  art  warn  her  of  approaching  danger,  or  was 
she  simply  actuated  by  a  feeling  of  professional  jealousy  and  con- 
siderations of  professional  etiquette?  To  this  question  I  can  give 
no  positive  answer,  but  certain  it  is  that  she  could  not  be  induced 
to  pay  me  a  visit,  and  I  was  thus  balked  of  my  expected  amuse- 
ment. I  succeeded,  however,  in  learning  indirectly  something  about 
the  old  witch.  She  enjoyed  among  her  neighbours  that  solid, 
durable  kind  of  respect  which  is  founded  on  vague,  undefinable  fear, 
and  was  believed  to  have  effected  many  remarkable  cures.  In  the 
treatment  of  syphilitic  diseases,  which  are  fearfully  common  among 
the  Russian  peasantry,  she  was  supposed  to  be  specially  successful, 
and  I  have  no  doubt,  from  the  vague  descriptions  which  I  received, 
that  the  charm  which  she  employed  in  these  cases  was  of  a 
mercurial  kind.  Some  time  afterward  I  saw  one  of  her  victims. 
Whether  she  had  succeeded  in  destroying  the  poison  I  know  not, 
but  she  had  at  least  succeeded  in  destroying  most  completely  the 
patient's  teeth.  How  women  of  this  kind  obtain  mercury,  and  how 
they  have  discovered  its  medicinal  properties,  I  cannot  explain. 
Neither  can  I  explain  how  they  have  come  to  know  the  peculiar 
properties  of  ergot  of  rye,  which  they  frequently  employ  for  illicit 
purposes  familiar  to  all  students  of  medical  jurisprudence. 

The  znal-Jinrl-a  and  the  feldsher  represent  two  very  different 
periods  in  the  history  of  medical  science — the  magical  and  the 
scientific.  The  Russian  peasantry  have  still  many  conceptions 
which  belong  to  the  former.  The  great  majority  of  them  are 
already  quite  willing,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  to  use  the 
scientific  means  of  healing;  but  as  soon  as  a  violent  epidemic  breaks 
out,  and  the  scientific  means  prove  unequal  to  the  occasion,  the 


74  EUSSIA 

old  faith  revives,  and  recourse  is  had  to  magical  rites  and  incanta- 
tions. Of  these  rites  many  are  very  curious.  Here,  for  instance, 
is  one  which  had  been  performed  in  a  village  near  which  I  after- 
wards lived  for  some  time.  Cholera  had  been  raging  in  the  dis- 
trict for  several  weeks.  In  the  village  in  question  no  case  had  yet 
occurred,  but  the  inhabitants  feared  that  the  dreaded  visitor  would 
soon  arrive,  and  the  following  ingenious  contrivance  was  adopted 
for  warding  off  the  danger.  At  midnight,  when  the  male  popula- 
tion was  supposed  to  be  asleep,  all  the  maidens  met  in  nocturnal 
costume,  according  to  a  preconcerted  plan,  and  formed  a  proces- 
sion. In  front  marched  a  girl,  holding  an  Icon.  Behind  her  came 
her  companions,  dragging  a  soklia — the  primitive  plough  commonly 
used  by  the  peasantry — by  means  of  a  long  rope.  In  this  order  the 
procession  made  the  circuit  of  the  entire  village,  and  it  was  con- 
fidently believed  that  the  cholera  would  not  be  able  to  overstep  the 
magical  circle  thus  described.  Many  of  the  males  probably  knew, 
or  at  least  suspected,  what  was  going  on;  but  they  prudently 
remained  within  doors,  knowing  well  that  if  they  should  be  caught 
peeping  indiscreetly  at  the  mystic  ceremony,  they  would  be  unmer- 
cifully beaten  by  those  who  were  taking  part  in  it. 

This  custom  is  doubtless  a  survival  of  old  pagan  superstitions. 
The  introduction  of  the  Icon  is  a  modern  innovation,  which  illus- 
trates that  curious  blending  of  paganism  and  Christianity  which 
is  often  to  be  met  with  in  Eussia,  and  of  which  I  shall  have  more  to 
say  in  another  chapter. 

Sometimes,  when  an  epidemic  breaks  out,  the  panic  produced 
takes  a  more  dangerous  form.  The  people  suspect  that  it  is  the 
work  of  the  doctors,  or  that  some  ill-disposed  persons  have  poisoned 
the  wells,  and  no  amount  of  reasoning  will  convince  them  that  their 
own  habitual  disregard  of  the  most  simple  sanitary  precautions  has 
something  to  do  with  the  phenomenon,  I  know  of  one  case  where 
an  itinerant  photographer  was  severely  maltreated  in  consequence 
of  such  suspicions;  and  once,  in  St.  Petersburg,  during  the  reign 
of  Nicholas  I.,  a  serious  riot  took  place.  The  excited  populace  had 
already  thrown  several  doctors  out  of  the  windows  of  the  hospital, 
when  the  Emperor  arrived,  unattended,  in  an  open  carriage,  and 
quelled  the  disturbance  by  his  simple  presence,  aided  by  his 
stentorian   voice. 

Of  the  ignorant  credulity  of  the  Eussian  peasantry  I  might 
relate  many  curious  illustrations.  The  most  absurd  rumours 
sometimes  awaken  consternation  throughout  a  whole  district.  One 
of  the  most  common  reports  of  this  kind  is  that  a  female  conscrip- 


A   MEDICAL   CONSULTATION"  75 

tion  is  about  to  take  place.  About  the  time  of  the  Duke  of  Edin- 
burgh's marriage  with  the  daughter  of  Alexander  II.  this  report 
was  specially  frequent.  A  large  number  of  young  girls  were  to  be 
kidnapped  and  sent  to  England  in  a  red  ship.  Why  the  ship  was 
to  be  red  I  can  easily  explain,  because  in  the  peasants'  language 
the  conceptions  of  red  and  beautiful  are  expressed  by  the  same  word 
(Jcrasny),  and  in  the  popular  legends  the  epithet  is  indiscriminately 
applied  to  everything  connected  with  princes  and  great  personages ; 
but  what  wr.s  to  be  done  with  the  kidnapped  maidens  when  they 
arrived  at  their  destination,  I  never  succeeded  in  discovering. 

The  most  amusing  instance  of  credulity  which  I  can  recall  was 
the  following,  related  to  me  by  a  peasant  woman  who  came  from 
the  village  where  the  incident  had  occurred.  One  day  in  winter, 
about  the  time  of  sunset,  a  peasant  family  was  startled  by  the  en- 
trance of  a  strange  visitor,  a  female  figure,  dressed  as  St.  Barbara  U 
commonly  represented  in  the  religious  pictures.  All  present  were 
very  much  astonished  by  this  apparition;  but  the  figure  told  them, 
in  a  low,  soft  voice,  to  be  of  good  cheer,  for  she  was  St.  Barbara, 
and  had  come  to  honour  the  family  w^ith  a  visit  as  a  reward  for 
their  piety.  The  peasant  thus  favoured  was  not  remarkable  for 
his  piety,  but  he  did  not  consider  it  necessary  to  correct  the 
mistake  of  his  saintly  visitor,  and  requested  her  to  be  seated.  With 
perfect  readiness  she  accepted  the  invitation,  and  began  at  once 
to  discourse  in  an  edifying  way. 

Meanwhile  the  news  of  this  wonderful  apparition  spread  like  wild- 
fire, and  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  village,  as  well  as  those  of  a 
neighbouring  village  about  a  mile  distant,  collected  in  and  around 
the  house.  Whether  the  priest  was  among  those  who  came  my  in- 
formant did  not  know.  Many  of  those  who  had  come  could  not  get 
within  hearing,  but  those  at  the  outskirts  of  the  crowd  hoped  that 
the  saint  might  come  out  before  disappearing.  Their  hopes  were 
gratified.  About  midnight  the  mysterious  visitor  announced  that 
she  would  go  and  bring  St.  Nicholas,  the  miracle-worker,  and 
requested  all  to  remain  perfectly  still  during  her  absence.  The 
crowd  respectfully  made  way  for  her,  and  she  passed  out  into  the 
darkness.  With  breathless  expectation  all  awaited  the  arrival  of 
St.  Nicholas,  who  is  the  favourite  saint  of  the  Eussian  peasantry; 
but  hours  passed,  and  he  did  not  appear.  At  last,  toward  sunrise, 
some  of  the  less  zealous  spectators  began  to  return  home,  and  those 
of  them  who  had  come  from  the  neighbouring  village  discovered 
to  their  horror  that  during  their  absence  their  horses  had  been 
stolen!     At  once  they  raised  the  hue-and-cry;  and  the  peasants 


76  EUSSIA 

scoured  the  country  in  all  directions  in  search  of  the  soi-disant  St. 
Barbara  and  her  accomplices,  but  they  never  recovered  the  stolen 
property.  "  And  serve  them  right,  the  blockheads ! "  added  my 
informant,  who  had  herself  escaped  falling  into  the  trap  by  being 
absent  from  the  village  at  the  time. 

It  is  but  fair  to  add  that  the  ordinary  Russian  peasant,  though 
in  some  respects  extremely  credulous,  and,  like  all  other  people, 
subject  to  occasional  panics,  is  by  no  means  easily  frightened  by 
real  dangers.  Those  who  have  seen  them  under  fire  will  readily 
credit  this  statement.  For  my  own  part,  I  have  had  opportunities 
of  observing  them  merely  in  dangers  of  a  non-military  kind,  and 
have  often  admired  the  perfect  coolness  displayed.  Even  an 
epidemic  alarms  them  only  when  it  attains  a  certain  degree  of 
intensity.  Once  I  had  a  good  opportunity  of  observing  this  on 
board  a  large  steamer  on  the  Volga.  It  was  a  very  hot  day  in  the 
early  autumn.  As  it  was  well  known  that  there  was  a  great  deal 
of  Asiatic  cholera  all  over  the  country,  prudent  people  refrained 
from  eating  much  raw  fruit ;  but  Russian  peasants  are  not  generally 
prudent  men,  and  I  noticed  that  those  on  board  were  consuming 
enormous  quantities  of  raw  cucumbers  and  water-melons.  This 
imprudence  was  soon  followed  by  its  natural  punishment.  I  refrain 
from  describing  the  scene  that  ensued,  but  I  may  say  that  those 
who  were  attacked  received  from  the  others  every  possible  assist- 
ance. Had  no  unforeseen  accident  happened,  we  should  have 
arrived  at  Kazan  on  the  following  morning,  and  been  able  to  send 
the  patients  to  the  hospital  of  tliat  town;  but  as  there  was  little 
water  in  the  river,  we  had  to  cast  anchor  for  the  night,  and  next 
morning  we  ran  aground  and  stuck  fast.  Here  we  had  to  remain 
patiently  till  a  smaller  steamer  hove  in  sight.  All  this  time  there 
was  not  the  slightest  symptom  of  panic,  and  when  the  small  steamer 
came  alongside  there  was  no  frantic  rush  to  get  away  from 
the  infected  vessel,  though  it  was  quite  evident  that  only  a  few 
of  the  passengers  could  be  taken  off.  Those  who  were  nearest 
the  gangway  went  quietly  on  board  the  small  steamer,  and  those 
who  were  less  fortunate  remained  patiently  till  another  steamer 
happened  to  pass. 

The  old  conceptions  of  disease,  as  something  that  may  be  most 
successfully  cured  by  charms  and  similar  means,  are  rapidly  dis- 
appearing. The  Zemstvo — that  is  to  say,  the  new  local  self-gov- 
ernment— has  done  much  towards  this  end  by  enabling  the  people 
to  procure  better  medical  attendance.  In  the  towns  there  are  public 
hospitals,  which  generally  are — or  at  least  seem  to  an  unprofes- 


A   MEDICAL   COXSULTATIOX  77 

sional  eye — in  a  very  satisfactory  condition.  The  resident  doctors 
are  daily  besieged  by  a  crowd  of  peasants,  who  come  from  far  and 
near  to  ask  advice  and  receive  medicines.  Besides  this,  in  some 
provinces  feldshers  are  placed  in  the  principal  villages,  and  the 
doctor  makes  frequent  tours  of  inspection.  The  doctors  are  gen- 
erally well-educated  men,  and  do  a  large  amount  of  work  for  a 
very  small  remuneration. 

Of  the  lunatic  asylums,  which  are  generally  attached  to  the 
larger  hospitals,  I  cannot  speak  very  favourably.  Some  of  the 
great  central  ones  are  all  that  could  be  desired,  but  others  are 
badly  constructed  and  fearfully  overcrowded.  One  or  two  of  those 
I  visited  appeared  to  me  to  be  conducted  on  very  patriarchal  prin- 
ciples, as  the  following  incident  may  illustrate. 

I  had  been  visiting  a  large  hospital,  and  had  remained  there  so 
long  tliat  it  was  already  dark  before  I  reached  the  adjacent  lunatic 
asylum.  Seeing  no  lights  in  the  windows,  I  proposed  to  my  com- 
panion, who  was  one  of  the  inspectors,  that  we  should  delay  our 
visit  till  the  following  morning,  but  he  assured  me  that  by  the 
regulations  the  lights  ought  not  to  be  extinguished  till  consider- 
ably later,  and  consequently  there  was  no  objection  to  our  going  in 
at  once.  If  there  Avas  no  legal  objection,  there  was  at  least  a 
physical  obstruction  in  the  form  of  a  large  wooden  door,  and  all 
our  efforts  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  porter  or  some  other 
inmate  were  unavailing.  At  last,  after  much  ringing,  knocking, 
and  shouting,  a  voice  from  within  asked  us  who  we  were  and  what 
we  wanted.  A  brief  reply  from  my  companion,  not  couched  in  the 
most  polite  or  amiable  terms,  made  the  bolts  rattle  and  the  door 
open  with  surprising  rapidity,  and  we  saw  before  us  an  old  man 
with  long  dishevelled  hair,  who,  as  far  as  appearance  went,  might 
have  been  one  of  the  lunatics,  bowing  obsequiously  and  muttering 
apologies. 

After  groping  our  way  along  a  dark  corridor  we  entered  a  still 
darker  room,  and  the  door  was  closed  and  locked  behind  us.  As  the 
key  turned  in  the  rusty  lock  a  wild  scream  rang  through  the  dark- 
ness! Then  came  a  yell,  then  a  howl,  and  then  various  sounds 
which  the  poverty  of  the  English  language  prevents  me  from  des- 
ignating— the  whole  blending  into  a  hideous  discord  that  would 
have  been  at  home  in  some  of  the  worst  regions  of  Dante's  Inferno. 
As  to  the  cause  of  it  I  could  not  even  form  a  conjecture.  Gradually 
my  eyes  became  accustomed  to  the  darkness,  and  I  could  dimly  per- 
ceive white  figures  flitting  about  the  room.  At  the  same  time 
I   felt  something  standing  near  me,   and   close  to  my  shoulder 


Y8  EUSSIA 

I  saw  a  pair  of  eyes  and  long  streaming  hair.  On  my  other  side, 
equally  close,  was  something  very  like  a  woman's  night-cap. 
Though  by  no  means  of  a  nervous  temperament,  I  felt  uncom- 
fortable. To  be  shut  up  in  a  dark  room  with  an  indefinite  number 
of  excited  maniacs  is  not  a  comfortable  position.  How  long  the 
imprisonment  lasted  I  know  not — probably  not  more  than  two  or 
three  minutes,  but  it  seemed  a  long  time.  At  last  a  light  was 
procured,  and  the  whole  affair  was  explained.  The  guardians,  not 
expecting  the  visit  of  an  inspector  at  so  late  an  hour,  had  retired 
for  the  night  much  earlier  than  usual,  and  the  old  porter  had 
put  us  into  the  nearest  ward  until  he  could  fetch  a  light — locking 
the  door  behind  us  lest  any  of  the  lunatics  should  escape.  The 
noise  had  awakened  one  of  the  unfortunate  inmates  of  the  ward, 
and  her  hysterical  scream  had  terrified  the  others. 

By  the  influence  of  asylums,  hospitals,  and  similar  institutions, 
the  old  conceptions  of  disease,  as  I  have  said,  are  gradually  dying 
out,  but  the  znakharTca  still  finds  practice.  The  fact  that  the 
znakliarl~a  is  to  be  found  side  by  side  not  only  with  the  feldsher, 
but  also  with  the  highly  trained  bacteriologist,  is  very  characteristic 
of  Eussian  civilisation,  which  is  a  strange  conglomeration  of 
products  belonging  to  very  different  periods.  The  enquirer  who 
undertakes  the  study  of  it  will  sometimes  be  scarcely  less  surprised 
than  would  be  the  naturalist  who  should  unexpectedly  stumble 
upon  antediluvian  megatheria  grazing  tranquilly  in  the  same  field 
with  prize  Southdowns.  He  will  discover  the  most  primitive  insti- 
tutions side  by  side  with  the  latest  products  of  French  doctrin- 
airism,  and  the  most  childish  superstitions  in  close  proximity  with 
the  most  advanced  free-thinking. 


CHAPTER  VI 

A  PEASANT  FAMILY  OF  THE  OLD  TYPE 

Ivan  Petroff — Ilis  Past  Life — Co-operative  Associations — Constitution 
of  a  Peasant's  Houseliold — Predounna'nce  of  Economic  Conceptions 
over  tliose  of  Blood-relatiousbip — Peasant  Marriages — Advantages 
of  Living  in  Large  Families— Its  Defects— Family  Disruptions  and 
their  Consequences. 

MY  illness  had  at  least  one  good  result.  It  brought  me  into 
contact  with  the  feldsher,  and  through  him,  after  my 
recovery,  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  several  peasants  living  in 
the  village.  Of  these  by  far  the  most  interesting  was  an  old  man 
called  Ivan  Petroff. 

Ivan  must  have  been  about  sixty  years  of  age,  but  was  still 
robust  and  strong,  and  had  the  reputation  of  being  able  to  mow 
more  hay  in  a  given  time  than  any  other  peasant  in  the  village.  His 
head  would  have  made  a  fine  study  for  a  portrait-painter.  Like 
Russian  peasants  in  general,  he  wore  his  hair  parted  in  the  mid- 
dle— a  custom  which  perhaps  owes  its  origin  to  the  religious  pic- 
tures. The  reverend  appearance  given  to  his  face  by  his  long  fair 
beard,  slightly  tinged  with  grey,  was  in  part  counteracted  by  his 
eyes,  which  had  a  strange  twinkle  in  them — whether  of  humour  or 
of  roguery,  it  was  difficult  to  say.  Under  all  circumstances — 
whether  in  his  light,  nondescript  summer  costume,  or  in  his  warm 
sheep-skin,  or  in  the  long,  glossy,  dark-blue,  double-breasted  coat 
which  he  put  on  occasionally  on  Sundays  and  holidays — he  always 
looked  a  well-fed,  respectable,  prosperous  member  of  society; 
whilst  his  imperturbalDle  composure,  and  the  entire  absence  of 
obsequiousness  or  truculence  in  his  manner,  indicated  plainly  that 
he  possessed  no  small  amount  of  calm,  deep-rooted  self-respect. 
A  stranger,  on  seeing  him,  might  readily  have  leaped  to  the  con- 
clusion that  he  must  be  the  Village  Elder,  but  in  reality  he  was  a 
simple  member  of  the  Commune,  like  his  neighbour,  poor  Zakhar 
Leshkof,  who  never  let  slip  an  opportunity  of  getting  drunk, 
was  always  in  debt,  and,  on  the  whole,  possessed  a  more 
than  dubious  reputation. 

Ivan  had,  it  is  true,  been  Village  Elder  some  years  before.    When 

79 


80  EUSSIA 

elected  by  the  Village  Assembly,  against  his  own  wishes,  he  had 
said  quietly,  "  Very  well,  children ;  I  will  serve  my  three  years  " ; 
and  at  the  end  of  that  period,  when  the  Assembly  wished  to  re-elect 
him,  he  had  answered  firmly,  "  No,  children ;  I  have  served  my 
term.  It  is  now  the  turn  of  some  one  who  is  younger,  and  has  more 
time.  There's  Peter  Alekseyef,  a  good  fellow,  and  an  honest;  you 
may  choose  him."  And  the  Assembly  chose  the  peasant  indicated; 
for  Ivan,  though  a  simple  member  of  the  Commune,  had  more 
influence  in  Communal  afl^airs  than  any  other  half-dozen  members 
put  together.  No  grave  matter  was  decided  without  his  being  con- 
sulted, and  there  was  at  least  one  instance  on  record  of  the  Village 
Assembly  postponing  deliberations  for  a  week  because  he  happened 
to  be  absent  in  St.  Petersburg. 

No  stranger  casually  meeting  Ivan  would  ever  for  a  moment 
have  suspected  that  that  big  man,  of  calm,  commanding  aspect,  had 
been  during  a  great  part  of  his  life  a  serf.  And  yet  a  serf  he  had 
been  from  his  birth  till  he  was  about  thirty  years  of  age — not 
merely  a  serf  of  the  State,  but  the  serf  of  a  proprietor  who  had 
lived  habitually  on  his  property.  For  thirty  years  of  his  life  he  had 
been  dependent  on  the  arbitrary  will  of  a  master  who  had  the  legal 
l^ower  to  flog  him  as  often  and  as  severely  as  he  considered  desir- 
able. In  reality  he  had  never  been  subjected  to  corporal  pun- 
ishment, for  the  proprietor  to  whom  he  had  belonged  had  been, 
though  in  some  respects  severe,  a  just  and  intelligent  master. 

Ivan's  bright,  sympathetic  face  had  early  attracted  the  master's 
attention,  and  it  was  decided  that  he  should  learn  a  trade.  For 
this  purpose  he  was  sent  to  Moscow,  and  apprenticed  there  to  a 
carpenter.  After  four  years  of  apprenticeship  he  was  able  not 
only  to  earn  his  own  bread,  but  to  help  the  household  in  the  pay- 
ment of  their  taxes,  and  to  pay  annually  to  his  master  a  fixed 
yearly  sum — first  ten,  then  twenty,  then  thirty,  and  ultimately, 
for  some  years  immediately  before  the  Emancipation,  seventy 
roubles.  In  return  for  this  annual  sum  he  was  free  to  work  and 
wander  about  as  he  pleased,  and  for  some  years  he  had  made  ample 
use  of  his  conditional  liberty.  I  never  succeeded  in  extracting  from 
him  a  chronological  account  of  his  travels,  but  I  could  gather 
from  his  occasional  remarks  that  he  had  wandered  over  a  great  part 
of  European  Eussia.  Evidently  he  had  been  in  his  youth  what  is 
colloquially  termed  "  a  roving  blade,"  and  had  by  no  means  con- 
fined himself  to  the  trade  which  he  had  learned  during  his  four 
years  of  apprenticeship.  Once  he  had  helped  to  navigate  a  raft 
from  Vetluga  to  Astrakhan,  a  distance  of  about  two  thousand 


A  PEASANT  FAMILY  OF  THE  OLD  TYPE   81 

miles.  At  another  time  he  had  been  at  Archangel  and  Onega, 
on  the  shores  of  the  White  Sea.  St.  Petersburg  and  Moscow  were 
both  well  known  to  him,  and  he  had  visited  Odessa. 

The  precise  nature  of  Ivan's  occupations  during  these  wanderings 
I  could  not  ascertain ;  for,  with  all  his  openness  of  manner,  he  was 
extremely  reticent  regarding  his  commercial  affairs.  To  all  my 
inquiries  on  this  topic  he  was  wont  to  reply  vaguely,  "  Lesnoe 
dyelo  " — that  is  to  say,  "  Timber  business  " ;  and  from  this  I  con- 
cluded that  his  chief  occupation  had  been  that  of  a  timber  merchant. 
Indeed,  when  I  knew  him,  though  he  was  no  longer  a  regular  trader, 
he  was  always  ready  to  buy  any  bit  of  forest  that  could  be  bought  in 
the  vicinity  for  a  reasonable  price. 

During  all  this  nomadic  period  of  his  life  Ivan  had  never 
entirely  severed  his  connection  with  his  native  village  or  with 
agricultural  life.  When  about  the  age  of  twenty  he  had  spent 
several  months  at  home,  taking  part  in  the  field  labour,  and  had 
married  a  wife — a  strong,  healthy  young  woman,  who  had  been 
selected  for  him  by  his  mother,  and  strongly  recommended  to 
him  on  account  of  her  good  character  and  her  physical  strength. 
In  the  opinion  of  Ivan's  mother,  beauty  was  a  kind  of  luxury  which 
only  nobles  and  rich  merchants  could  afford,  and  ordinary  come- 
liness was  a  very  secondary  consideration — so  secondary  as  to  be 
left  almost  entirely  out  of  sight.  This  was  likewise  the  opinion 
of  Ivan's  wife.  She  had  never  been  comely  herself,  she  used  to 
say,  but  she  had  been  a  good  wife  to  her  husband.  He  had  never 
complained  about  her  want  of  good  looks,  and  had  never  gone 
after  those  who  were  considered  good-looking.  In  expressing  this 
opinion  she  always  first  bent  forward,  then  drew  herself  up  to  her 
full  length,  and  finally  gave  a  little  jerky  nod  sideways,  so  as  to 
clench  the  statement.  Then  Ivan's  bright  eye  would  twinkle  more 
brightly  than  usual,  and  he  would  ask  her  how  she  knew  that — 
reminding  her  that  he  was  not  always  at  home.  This  was  Ivan's 
stereotyped  mode  of  teasing  his  wife,  and  every  time  he  employed 
it  he  was  called  an  "  old  scarecrow,"  or  something  of  the  kind. 

Perhaps,  however,  Ivans  jocular  remark  had  more  significance 
in  it  than  his  wife  cared  to  admit,  for  during  the  first  years  of  their 
married  life  they  had  seen  very  little  of  each  other.  A  few  days 
after  the  marriage,  when  according  to  our  notions  the  hone}Tnoon 
should  be  at  its  height,  Ivan  had  gone  to  Moscow  for  several 
months,  leaving  his  young  bride  to  the  care  of  his  father  and 
mother.  The  young  bride  did  not  consider  this  an  extraordinary 
hardship,  for  many  of  her  companions  had  been  treated  in  the 


82  EUSSIA 

same  way,  and  according  to  public  opinion  in  that  part  of  the 
country  there  was  nothing  abnormal  in  the  proceeding.  Indeed, 
it  may  be  said  in  general  that  there  is  very  little  romance  or 
sentimentality  about  Eussian  peasant  marriages.  In  this  as  in 
other  respects  the  Eussian  peasantry  are,  as  a  class,  extremely 
practical  and  matter-of-fact  in  their  conceptions  and  habits,  and 
are  not  at  all  prone  to  indulge  in  sublime,  ethereal  sentiments  of 
any  kind.  They  have  little  or  nothing  of  what  may  be  termed  the 
Hermann  and  Dorothea  element  in  their  composition,  and  con- 
sequently know  very  little  about  those  sentimental,  romantic  ideas 
which  we  habitually  associate  with  the  preliminary  steps  to  matri- 
mony. Even  those  authors  who  endeavour  to  idealise  peasant  life 
have  rarely  ventured  to  make  their  story  turn  on  a  sentimental 
love  affair.  Certainly  in  real  life  the  wife  is  taken  as  a  helpmate, 
or  in  plain  language  a  worker,  rather  than  as  a  companion,  and 
the  mother-in-law  leaves  her  very  little  time  to  indulge  in  fruitless 
dreaming. 

As  time  wore  on,  and  his  father  became  older  and  frailer,  Ivan's 
visits  to  his  native  place  became  longer  and  more  frequent,  and 
when  the  old  man  was  at  last  incapable  of  work,  Ivan  settled  down 
permanently  and  undertook  the  direction  of  the  household.  In 
the  meantime  his  own  children  had  been  growing  up.  When  I 
knew  the  family  it  comprised — besides  two  daughters  who  had 
married  early  and  gone  to  live  with  their  parents-in-law — Ivan 
and  his  wife,  two  sons,  three  daughters-in-law,  and  an  indefinite 
and  frequently  varying  number  of  grandchildren.  The  fact  that 
there  were  three  daughters-in-law  and  only  two  sons  was  the 
result  of  the  Conscription,  which  had  taken  away  the  youngest 
son  shortly  after  his  marriage.  The  two  who  remained  spent  only 
a  small  part  of  the  year  at  home.  The  one  was  a  carpenter  and 
the  other  a  bricklayer,  and  both  wandered  about  the  country  in 
search  of  employment,  as  their  father  had  done  in  his  younger 
days.  There  was,  however,  one  difference.  The  father  had  always 
shown  a  leaning  towards  commercial  transactions,  rather  than  the 
simple  practice  of  his  handicraft,  and  consequently  he  had  usually 
lived  and  travelled  alone.  The  sons,  on  the  contrary,  confined 
themselves  to  their  handicrafts,  and  were  always  during  the  work- 
ing season  members  of  an  artel. 

The  artel  in  its  various  forms  is  a  curious  institution.  Those 
to  which  Ivan's  sons  belonged  were  simply  temporary,  itinerant 
associations  of  workmen,  who  during  the  summer  lived  together, 
fed  together,  worked  together,  and  periodically  divided  amongst 


A  PEASANT  FAMILY  OF  THE  OLD  TYPE   83 

themselves  the  profits.  This  is  the  primitive  form  of  the  institu- 
tion, and  is  now  not  very  often  met  with.  Here,  as  elsewhere, 
capital  has  made  itself  felt,  and  destroyed  that  equality  which 
exists  among  the  meml)ers  of  an  aricl  in  the  ahove  sense  of  the 
word.  Instead  of  forming  themselves  into  a  temporary  associa- 
tion, the  workmen  now  generally  make  an  engagement  with  a 
contractor  who  has  a  little  capital,  and  receive  from  him  fixed 
monthly  wages.  The  only  association  which  exists  in  this  case  is 
for  the  purchase  and  preparation  of  provisions,  and  even  these 
duties  are  very  often  left  to  the  contractor. 

In  some  of  the  larger  towns  there  are  artels  of  a  much  more 
complex  kind — permanent  associations,  possessing  a  large  capital, 
and  pecuniarily  responsible  for  the  acts  of  the  individual  mem- 
bers. Of  these,  by  far  the  most  celebrated  is  that  of  the  Bank 
Porters.  These  men  have  unlimited  opportunities  of  stealing,  and 
are  often  entrusted  with  the  guarding  or  transporting  of  enormous 
sums;  but  the  banker  has  no  cause  for  anxiety,  because  he  knows 
that  if  any  defalcations  occur  they  will  be  made  good  to  him  by  the 
artel.  Such  accidents  very  rarely  happen,  and  the  fact  is  by  no 
means  so  extraordinary  as  many  people  suppose.  The  artel,  being 
responsible  for  the  individuals  of  which  it  is  composed,  is  very  care- 
ful in  admitting  new  members,  and  a  man  when  admitted  is  closely 
watched,  not  only  by  the  regularly  constituted  office-bearers,  but 
also  by  all  his  fellow-members  who  have  an  opportunity  of  observ- 
ing him.  If  he  begins  to  spend  money  too  freely  or  to  neglect 
his  duties,  though  his  employer  may  know  nothing  of  the  fact, 
suspicions  are  at  once  aroused  among  his  fellow-members,  and  an 
investigation  ensues — ending  in  summary  expulsion  if  the  sus- 
picions prove  to  have  been  well  founded.  Mutual  responsibility, 
in  short,  creates  a  very  effective  system  of  mutual  supervision. 

Of  Ivan's  sons,  the  one  who  was  a  carpenter  visited  his  family 
only  occasionally,  and  at  irregular  intervals;  the  bricklayer,  on 
the  contrary,  as  building  is  impossible  in  Eussia  during  the  cold 
weather,  spent  the  greater  part  of  the  winter  at  home.  Both  of 
them  paid  a  large  part  of  their  earnings  into  the  family  treasury, 
over  which  their  father  exercised  uncontrolled  authority.  If  he 
wished  to  make  any  considerable  outlay,  he  consulted  his  sons 
on  the  subject;  but  as  he  was  a  prudent,  intelligent  man,  and 
enjoyed  the  respect  and  confidence  of  the  family,  he  never  met 
with  any  strong  opposition.  All  the  field  work  was  performed  by 
him  with  the  assistance  of  his  daughters-in-law;  only  at  harvest 
time  he  hired  one  or  two  labourers  to  help  him. 


84  EUSSIA 

Ivan's  household  was  a  good  specimen  of  the  Russian  peasant 
family  of  the  old  type.  Previous  to  the  Emancipation  in  1861 
there  were  many  households  of  this  kind,  containing  the  represen- 
tatives of  three  generations.  All  the  members,  young  and  old, 
lived  together  in  patriarchal  fashion  under  the  direction  and 
authority  of  the  Head  of  the  House,  called  usually  the  Khozdin — 
that  is  to  say,  the  Administrator;  or,  in  some  districts,  the 
BolsMTc,  which  means  literally  "the  Big  One."  Generally  speak- 
ing, this  important  position  was  occupied  by  the  grandfather,  or, 
if  he  was  dead,  by  the  eldest  brother,  but  the  rule  was  not  very 
strictly  observed.  If,  for  instance,  the  grandfather  became  infirm, 
or  if  the  eldest  brother  was  incapacitated  by  disorderly  habits  or 
other  cause,  the  place  of  authority  was  taken  by  some  other  mem- 
ber— it  might  be  by  a  woman — who  was  a  good  manager,  and 
possessed  the  greatest  moral  influence,      v 

The  relations  between  the  Head  of  the  Household  and  the  other 
members  depended  on  custom  and  personal  character,  and  they  con- 
sequently varied  greatly  in  different  families.  If  the  Big  One  was 
an  intelligent  man,  of  decided,  energetic  character,  like  my  friend 
Ivan,  there  was  probably  perfect  discipline  in  the  household,  except 
perhaps  in  the  matter  of  female  tongues,  which  do  not  readily  sub- 
mit to  the  authority  even  of  their  owners ;  but  very  often  it  happened 
that  the  Big  One  was  not  thoroughly  well  fitted  for  his  post,  and  in 
that  case  endless  quarrels  and  bickerings  inevitably  took  place. 
Those  quarrels  were  generally  caused  and  fomented  by  the  female 
members  of  the  family — a  fact  which  will  not  seem  strange  if  we 
try  to  realise  how  difficult  it  must  be  for  several  sisters-in-law 
to  live  together,  with  their  children  and  a  mother-in-law,  within 
the  narrow  limits  of  a  peasant's  household.  The  complaints  of 
the  young  bride,  who  finds  that  her  mother-in-law  puts  all  the  hard 
work  on  her  shoulders,  form  a  favourite  motive  in  the  popular 
poetry. 

The  house,  with  its  appurtenances,  the  cattle,  the  agricultural 
implements,  the  grain  and  other  products,  the  money  gained  from 
the  sale  of  these  products — in  a  word,  the  house  and  nearly  every- 
thing it  contained — were  the  joint  property  of  the  family.  Hence, 
nothing  was  bought  or  sold  by  any  member — not  even  by  the  Big 
One  himself,  unless  he  possessed  an  unusual  amount  of  author- 
ity— without  the  express  or  tacit  consent  of  the  other  grown-up 
males,  and  all  the  money  that  was  earned  was  put  into  the  com- 
mon purse.  When  one  of  the  sons  left  home  to  work  elsewhere, 
he  was  expected  to  bring  or  send  home  all  his  earnings,  except 


A  PEASANT  FAMILY  OF  THE  OLD  TYPE   85 

what  ho  required  for  food,  lodgings,  and  other  necessary  expenses; 
and  if  he  understood  the  word  "necessary"  in  too  lax  a  sense, 
he  had  to  listen  to  very  plain-spoken  reproaches  when  he  returned. 
During  his  absence,  which  might  last  for  a  whole  year  or  several 
years,  his  wife  and  children  remained  in  the  house  as  before, 
and  the  money  which  he  earned  could  be  devoted  to  the  payment 
of  the  family  taxes. 

The  peasant  household  of  the  old  type  is  thus  a  primitive 
labour  association,  of  which  the  members  have  all  things  in  com- 
mon, and  it  is  not  a  little  remarkable  that  the  peasant  conceives 
it  as  such  rather  than  as  a  family.  This  is  shown  by  the  custo- 
mary terminology,  for  the  Head  of  the  Household  is  not  called 
by  any  word  corresponding  to  Paterfamilias,  but  is  termed,  as 
I  have  said,  Kliozdin,  or  Administrator — a  word  that  is  applied 
equally  to  a  farmer,  a  shopkeeper,  or  the  head  of  an  industrial 
undertaking,  and  does  not  at  all  convey  the  idea  of  blood-relation- 
ship. It  is  likewise  shown  by  what  takes  place  when  a  household 
is  broken  up.  On  such  occasions  the  degree  of  blood-relationship 
is  not  taken  into  consideration  in  the  distribution  of  the  property. 
All  the  adult  male  members  share  equally.  Illegitimate  and 
adopted  sons,  if  they  have  contributed  their  share  of  labour,  have 
the  same  rights  as  the  sons  born  in  lawful  wedlock.  The  married 
daughter,  on  the  contrary — being  regarded  as  belonging  to  her 
husband's  family — and  the  son  who  has  previously  separated  him- 
self from  the  household,  are  excluded  from  the  succession. 
Strictly  speaking,  the  succession  or  inheritance  is  confined  to  the 
wearing  apparel  and  any  little  personal  effects  of  a  deceased  mem- 
ber. The  house  and  all  that  it  contains  belong  to  the  little  house- 
hold community;  and,  consequently,  when  it  is  broken  up,  by  the 
death  of  the  Khozdin  or  other  cause,  the  members  do  not  inherit, 
but  merely  appropriate  individually  what  they  had  hitherto  pos- 
sessed collectively.  ^Thus  there  is  properly  no  inheritance  or  suc- 
cession, but  simply  liquidation  and  distribution  of  the  property 
among  the  members.  The  written  law  of  inheritance,  founded  on 
the  conception  of  personal  property,  is  quite  unknown  to  the 
peasantry,  and  quite  inapplicable  to  their  mode  of  life.  In  this 
way  a  large  and  most  important  section  of  the  Code  remains  a 
dead  letter  for  about  four-fifths  of  the  population. 

This  predominance  of  practical  economic  considerations  is  exem-    I 
plified  also  by  the  way  in  which  marriages  are  arranged  in  these  ^ 
large  families.     In  the  primitive  system    of    agriculture    usually 
practised  in  Russia,  the  natural  labour-unit — if  I  may  use  such  a 


86  RUSSIA 

term — comprises  a  man,  a  woman,  and  a  horse.  As  soon,  there- 
fore, as  a  boy  becomes  an  able-bodied  labourer  he  ought  to  be 
provided  with  the  two  accessories  necessary  for  the  completion  of 
the  labour-unit.  To  procure  a  horse,  either  by  purchase  or  by 
rearing  a  foal,  is  the  duty  of  the  Head  of  the  House;  to  procure 
a  wife  for  the  youth  is  the  duty  of  "the  female  Big  One" 
(BoIshuMia).  And  the  chief  consideration  in  determining  the 
choice  is  in  both  cases  the  same.  Prudent  domestic  administrators 
are  not  to  be  tempted  by  showy  horses  or  beautiful  brides;  what 
w^they  seek  is  not  beauty,  but  physical  strength  and  capacity  for 
work.  When  the  youth  reaches  the  age  of  eighteen  he  is  informed 
that  he  ought  to  marry  at  once,  and  as  soon  as  he  gives  his  consent 
negotiations  are  opened  with  the  parents  of  some  eligible  young 
person.  In  the  larger  villages  the  negotiations  are  sometimes 
facilitated  by  certain  old  women  called  svakhi,  who  occupy  them- 
selves specially  with  this  kind  of  mediation;  but  very  often  the 
affair  is  arranged  directly  by,  or  through  the  agency  of,  some  com- 
mon friend  of  the  two  houses. 

Care  must  of  course  be  taken  that  there  is  no  legal  obstacle,  and 
these  obstacles  are  not  always  easily  avoided  in  a  small  village,  the 
inhabitants  of  which  have  been  long  in  the  habit  of  intermarrying. 
According  to  Eussian  ecclesiastical  law,  not  only  is  marriage  be- 
tween first-cousins  illegal,  but  affinity  is  considered  as  equivalent  to 
consanguinity — that  is  to  say  a  mother-in-law  and  a  sister-in-law 
are  regarded  as  a  mother  and  a  sister — and  even  the  fictitious  rela- 
tionship created  by  standing  together  at  the  baptismal  font  as  god- 
father and  godmother  is  legally  recognised,  and  may  constitute  a 
bar  to  matrimony.  If  all  the  preliminary  negotiations  are  suc- 
cessful, the  marriage  takes  place,  and  the  bridegroom  brings  his 
bride  home  to  the  house  of  which  he  is  a  member.  She  brings 
nothing  with  her  as  a  dowry  except  her  trousseau,  but  she  brings 
a  pair  of  good  strong  arms,  and  thereby  enriches  her  adopted 
family.  Of  course  it  happens  occasionally — for  human  nature  is 
everywhere  essentially  the  same — that  a  young  peasant  falls  in 
love  with  one  of  his  former  playmates,  and  brings  his  little, 
romance  to  a  happy  conclusion  at  the  altar ;  but  such  cases  are  very 
rare,  and  as  a  rule  it  may  be  said  that  the  marriges  of  the  Eussian 
peasantry  are  arranged  under  the  influence  of  economic  rather 
than  sentimental  considerations. 

The  custom  of  living  in  large  families  has  many  economic 
advantages.  We  all  know  the  edifying  fable  of  the  dying  man 
who  showed  to  his  sons  by  means   of  a  piece  of  wicker-work 


A  PEASANT  FAMILY  OF  THE  OLD  TYPE   87 

the  advantages  of  living  together  and  assisting  each  other. 
In  ordinary  times  the  necessary  expenses  of  a  large  household  of 
ten  members  are  considerably  less  than  the  combined  expeases  of 
two  households  comprising  five  members  each,  and  when  a  "  black 
day"  comes  a  large  family  can  bear  temporary  adversity  much 
more  successfully  than  a  small  one.  These  are  principles  of 
world-wide  application,  but  in  the  life  of  the  Russian  peasantry 
they  have  a  peculiar  force.  Each  adult  peasant  possesses,  as  I 
shall  hereafter  explain,  a  share  of  the  Communal  land,  but  this 
share  is  not  sufficient  to  occupy  all  his  time  and  working  power. 
One  married  pair  can  easily  cultivate  two  shares — at  least  in  all 
provinces  where  the  peasant  allotments  are  not  very  large.  Xow, 
if  a  family  is  composed  of  two  married  couples,  one  of  the  men 
can  go  elsewhere  and  earn  money,  whilst  the  other,  with  his  wife 
and  sister-in-law,  can  cultivate  the  two  combined  shares  of  land. 
If,  on  the  contrary,  a  family  consists  merely  of  one  pair  with 
their  children,  the  man  must  either  remain  at  home — in  which 
case  he  may  have  difficulty  in  finding  work  for  the  whole  of  his 
time — or  he  must  leave  home,  and  entrust  the  cultivation  of  his 
share  of  the  land  to  his  wife,  whose  time  must  be  in  great  part 
devoted  to  domestic  affairs. 

In  the  time  of  serfage  the  proprietors  clearly  perceived  these 
and  similar  advantages,  and  compelled  their  serfs  to  live  together 
in  large  families.  No  family  could  be  broken  up  without  the 
proprietor's  consent,  and  this  consent  was  not  easily  obtained  unless 
the  family  had  assumed  quite  abnormal  proportions  and  was  per- 
manently disturbed  by  domestic  dissension.  In  the  matrimonial 
affairs  of  the  serfs,  too,  the  majority  of  the  proprietors  systematic- 
ally exercised  a  certain  supervision,  not  necessarily  from  any 
paltry  meddling  spirit,  but  because  their  own  material  interests 
were  thereby  affected.  A  proprietoi-  would  not,  for  instance,  allow 
the  daughter  of  one  of  his  serfs  to  marry  a  serf  belonging  to 
another  proprietor — because  he  would  thereby  lose  a  female 
labourer — unless  some  compensation  were  offered.  The  compensa- 
tion might  be  a  sum  of  money,  or  the  affair  might  be  arranged 
on  the  principle  of  reciprocity  by  the  master  of  the  bridegroom 
allowing  one  of  his  female  serfs  to  marry  a  serf  belonging  to  the 
master  of  the  bride. 

However  advantageous  the  custom  of  living  in  large  families 
may  appear  when  regarded  from  the  economic  point  of  view,  it  has 
very  serious  defects,  both  theoretical  and  practical. 

That  families  connected,  by  the  ties  of  blood-relationship  and 


88  RUSSIA 

marriage  can  easily  live  together  in  harmony  is  one  of  those  social 
axioms  which  are  accepted  universally  and  believed  by  nobody. 
"We  all  know  by  our  own  experience,  or  by  that  of  others,  that  the 
friendly  relations  of  two  such  families  are  greatly  endangered  by 
proximity  of  habitation.  To  live  in  the  same  street  is  not  advisa- 
ble; to  occupy  adjoining  houses  is  positively  dangerous;  and  to 
live  under  the  same  roof  is  certainly  fatal  to  prolonged  amit}\ 
There  may  be  the  very  best  intentions  on  both  sides,  and  the 
arrangement  may  be  inaugurated  by  the  most  gushing  expressions 
of  undying  affection  and  by  the  discovery  of  innumerable  secret 
affinities,  but  neither  affinities,  affection,  nor  good  intentions  can 
withstand  the  constant  friction  and  occasional  jerks  which  inevit- 
ably ensue. 

Now  the  reader  must  endeavour  to  realise  that  Eussian  peasants, 
even  when  clad  in  sheep-skins,  are  human  beings  like  ourselves. 
Though  they  are  often  represented  as  abstract  entities — as 
figures  in  a  table  of  statistics  or  dots  on  a  diagram — they 
have  in  reality  "  organs,  dimensions,  senses,  affections,  passions." 
If  not  exactly  "  fed  with  the  same  food,"  they  are  at  least  "  hurt 
with  the  same  weapons,  subject  to  the  same  diseases,  healed  by 
the  same  means,"  and  liable  to  be  irritated  by  the  same  annoyances 
as  we  are.  And  those  of  them  who  live  in  large  families  are 
subjected  to  a  kind  of  probation  that  most  of  us  have  never  dreamed 
of.  The  families  comprising  a  large  household  not  only  live  to- 
gether, but  have  nearly  all  things  in  common.  Each  member 
.  works,  not  for  himself,  but  for  the  household,  and  all  that  he 
earns  is  expected  to  go  into  the  family  treasury.  The  arrange- 
ment almost  inevitably  leads  to  one  of  two  results — either  there 
are  continual  dissensions,  or  order  is  preserved  by  a  powerful 
domestic  tyranny. 

I  It  is  quite  natural,  therefore,  that  when  the  authority  of  the 
'landed  proprietors  was  abolished  in  1861,  the  large  peasant  families 
almost  all  crumbled  to  pieces.  The  arbitrary  rule  of  the  Kliozdin 
was  based  on,  and  maintained  by,  the  arbitrary  rule  of  the  pro- 
prietor, and  both  naturally  fell  together.  Households  like  that  of 
our  friend  Ivan  were  preserved  only  in  exceptional  cases,  where 
the  Head  of  the  House  happened  to  possess  an  unusual  amount  of 
moral  influence  over  the  other  members. 

This  change  has  unquestionably  had  a  prejudicial  influence  on 
the  material  welfare  of  the  peasantry,  but  it  must  have  added  con- 
siderably to  their  domestic  comfort,  and  may  perhaps  produce 
good  moral  results.    For  the  present,  however,  the  evil  consequences 


A  PEASANT  FAMILY  OF  THE  OLD  TYPE   89 

are  by  far  the  most  prominent.  Every  married  peasant  strives 
to  have  a  house  of  his  own,  and  many  of  them,  in  order  to  defray 
the  necessary  expenses,  have  been  obliged  to  contract  debts.  This 
is  a  very  serious  matter.  Even  if  the  peasants  could  obtain  money 
at  five  or  six  per  cent.,  the  position  of  the  debtors  would  be  bad 
enough,  but  it  is  in  reality  much  worse,  for  the  village  usurers 
consider  twenty  or  twenty-five  per  cent,  a  by  no  means  exorbitant 
rate  of  interest.  A  laudable  attempt  has  been  made  to  remedy 
this  state  of  things  by  village  banks,  but  these  have  proved  suc- 
cessful only  in  certain  exceptional  localities.  As  a  rule  the  peasant 
who  contracts  debts  has  a  hard  struggle  to  pay  the  interest  in  ordi- 
nary times,  and  when  some  misfortune  overtakes  him — when,  for 
instance,  the  harvest  is  bad  or  his  horse  is  stolen — he  probably 
falls  hopelessly  into  pecuniary  embarrassments.  I  have  seen  peas- 
ants not  specially  addicted  to  drunkenness  or  other  ruinous  habits 
sink  to  a  helpless  state  of  insolvency.  Fortunately  for  such  insol- 
vent debtors,  they  are  treated  by  the  law  with  extreme  leniency. 
Their  house,  their  share  of  the  common  land,  their  agricultural 
implements,  their  horse — in  a  word,  all  that  is  necessary  for  their 
subsistence,  is  exempt  from  sequestration.  The  Commune,  how- 
ever, may  bring  strong  pressure  to  bear  on  those  who  do  not  pay 
their  taxes.  When  I  lived  among  the  peasantry  in  the  seventies, 
corporal  punishment  inflicted  by  order  of  the  Commune  was 
among  the  means  usually  employed;  and  though  the  custom  was 
recently  prohibited  by  an  Imperial  decree  of  Xicholas  II,  I  am  not 
at  all  sure  that  it  has  entirely  disappeared. 


CHAPTER   VII 

THE   PEASANTRY    OF   THE    NORTH 

Communal  Land — System  of  Agriculture — Parish  F§tes — Fasting — 
Winter  Occupations — Yearly  Migrations — Domestic  Industries — 
Influence  of  Capital  and  Wholesale  Enterprise — The  State  Peasants 
— Serf-dues — Buckle's  "  History  of  Civilisation  " — A  Precocious 
Yamstchik — "  People  Who  Play  Pranks  " — A  Midnight  Alarm — The 
Far  North. 

IVANOFKA  may  be  taken  as  a  fair  specimen  of  the  villages  in 
the  northern  half  of  the  country,  and  a  brief  description  of  its 
inhabitants  will  convey  a  tolerably  correct  notion  of  the  northern 
peasantry  in  general. 

Nearly  the  whole  of  the  female  population,  and  about  one-half 
of  the  male  inhabitants,  are  habitually  engaged  in  cultivating  the 
1/  Communal  land,  which  comprises  about  two  thousand  acres  of  a 
light  sandy  soil.  The  arable  part  of  this  land  is  divided  into  three 
large  fields,  each  of  which  is  cut  up  into  long  narrow  strips.  The 
first  field  is  reserved  for  the  winter  grain — that  is  to  say,  rye, 
which  forms,  in  the  shape  of  black  bread,  the  principal  food  of 
the  rural  population.  In  the  second  are  raised  oats  for  the  horses, 
and  buckwheat,  which  is  largely  used  for  food.  The  third  lies 
fallow,  and  is  used  in  the  summer  as  pasturage  for  the  cattle. 

All  the  villagers  in  this  part  of  the  country  divide  the  arable 
land  in  this  way,  in  order  to  suit  the  triennial  rotation  of  crops. 
This  triennial  system  is  extremely  simple.  The  field  which  is  used 
this  year  for  raising  winter  grain  will  be  used  next  year  for  raising- 
summer  grain,  and  in  the  following  year  will  lie  fallow.  Before 
being  sown  with  winter  grain  it  ought  to  receive  a  certain  amount 
of  manure.  Every  family  possesses  in  each  of  the  two  fields  under 
cultivation  one  or  more  of  the  long  narrow  strips  or  belts  into 
which  they  are  divided. 

The  annual  life  of  the  peasantry  is  that  of  simple  husbandman, 
inhabiting  a  country  where  the  winter  is  long  and  severe.  The 
agricultural  j^ear  begins  in  April  with  the  melting  of  the  snow. 
Nature  has  been  lying  dormant  for  some  months.  Awaking  now 
from  her  long  sleep,  and  throwing  off  her  white  mantle,  she  strives 

90 


THE  PEASAXTKY  OF  THE  XORTH      91 

to  make  np  for  lost  time.  No  sooner  has  the  snow  disappeared 
than  the  fresh  young  grass  begins  to  shoot  up,  and  very  soon  after- 
wards the  shrubs  and  trees  begin  to  bud.  The  rapidity  of  this 
transition  from  winter  to  spring  astonishes  the  inhabitants  of  more 
temperate  climes. 

On  St.  George's  Day  (April  23rd*)  the  cattle  are  brought  out 
for  the  first  time,  and  sprinkled  with  holy  water  by  the  priest. 
They  are  never  very  fat,  but  at  this  period  of  the  year  their  ap- 
pearance is  truly  lamentable.  During  the  winter  they  have  been 
cooped  up  in  small  unventilated  cow-houses,  and  fed  almost  exclu- 
sively on  straw;  now,  when  they  are  released  from  their  imprison- 
ment, they  look  like  the  ghosts  of  their  former  emaciated  selves. 
All  are  lean  and  weak,  many  are  lame,  and  some  cannot  rise  to  their 
feet  without  assistance. 

Meanwhile  the  peasants  are  impatient  to  begin  the  field  labour. 
An  old  proverb  which  they  all  know  says :  "  Sow  in  mud  and  you 
will  be  a  prince";  and  they  always  act  in  accordance  with  this 
dictate  of  traditional  wisdom.  As  soon  as  it  is  possible  to  plough 
they  begin  to  prepare  the  land  for  the  summer  grain,  and  this 
labour  occupies  them  probably  till  the  end  of  May.  Then  comes 
the  work  of  carting  out  manure  and  preparing  the  fallow  field 
for  the  winter  grain,  which  will  last  probably  till  about  St.  Peter's 
Day  (June  29th),  when  the  hay-making  generally  begins.  After 
the  hay-making  comes  the  harvest,  by  far  the  busiest  time  of  the 
year.  From  the  middle  of  July — especially  from  St.  Elijah's 
Day  (July  20th),  when  the  saint  is  usually  heard  rumbling  along 
the  heavens  in  his  chariot  of  fire  t — until  the  end  of  August,  the 
peasant  may  work  day  and  night,  and  yet  he  will  find  that  he  has 
barely  time  to  get  all  his  work  done.  In  little  more  than  a  month 
he  has  to  reap  and  stack  his  grain — rye,  oats,  and  whatever  else 
he  may  have  sown  either  in  spring  or  in  the  preceding  autumn — 
and  to  sow  the  winter  grain  for  next  year.  To  add  to  his  troubles, 
it  sometimes  happens  that  the  rye  and  the  oats  ripen  almost  simul- 
taneously, and  his  position  is  then  still  more  difficult. 

Whether  the  seasons  favour  him  or  not,  the  peasant  has  at  this 
time  a  hard  task,  for  he  can  rarely  afford  to  hire  the  requisite  num- 
ber of  labourers,  and  has  generally  the  assistance  merely  of  his 

*  With  regard  to  saints'  days,  I  always  give  the  date  according  to 
the  old  style.  To  find  the  date  according  to  our  calendar,  thirteen  days 
must  be  added. 

t  It  is  thus  that  the  peasants  explain  the  thunder,  which  is  often 
heard  at  that  season. 


92  EUSSIA 

wife  and  family ;  but  he  can  at  this  season  work  for  a  short  time  at 
high  pressure,  for  he  has  the  prospect  of  soon  oljtaining  a  good  rest 
and  an  abundance  of  food.  About  the  end  of  September  the  field 
labour  is  finished,  and  on  the  first  day  of  October  the  harvest  festi- 
val begins — a  joyous  season^  during  which  the  parish  fetes  are 
commonly  celebrated. 

To  celebrate  a  parish  fete  in  true  orthodox  fashion  it  is  neces- 
sary to  prepare  beforehand  a  large  quantity  of  hraga — a  kind  of 
home-brewed  small  beer — and  to  bake  a  plentiful  supply  of  piroglii 
or  meat  pies.  Oil,  too,  has  to  be  procured,  and  vodka  (rye  spirit) 
in  goodly  quantity.  At  the  same  time  the  big  room  of  the  izhd, 
as  the  peasant's  house  is  called,  has  to  be  cleared,  the  floor  washed, 
and  the  table  and  benches  scru])bed.  The  evening  before  the  fete, 
while  the  inroglii  are  being  baked,  a  little  lamp  burns  before  the 
Icon  in  the  corner  of  the  room,  and  perhaps  one  or  two  guests  from 
a  distance  arrive  in  order  that  they  may  have  on  the  morrow  a  full 
day's  enjoyment. 

On  the  morning  of  the  fete  the  proceedings  begin  by  a  long  serv- 
ice in  the  church,  at  which  all  the  inhabitants  are  present  in  their 
best  holiday  costumes,  except  those  matrons  and  young  women 
who  remain  at  home  to  prepare  the  dinner.  About  mid-day  dinner 
is  served  in  each  izhci  for  the  family  and  their  friends.  In  general 
the  Eussian  peasant's  fare  is  of  the  simplest  kind,  and  rarely  com- 
prises animal  food  of  any  sort — not  from  any  vegetarian  proclivi- 
ties, but  merely  because  beef,  mutton,  and  pork  are  too  expensive ; 
but  on  a  holiday,  such  as  a  parish  fete,  there  is  always  on  the 
dinner  table  a  considerable  variety  of  dishes.  In  the  house  of  a 
well-to-do  family  there  will  be  not  only  greasy  cabbage-soup  and 
haslia — a  dish  made  from  buckwheat — but  also  pork,  mutton,  and 
perhaps  even  beef.  Braga  will  be  supplied  in  unlimited  quanti- 
ties, and  more  than  once  vodka  will  be  handed  round.  When  the 
repast  is  finished,  all  rise  together,  and,  turning  towards  the  Icon 
in  the  corner,  bow  and  cross  themselves  repeatedly.  The  guests 
then  say  to  their  host,  "  Spasibo  za  khelb  za  sol " — that  is  to  say, 
"  Thanks  for  your  hospitality,"  or  more  literally,  "  Thanks  for 
bread  and  salt " ;  and  the  host  replies,  "  Do  not  be  displeased,  sit 
down  once  more  for  good  luck  " — or  perhaps  he  puts  the  last  part 
of  his  request  into  the  form  of  a  rhyming  couplet  to  the  following 
effect :  "  Sit  down,  that  the  hens  may  brood,  and  that  the  chickens 
and  bees  may  multiply ! "  All  obey  this  request,  and  there  is 
another  round  of  vodka. 

After  dinner  some  stroll  about,  chatting  with  their  friends,  or 


THE  PEASANTRY  OF  THE  XORTH      93 

go  to  sleep  in  some  shady  nook,  whilst  those  who  wish  to  make 
merry  go  to  the  spot  where  the  young  people  are  singing,  playing, 
and  amusing  themselves  in  various  ways.  As  the  sun  sinks  towards 
the  horizon,  the  more  grave,  staid  guests  wend  their  way  home- 
wards, but  many  remain  for  supper;  and  as  evening  advances  the 
effects  of  the  vodka  become  more  and  more  apparent.  Sounds  of 
revelry  are  heard  more  frequently  from  the  houses,  and  a  large 
proportion  of  the  inhabitants  and  guests  appear  on  the  road  in 
various  degrees  of  intoxication.  Some  of  these  vow  eternal  affec- 
tion to  their  friends,  or  with  flaccid  gestures  and  in  incoherent 
tones  harangue  invisible  audiences;  others  stagger  about  aimlessly 
in  besotted  self-contentment,  till  they  drop  down  in  a  state  of 
complete  unconsciousness.  There  they  will  lie  tranquilly  till  they 
are  picked  up  by  their  less  intoxicated  friends,  or  more  probably 
till  they  awake  of  their  own  accord  next  morning. 

As  a  whole,  a  village  fete  in  Russia  is  a  saddening  spectacle.  It 
affords  a  new  proof — where,  alas!  no  new  proof  was  required — 
that  we  northern  nations,  who  know  so  well  how  to  work,  have  not 
yet  learned  the  art  of  amusing  ourselves. 

If  the  Russian  peasant's  food  were  always  as  good  and  plentiful 
as  at  this  season  of  the  year,  he  would  have  little  reason  to  com- 
plain ;  but  this  is  by  no  means  the  case.  Gradually,  as  the  harvest- 
time  recedes,  it  deteriorates  in  quality,  and  sometimes  diminishes 
in  quantity.  Besides  this,  during  a  great  part  of  the  year  the 
peasant  is  prevented,  by  the  rules  of  the  Church,  from  using  much 
that  he  possesses. 

In  southern  climes,  where  these  rules  were  elaborated  and  first 
practised,  the  prescribed  fasts  are  perhaps  useful  not  only  in  a 
religious,  but  also  in  a  sanitary  sense.  Having  abundance  of  fruit 
and  vegetables,  the  inhabitants  do  well  to  abstain  occasionally 
from  animal  food.  But  in  countries  like  Northern  and  Central 
Russia  the  influence  of  these  rules  is  very  different.  The  Russian 
peasant  cannot  get  as  much  animal  food  as  he  requires,  whilst 
sour  cabbage  and  cucumbers  are  probably  the  only  vegetables  he 
can  procure,  and  fruit  of  any  kind  is  for  him  an  unattainable 
luxury.  Under  these  circumstances,  abstinence  from  eggs  and 
milk  in  all  their  forms  during  several  months  of  the  year  seems 
to  the  secular  mind  a  superfluous  bit  of  asceticism.  If  the  Church 
would  direct  her  maternal  solicitude  to  the  peasant's  drinking,  and 
leave  him  to  eat  what  he  pleases,  she  might  exercise  a  beneficial 
influence  on  his  material  and  moral  welfare.  Unfortunately  she 
has  a  great  deal  too  much  inherent  immobility  to  attempt  anything 


94  EUSSIA 

of  the  kind,  so  the  muzhik,  while  free  to  drink  copiously  whenever 
he  gets  the  chance,  must  fast  during  the  seven  weeks  of  Lent, 
during  two  or  three  weeks  in  June,  from  the  beginning  of  Novem- 
ber till  Christmas,  and  on  all  Wednesdays  and  Fridays  during  the 
remainder  of  the  year. 

From  the  festival  time  till  the  following  spring  there  is  no  possi- 
bility of  doing  any  agricultural  work,  for  the  ground  is  hard  as 
iron,  and  covered  with  a  deep  layer  of  snow.  The  male  peasants, 
therefore,  who  remain  in  the  villages,  have  very  little  to  do,  and 
may  spend  the  greater  part  of  their  time  in  lying  idly  on  the  stove, 
unless  they  happen  to  have  learned  some  handicraft  that  can  be 
practised  at  home.  Formerly,  many  of  them  were  employed  in 
transporting  the  grain  to  the  market  town,  which  might  be  several 
hundred  miles  distant;  but  now  this  species  of  occupation  has  been 
greatly  diminished  by  the  extension  of  railways. 

Another  winter  occupation  which  was  formerly  practised,  and 
has  now  almost  fallen  into  disuse,  was  that  of  stealing  wood  in  the 
forest.  This  was,  according  to  peasant  morality,  no  sin,  or  at 
most  a  very  venial  offence,  for  God  plants  and  waters  the  trees, 
and  therefore  forests  belong  properly  to  no  one.  So  thought  the 
peasantry,  but  the  landed  proprietors  and  the  Administration  of 
the  Domains  held  a  different  theory  of  property,  and  consequently 
precautions  had  to  be  taken  to  avoid  detection.  In  order  to  ensure 
success  it  was  necessary  to  choose  a  night  when  there  was  a  violent 
snowstorm,  which  would  immediately  obliterate  all  traces  of  the 
expedition;  and  when  such  a  night  was  found,  the  operation  was 
commonly  performed  with  success.  During  the  hours  of  darkness 
a  tree  would  be  felled,  stripped  of  its  branches,  dragged  into  the 
village,  and  cut  up  into  firewood,  and  at  sunrise  the  actors  would 
be  tranquilly  sleeping  on  the  stove  as  if  they  had  spent  the  night 
at  home.  In  recent  years  the  judicial  authorities  have  done  much 
towards  putting  down  this  practice  and  eradicating  the  loose  con- 
ceptions of  property  with  which  it  was  connected. 

For  the  female  part  of  the  population  the  winter  used  to  be  a 
busy  time,  for  it  was  during  these  four  or  five  months  that  the 
spinning  and  weaving  had  to  be  done,  but  now  the  big  factories, 
with  their  cheap  methods  of  production,  are  rapidly  killing  the 
home  industries,  and  the  young  girls  are  not  learning  to  work 
at  the  jenny  and  the  loom  as  their  mothers  and  grandmothers 
did. 

In  many  of  the  northern  villages,  where  ancient  usages  happen 
to  be  preserved,  the  tedium  of  the  long  winter  evenings  is  relieved 


THE  PEASANTEY  OF  THE  NOKTH      95 

by  so-called  Besedy,  a  word  which  signifies  literally  conversazioni. 
A  Beseda,  however,  is  not  exactly  a  conversazione  as  we  under- 
stand the  term,  but  resembles  rather  wliat  is  by  some  ladies  called 
a  Dorcas  meeting,  with  tliis  essential  difference,  that  those  present 
work  for  themselves  and  not  for  any  benevolent  purposes.  In  some 
villages  as  many  as  three  Besedy  regularly  assemble  about  sunset; 
one  for  the  children,  the  second  for  the  young  people,  and  the  third 
for  the  matrons.  Each  of  the  three  has  its  peculiar  character.  In 
tlie  first,  the  children  work  and  amuse  themselves  under  the  super- 
intendence of  an  old  woman,  who  trims  the  torch*  and  endeavours 
to  keep  order.  The  little  girls  spin  flax  in  a  primitive  way  without 
the  aid  of  a  jenny,  and  the  boys,  who  are,  on  the  whole,  much  less 
industrious,  make  simple  bits  of  wicker-work.  Formerly — I 
mean  within  my  own  recollection — many  of  them  used  to  make 
rude  shoes  of  plaited  bark,  called  lapiy,  but  these  are  being  rapidly 
supplanted  by  leather  boots.  These  occupations  do  not  prevent  an 
almost  incessant  hum  of  talk,  frequent  discordant  attempts  to  sing 
in  chorus,  and  occasional  quarrels  requiring  the  energetic  interfer- 
ence of  the  old  woman  who  controls  the  proceedings.  To  amuse 
her  noisy  flock  she  sometimes  relates  to  them,  for  the  hundredth 
time,  one  of  those  wonderful  old  stories  that  lose  nothing  by  repe- 
tition, and  all  listen  to  her  attentively,  as  if  they  had  never  heard 
the  story  before. 

The  second  Beseda  is  held  in  another  house  by  the  young  people 
of  a  riper  age.  Here  the  workers  are  naturally  more  staid,  less 
given  to  quarrelling,  sing  more  in  harmony,  and  require  no  one  to 
look  after  them.  Some  people,  however,  might  think  that  a 
chaperon  or  inspector  of  some  kind  would  be  by  no  means  out 
of  place,  for  a  good  deal  of  flirtation  goes  on,  and  if  village 
scandal  is  to  be  trusted,  strict  propriety  in  thought,  word,  and 
deed  is  not  always  observed.  How  far  these  reports  are  true 
I  cannot  pretend  to  say,  for  the  presence  of  a  stranger  always  acts 
on  the  company  like  the  presence  of  a  severe  inspector.  In  the 
third  Beseda  there  is  always  at  least  strict  decorum.  Here  the 
married  women  work  together  and  talk  about  their  domestic  con- 
cerns, enlivening  the  conversation  occasionally  by  the  introduction 
of  little  bits  of  village  scandal. 

Such  is  the  ordinary  life  of  the  peasants  who  live  by  agriculture; 
but  many  of  the  villagers  live  occasionally  or  permanently  in  tlie 
towns.     Probably  the  majority  of  the  peasants  in  this  region  have 

*The  torch  (httchina)  has  now  almost  entirely  disappeared  and  been 
replaced  by  the  petroleum  lamp. 


96  RUSSIA 

at  some  period  of  their  lives  gained  a  living  elsewhere.  Many  of 
the  absentees  spend  yearly  a  few  months  at  home,  whilst  others 
visit  their  families  only  occasionally,  and,  it  may  be,  at  long  inter- 
vals. In  no  case,  however,  do  they  sever  their  connection  with 
their  native  village.  Even  the  peasant  who  becomes  a  rich  mer- 
chant and  settles  permanently  with  his  family  in  Moscow  or  St. 
Petersburg  remains  probably  a  member  of  the  Village  Commune, 
and  pays  his  share  of  the  taxes,  though  he  does  not  enjoy  any  of 
the  corresponding  privileges.  Once  I  remember  asking  a  rich 
man  of  this  kind,  the  proprietor  of  several  large  houses  in  St. 
Petersburg,  why  he  did  not  free  himself  from  all  connection  with 
his  native  Commune,  with  which  he  had  no  longer  any  interests  in 
common.  His  answer  was,  "  It  is  all  very  well  to  be  free,  and  I 
don't  want  anything  from  the  Commune  now;  but  my  old  father 
lives  there,  my  mother  is  buried  there,  and  I  like  to  go  back  to  the 
old  place  sometimes.  Besides,  I  have  children,  and  our  affairs  are 
commercial  (nashe  dyelo  torgovoe).  Who  knows  but  my  children 
may  be  very  glad  some  day  to  have  a  share  of  the  Commune  land  ?  " 
In  respect  to  these  non-agricultural  occupations,  each  district 
has  its  specialty.  The  province  of  Yaroslavl,  for  instance,  supplies 
the  large  towns  with  waiters  for  the  traktirs,  or  lower  class  of  res- 
taurants, whilst  the  best  hotels  in  Petersburg  are  supplied  by  the 
Tartars  of  Kasimof,  celebrated  for  their  sobriety  and  honesty. 
One  part  of  the  province  of  Kostroma  has  a  special  reputation  for 
producing  carpenters  and  stove-builders,  whilst  another  part,  as  I 
once  discovered  to  my  surprise,  sends  yearly  to  Siberia — not  as 
convicts,  but  as  free  laborours — a  large  contingent  of  tailors  and 
workers  in  felt !  On  questioning  some  youngsters  who  were  accom- 
panying as  apprentices  one  of  these  bands,  I  was  informed  by  a 
bright-eyed  youth  of  about  sixteen  that  he  had  already  made  the 
journey  twice,  and  intended  to  go  every  winter.  "  And  you  always 
bring  home  a  big  pile  of  money  with  you  ?  "  I  inquired.  "  Nitch- 
evo ! "  replied  the  little  fellow,  gaily,  with  an  air  of  pride  and  self- 
confidence  ;  "  last  year  I  brought  home  three  roubles ! "  This 
answer  was,  at  the  moment,  not  altogether  welcome,  for  I  had  just 
been  discussing  with  a  Eussian  fellow-traveller  as  to  whether  the 
peasantry  can  fairly  be  called  industrious,  and  the  boy's  reply  ena- 
bled my  antagonist  to  score  a  point  against  me.  "  You  hear  that !  " 
he  said,  triumphantly.  "A  Eussian  peasant  goes  all  the  way  to 
Siberia  and  back  for  three  roubles!  Could  you  get  an  English- 
man to  work  at  that  rate  ?  "  "  Perhaps  not,"  I  replied,  evasively, 
thinking  at  the  same  time  that  if  a  youth  were  sent  several  times 


THE  PEASANTRY  OF  THE  NORTH      97 

from  Land's  End  to  John  o'  Groat's  House,  and  obliged  to  make  the 
greater  part  of  tlie  journey  in  carts  or  on  foot,  he  would  probably 
expect,  by  way  of  remuneration  for  the  time  and  labour  expended, 
rather  more  tlian  seven  and  sixpence ! 

Very  often  the  peasants  find  industrial  occupations  without  leav- 
ing home,  for  various  industries  which  do  not  require  complicated 
machinery  are  practised  in  the  viUages  by  the  peasants  and  their 
families.  Wooden  vessels,  wrought  iron,  pottery,  leather,  rush- 
matting,  and  numerous  other  articles  are  thus  produced  in  enor- 
mous quantities.  Occasionally  we  find  not  only  a  whole  village, 
but  even  a  whole  district  occupied  almost  exclusively  with  some 
one  kind  of  manual  industry.  In  the  province  of  Vladimir,  for 
example,  a  large  group  of  villages  live  by  Icon-painting;  in  one 
locality  near  Nizhni-Novgorod  nineteen  villages  are  occupied  with 
the  manufacture  of  axes;  round  about  Tavlovo,  in  the  same  prov- 
ince, eighty  villages  produce  almost  nothing  but  cutlery;  and  in  a 
locality  called  Ouloma,  on  the  borders  of  Novgorod  and  Tver,  no 
less  than  two  hundred  villages  live  by  nail-making. 

These  domestic  industries  have  long  existed,  and  were  formerly 
an  abundant  source  of  revenue — providing  a  certain  compensation 
for  the  poverty  of  the  soil.  But  at  present  they  are  in  a  very 
critical  position.  They  belong  to  the  primitive  period  of  economic 
development,  and  that  period  in  Russia,  as  I  shall  explain  in  a 
future  chapter,  is  now  rapidly  drawing  to  a  close.  Formerly  the 
Head  of  a  Household  bought  the  raw  material,  had  it  worked  up 
at  home,  and  sold  with  a  reasonable  profit  the  manufactured  arti- 
cles at  the  bazaars,  as  the  local  fairs  are  called,  or  perhaps  at  the 
great  annual  yarmarM  *  of  Nizhni-Novgorod.  This  primitive  sys- 
tem is  now  rapidly  becoming  obsolete.  Capital  and  wholesale  en- 
terprise have  come  into  the  field  and  are  revolutionising  the  old 
methods  of  production  and  trade.  Already  whole  groups  of  indus- 
trial villages  have  fallen  under  the  power  of  middle-men,  who 
advance  money  to  the  working  households  and  fix  the  price  of  the 
products.  Attempts  are  frequently  made  to  break  their  power  by 
voluntary  co-operative  associations,  organised  by  the  local  authori- 
ties or  benevolent  landed  proprietors  of  the  neighbourliood — like 
the  benevolent  people  in  England  who  try  to  preserve  the  tradi- 
tional cottage  industries — and  some  of  the  associations  work  very 
w^ell ;  but  the  ultimate  success  of  such  "  efforts  to  stem  the  current 
of  capitalism  "  is  extremely  doubtful.  At  the  same  time,  the  peri- 
odical bazaars  and  yarmarhi,  at  which  producers  and  consumers 
*  This  term  is  a  corruption  of  the  German  word  Jahrmarkt. 


98  EUSSIA 

transacted  their  affairs  without  mediation,  are  being  replaced  by 
permanent  stores  and  by  various  classes  of  tradesmen — wholesale 
and  retail. 

To  the  political  economist  of  the  rigidly  orthodox  school  this 
iinportant  change  may  afford  great  satisfaction.  According  to  his 
theories  it  is  a  gigantic  step  in  the  right  direction,  and  must  neces- 
sarily redound  to  the  advantage  of  all  parties  concerned.  The 
producer  now  receives  a  regular  supply  of  raw  material,  and  regu- 
larly disposes  of  the  articles  manufactured;  and  the  time  and 
trouble  which  he  formerly  devoted  to  wandering  about  in  search 
of  customers  he  can  now  employ  more  profitably  in  productive 
work.  The  creation  of  a  class  between  the  producers  and  the 
consumers  is  an  important  step  towards  that  division  and  speciali- 
sation of  labour  which  is  a  necessary  condition  of  industrial  and 
,  commercial  prosperity.  The  consumer  no  longer  requires  to  go  on 
a  fixed  day  to  some  distant  point,  on  the  chance  of  finding  there 
what  he  requires,  but  can  always  buy  what  he  pleases  in  the  per- 
manent stores.  Above  all,  the  production  is  greatly  increased  in 
amount,  and  the  price  of  manufactured  goods  is  proportionally 
lessened. 

All  this  seems  clear  enough  in  theory,  and  any  one  who  values 
intellectual  tranquillity  will  feel  disposed  to  accept  this  view  of  the 
case  without  questioning  its  accuracy;  but  the  unfortunate  trav- 
eller who  is  obliged  to  use  his  eyes  as  well  as  his  logical  faculties 
may  find  some  little  difficulty  in  making  the  facts  fit  into  the 
a  priori  formula.  Far  be  it  from  me  to  question  the  wisdom  of 
political  economists,  but  I  cannot  refrain  from  remarking  that  of 
the  three  classes  concerned — small  producers,  middle-men,  and 
consumers — two  fail  to  perceive  and  appreciate  the  benefits  which 
have  been  conferred  upon  them.  The  small  producers  complain 
that  on  the  new  system  they  work  more  and  gain  less;  and  the 
consumers  complain  that  the  manufactured  articles,  if  cheaper  and 
more  showy  in  appearance,  are  far  inferior  in  quality.  The  middle- 
men, who  are  accused,  rightly  or  wrongly,  of  taking  for  themselves 
the  lion's  share  of  the  profits,  alone  seem  satisfied  with  the  new 
arrangement. 

Interesting  as  this  question  undoubtedly  is,  it  is  not  of  per- 
manent importance,  because  the  present  state  of  things  is  merely 
transitory.  Though  the  peasants  may  continue  for  a  time  to  work 
at  home  for  the  wholesale  dealers,  they  cannot  in  the  long  run  com- 
pete with  the  big  factories  and  workshops,  organised  on  the  Euro- 
pean model  with  steam-power  and  complicated  machinery,  which 


THE  PEASANTRY  OF  THE  XOETH      99 

already  exist  in  many  provinces.  Once  a  country  has  begun  to 
move  forward  on  the  great  highway  of  economic  progress,  there  is 
no  possibility  of  stopping  halfway. 

Here  again  the  orthodox  economists  find  reason  for  congratula- 
tion, because  big  factories  and  workshops  are  the  cheapest  and  most 
productive  form  of  manufacturing  industry ;  and  again,  the  observ- 
ant traveller  cannot  shut  his  eyes  to  ugly  facts  which  force  them- 
selves on  his  attention.  He  notices  that  this  cheapest  and  most 
productive  form  of  manufacturing  industry  docs  not  seem  to  ad- 
vance the  material  and  moral  welfare  of  the  population.  Nowhere 
is  there  more  disease,  drunkenness,  demoralisation  and  misery  than 
in  the  manufacturing  districts. 

The  reader  must  not  imagine  that  in  making  these  statements 
I  wish  to  calumniate  the  spirit  of  modern  enterprise,  or  to 
advocate  a  return  to  primitive  barbarism.  All  great  changes  pro- 
duce a  mixture  of  good  and  evil,  and  at  first  the  evil  is  pretty 
sure  to  come  prominently  forward.  Eussia  is  at  this  moment  in  a 
state  of  transition,  and  the  new  condition  of  things  is  not  yet  prop- 
erly organised.  With  improved  organisation  many  of  the  existing 
evils  will  disappear.  Already  in  recent  years  I  have  noticed  spo- 
radic signs  of  improvement.  Wlien  factories  were  first  established 
no  proper  arrangements  were  made  for  housing  and  feeding  the 
workmen,  and  the  consequent  hardships  were  specially  felt  when  the 
factories  were  founded,  as  is  often  the  case,  in  rural  districts.  Now, 
the  richer  and  more  enterprising  manufacturers  build  large  bar- 
racks for  the  workmen  and  their  families,  and  provide  them  with 
common  kitchens,  wash-houses,  steam-baths,  schools,  and  similar 
requisites  of  civilised  life.  At  the  same  time  the  Government 
appoints  inspectors  to  superintend  the  sanitary  arrangements 
and  see  that  the  health  and  comfort  of  the  workers  are  properly 
attended  to. 

On  the  whole  we  must  assume  that  the  activity  of  these  inspectors 
tends  to  improve  the  condition  of  the  working-classes.  Certainly 
in  some  instances  it  has  that  effect.  I  remember,  for  example, 
some  thirty  years  ago,  visiting  a  lucifer-match  factory  in  which  the 
hands  employed  worked  habitually  in  an  atmosphere  impregnated 
with  the  fumes  of  phosphorus,  which  produce  insidious  and  very 
painful  diseases.  Such  a  thing  is  hardly  possible  nowadays.  On 
the  other  hand,  official  ins])ection,  like  Factory  Acts,  everywhere 
gives  rise  to  a  good  deal  of  dissatisfaction  and  does  not  always 
improve  the  relations  between  employers  and  employed.  Some  of 
the  Russian  inspectors,  if  I  may  credit  the  testimony  of  employers, 


100  RUSSIA 

are  young  gentlemen  imbued  with  socialist  notions,  who  intention- 
ally stir  up  discontent  or  who  make  mischief  from  inexperience. 
An  amusing  illustration  of  the  current  complaints  came  under  my 
notice  when,  in  1903,  I  was  visiting  a  landed  proprietor  of  the 
southern  provinces,  who  has  a  large  sugar  factory  on  his  estate. 
The  inspector  objected  to  the  traditional  custom  of  the  men  sleep- 
ing in  large  dormitories  and  insisted  on  sleeping-cots  being  con- 
structed for  them  individually.  As  soon  as  the  change  was  made 
the  workmen  came  to  the  proprietor  to  complain,  and  put  their 
grievance  in  an  interrogative  form :  "  Are  we  cattle  that  we  should 
be  thus  couped  up  in  stalls  ?  " 

To  return  to  the  northern  agricultural  region,  the  rural  popu- 
lation have  a  peculiar  type,  which  is  to  be  accounted  for  by  the 
fact  that  they  never  experienced  to  its  full  extent  the  demoralising 
influence  of  serfage.  A  large  proportion  of  them  were  settled  on 
State  domains  and  were  governed  by  a  special  branch  of  the  Im- 
perial administration,  whilst  others  lived  on  the  estates  of  rich 
absentee  landlords,  who  were  in  the  habit  of  leaving  the  manage- 
ment of  their  properties  to  a  steward  acting  under  a  code  of  instruc- 
tions. In  either  case,  though  serfs  in  the  eye  of  the  law,  they 
enjoyed  practically  a  very  large  amount  of  liberty.  By  paying  a 
small  sum  for  a  passport  they  could  leave  their  villages  for  an 
indefinite  period,  and  as  long  as  they  sent  home  regularly  the  money 
required  for  taxes  and  dues,  they  were  in  little  danger  of  being 
molested.  Many  of  them,  though  oflficially  inscribed  as  domiciled 
in  their  native  communes,  lived  permanently  in  the  towns,  and  not 
a  few  succeeded  in  amassing  large  fortunes.  The  effect  of  this 
comparative  freedom  is  apparent  even  at  the  present  day.  These 
peasants  of  the  north  are  more  energetic,  more  intelligent,  more 
independent,  and  consequently  less  docile  and  pliable  than  those 
of  the  fertile  central  provinces.  They  have,  too,  more  education, 
A  large  proportion  of  them  can  read  and  write,  and  occasionally 
one  meets  among  them  men  who  have  a  keen  desire  for  knowledge. 
Several  times  I  encountered  peasants  in  this  region  who  had  a 
small  collection  of  books,  and  twice  I  found  in  such  collections, 
much  to  my  astonishment,  a  Russian  translation  of  Buckle's  "  His- 
tory of  Civilisation." 

How,  it  may  be  asked,  did  a  work  of  this  sort  find  its  way  to 
such  a  place  ?  If  the  reader  will  pardon  a  short  digression,  I  shall 
explain  the  fact. 

Immediately  after  the  Crimean  War  there  was  a  curious  intel- 
lectual movement — of  which  I  shall  have  more  to  say  hereafter 


THE    TEASAXTRY    OF   THE   NORTH  101 

— among  the  Eussian  educated  classes.  The  movement  assumed 
various  forms,  of  which  two  of  the  most  prominent  w^ere  a  desire 
for  encyclopti?die  knowledge,  and  an  attempt  to  reduce  all  knowl- 
edge to  a  scientific  form.  For  men  in  this  state  of  mind  Buckle's 
great  work  had  naturally  a  powerful  fascination.  It  seemed  at 
first  sight  to  reduce  the  multifarious  conflicting  facts  of  human, 
history  to  a  few  simple  principles,  and  to  evolve  order  out  of  chaos. 
Its  success,  therefore,  was  great.  In  the  course  of  a  few  years  no 
less  than  four  independent  translations  were  published  and  sold. 
Every  one  read,  or  at  least  professed  to  have  read,  the  wonderful 
book,  and  many  believed  that  its  author  was  the  greatest  genius 
of  his  time.  During  the  first  year  of  my  residence  in  Russia 
(1870),  I  rarely  had  a  serious  conversation  without  hearing  Buckle's 
name  mentioned ;  and  my  friends  almost  always  assumed  that  he 
had  succeeded  in  creating  a  genuine  science  of  history  on  the  induc- 
tive method.  In  vain  I  pointed  out  that  Buckle  had  merely  thro^\^l 
out  some  hints  in  his  introductory  chapter  as  to  how  such  a  science 
ought  to  be  constructed,  and  that  he  had  himself  made  no  serious 
attempt  to  use  the  method  which  he  commended.  My  objections 
had  little  or  no  effect :  the  belief  was  too  deep-rooted  to  be  so  easily 
eradicated.  In  books,  periodicals,  newspapers,  and  professional  lec- 
tures the  name  of  Buckle  was  constantly  cited — often  violently 
dragged  in  without  the  slightest  reason — and  the  cheap  translations 
of  his  work  were  sold  in  enormous  quantities.  It  is  not,  then,  so 
very  wonderful  after  all  that  the  book  should  have  found  its  way 
to  two  villages  in  the  province  of  Yaroslavl. 

The  enterprising,  self-reliant,  independent  spirit  which  is  often 
to  be  found  among  those  peasants  manifests  itself  occasionally  in 
amusing  forms  among  the  young  generation.  Often  in  this  part  of 
the  country  I  have  encountered  boys  who  recalled  young  America 
rather  than  young  Russia.  One  of  these  young  hopefuls  I  remem- 
ber well.  I  was  waiting  at  a  post-station  for  the  horses  to  be 
changed,  when  he  appeared  before  me  in  a  sheep-skin,  fur  cap,  and 
gigantic  double-soled  boots — all  of  which  articles  had  been  made 
on  a  scale  adapted  to  future  rather  than  actual  requirements.  He 
must  have  stood  in  his  boots  about  three  feet  eight  inches,  and  he 
could  not  have  been  more  than  twelve  years  of  age;  but  he  had 
already  learned  to  look  upon  life  as  a  serious  business,  wore  a 
commanding  air,  and  knitted  his  innocent  little  brows  as  if  the 
cares  of  an  empire  weighed  on  his  diminutive  shoulders.  Though 
he  was  to  act  as  yamstchil-,  he  had  to  leave  the  putting  in  of  the 
horses  to  larger  specimens  of  the  human  species,  but  he  took  care 


102  EUSSIA 

that  all  was  done  properly.  Putting  one  of  his  big  boots  a  little  ir 
advance,  and  drawing  himself  up  to  his  full  shortness,  he  watched 
the  operation  attentively,  as  if  the  smallness  of  his  stature  had 
nothing  to  do  with  his  inactivity.  When  all  was  ready,  he  climbed 
up  to  his  seat,  and  at  a  signal  from  the  station-keeper,  who  watched 
with  paternal  pride  all  the  movements  of  the  little  prodigy,  we 
dashed  off  at  a  pace  rarely  attained  by  post-horses.  He  had  the 
faculty  of  emitting  a  peculiar  sound — something  between  a  whirr 
and  a  whistle — that  appeared  to  have  a  magical  effect  on  the  team 
and  every  few  minutes  he  employed  this  incentive.  The  road  was 
rough,  and  at  every  jolt  he  was  shot  upwards  into  the  air,  but  he 
always  fell  back  into  his  proper  position,  and  never  lost  for  a 
moment  his  self-possession  or  his  balance.  At  the  end  of  the 
Journey  I  found  we  had  made  nearly  fourteen  miles  within  the 
hour. 

Unfortunately  this  energetic,  enterprising  spirit  sometimes  takes 
an  illegitimate  direction.  Not  only  whole  villages,  but  even  whole 
districts,  have  in  this  way  acquired  a  bad  reputation  for  robbery, 
the  manufacture  of  paper-money,  and  similar  offences  against  the 
criminal  law.  In  popular  parlance,  these  localities  are  said  to 
contain  "people  who  play  pranks"  (narod  slialit).  I  must,  how- 
ever, remark  that,  if  I  may  judge  by  my  own  experience,  these 
so-called  "playful"  tendencies  are  greatly  exaggerated.  Though 
I  have  travelled  hundreds  of  miles  at  night  on  lonely  roads,  I  was 
never  robbed  or  in  any  way  molested.  Once,  indeed,  when  travel- 
ling at  night  in  a  tarantass,  I  discovered  on  awaking  that  my  driver 
was  bending  over  me,  and  had  introduced  his  hand  into  one  of  my 
pockets;  but  the  incident  ended  without  serious  consequences. 
When  I  caught  the  delinquent  hand,  and  demanded  an  explanation 
from  the  o^mer,  he  replied,  in  an  apologetic,  caressing  tone,  that 
the  night  was  cold,  and  he  wished  to  warm  his  fingers ;  and  when  I 
advised  him  to  use  for  that  purpose  his  own  pockets  rather  than 
mine,  he  promised  to  act  in  future  according  to  my  advice.  More 
than  once,  it  is  true,  I  believed  that  I  was  in  danger  of  being 
attacked,  but  on  every  occasion  my  fears  turned  out  to  be  un- 
founded, and  sometimes  the  catastrophe  was  ludicrous  rather  than 
tragical.     Let  the  following  serve  as  an  illustration. 

I  had  occasion  to  traverse,  in  company  with  a  Eussian  friend, 
the  coimtry  lying  to  the  east  of  the  river  Vetluga — a  land  of  forest 
and  morass,  with  here  and  there  a  patch  of  cultivation.  The  ma- 
jority of  the  population  are  Tcheremiss,  a  Finnish  tribe ;  but  near 
the  banks  of  the  river  there  are  villages  of  Eussian  peasants,  and 


THE    PEASAXTRY    OF    THE    XORTH  103 

these  latter  have  the  reputation  of  "  playing  pranks."  When  we 
were  on  the  point  of  starting  from  Kozniodemiansk,  a  town  on  the 
bank  of  the  Volga,  we  received  a  visit  from  an  officer  of  rural 
police,  who  painted  in  very  sombre  colours  the  habits  and  moral 
character — or,  more  properly,  immoral  character — of  the  people 
whose  acquaintance  we  were  about  to  make.  He  related  with  melo- 
dramatic gesticulation  his  encounters  with  malefactors  belonging 
to  the  villages  through  which  we  had  to  pass,  and  ended  the  inter- 
view with  a  strong  recommendation  to  us  not  to  travel  at  night, 
and  to  keep  at  all  times  our  eyes  open  and  our  revolver  ready. 
The  effect  of  his  narrative  was  considerably  diminished  by  the 
prominence  of  the  moral,  which  was  to  the  effect  that  there  never 
had  been  a  police-officer  who  had  shown  so  much  zeal,  energy,  and 
courage  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty  as  the  worthy  man  before  us. 
We  considered  it,  however,  advisable  to  remember  his  hint  about 
keeping  our  eyes  open. 

In  spite  of  our  intention  of  being  very  cautious,  it  was  already 
dark  when  we  arrived  at  the  village  which  was  to  be  our  halting- 
place  for  the  night,  and  it  seemed  at  first  as  if  we  should  be  obliged 
to  spend  the  night  in  the  open  air.  The  inhabitants  had  already 
retired  to  rest,  and  refused  to  open  their  doors  to  unknown  trav- 
ellers. At  length  an  old  woman,  more  hospitable  than  her  neigh- 
bours, or  more  anxious  to  earn  an  honest  penny,  consented  to  let  us 
pass  the  night  in  an  outer  apartment  (seni),  and  this  permission  we 
gladly  accepted.  Mindful  of  the  warnings  of  the  police  officer,  we 
barricaded  the  two  doors  and  the  window,  and  the  precaution  was 
evidently  not  superfluous,  for  almost  as  soon  as  the  light  was  ex- 
tinguished we  could  hear  that  an  attempt  was  being  made  stealthily 
to  effect  an  entrance.  Notwithstanding  my  efforts  to  remain  awake, 
and  on  the  watch,  I  at  last  fell  asleep,  and  was  suddenly  aroused  by 
Bome  one  grasping  me  tightly  by  the  arm.  Instantly  I  sprang  to 
my  feet  and  endeavoured  to  close  with  my  invisible  assailant.  In 
vain!  He  dexterously  eluded  my  grasp,  and  I  stumbled  over  my 
portmanteau,  which  was  lying  on  the  floor;  but  my  prompt  action 
revealed  who  the  intruder  was,  by  producing  a  wild  flutter  and  a 
frantic  cackling!  Before  my  companion  could  strike  a  light  the 
mysterious  attack  was  fully  explained.  The  supposed  midnight 
robber  and  possible  assassin  was  simply  a  peaceable  hen  that  had 
gone  to  roost  on  my  arm,  and,  on  finding  her  position  unsteady, 
had  dug  her  claws  into  what  she  mistook  for  a  roosting-pole ! 

When  speaking  of  the  peasantry  of  the  north  I  have  hitherto  had 
in  view  the  inhabitants  of  the  provinces  of  Old-Xovgorod,  Tver, 


104  KUSSIA 

Yaroslavl,  Nizhni-jSTovgorod,  Kostroma,  Kazan,  and  Viatka,  and  I 
have  founded  my  remarks  chiefly  on  information  collected  on  the 
spot.  Beyond  this  lies  what  may  be  called  the  Far  North.  Though 
I  cannot  profess  to  have  the  same  personal  acquaintance  with  the 
peasantry  of  that  region,  I  may  perhaps  be  allowed  to  insert  here 
some  information  regarding  them  which  I  collected  from  various 
trustworthy  sources. 

If  we  draw  a  wavy  line  eastward  from  a  point  a  little  to  the  north 
of  St.  Petersburg,  as  is  shown  in  the  map  facing  page  1  of  this 
volume,  we  shall  have  between  that  line  and  the  Polar  Ocean  what 
may  be  regarded  as  a  distinct,  peculiar  region,  differing  in  many 
respects  from  the  rest  of  Eussia.  Throughout  the  whole  of  it  the 
climate  is  very  severe.  For  about  half  of  the  year  the  ground  is 
covered  by  deep  snow,  and  the  rivers  are  frozen.  By  far  the  greater 
part  of  the  land  is  occupied  by  forests  of  pine,  fir,  larch,  and  birch, 
or  by  vast,  unfathomable  morasses.  The  arable  land  and  pasturage 
taken  together  form  only  about  one  and  a  half  per  cent,  of  the 
area.  The  population  is  scarce — little  more  than  one  to  the  Eng- 
lish square  mile — and  settled  chiefly  along  the  banks  of  the  rivers. 
The  peasantry  support  themselves  by  fishing,  hunting,  felling  and 
floating  timber,  preparing  tar  and  charcoal,  cattle-breeding,  and, 
in  the  extreme  north,  breeding  reindeer. 

These  are  their  chief  occupations,  but  the  people  do  not  entirely 
neglect  agriculture.  They  make  the  most  of  their  short  summer  by 
means  of  a  peculiar  and  ingenious  mode  of  farming,  well  adapted  to 
the  peculiar  local  conditions.  The  peasant  knows  of  course  nothing 
about  agronomical  chemistry,  but  he,  as  well  as  his  forefathers,  have 
observed  that  if  wood  be  burnt  on  a  field,  and  the  ashes  be  mixed 
with  the  soil,  a  good  harvest  may  be  confidently  expected.  On  this 
simple  principle  his  system  of  farming  is  based.  When  spring 
comes  round  and  the  leaves  begin  to  appear  on  the  trees,  a  band 
of  peasants,  armed  with  their  hatchets,  proceed  to  some  spot  in  the 
woods  previously  fixed  upon.  Here  they  begin  to  make  a  clearing. 
This  is  no  easy  matter,  for  tree-felling  is  hard  and  tedious  work; 
but  the  process  does  not  take  so  much  time  as  might  be  expected, 
for  the  workmen  have  been  brought  up  to  the  trade,  and  wield  their 
axes  with  marvellous  dexterity.  When  they  have  felled  all  the 
trees,  great  and  small,  they  return  to  their  homes,  and  think  no 
more  about  their  clearing  till  the  autumn,  when  they  return,  in 
order  to  strip  the  fallen  trees  of  the  branches,  to  pick  out  what 
they  require  for  building  purposes  or  firewood,  and  to  pile  up  the 
remainder  in  heaps.     The  logs  for  building  or  firewood  are  dragged 


THE    PEASAXTRY    OF   THE    XORTH  105 

away  by  horses  as  soon  as  the  first  fall  of  snow  has  made  a  good 
slippery  road,  but  the  piles  are  allowed  to  remain  till  the  following 
spring,  when  they  are  stirred  up  with  long  poles  and  ignited.  The 
flames  rapidly  spread  in  all  directions  till  they  join  together  and 
form  a  gigantic  bonfire,  such  as  is  never  seen  in  more  densely- 
populated  countries.  If  the  fire  does  its  work  properly,  the  whole 
of  the  space  is  covered  with  a  layer  of  ashes ;  and  when  these  have 
been  slightly  mixed  with  soil  by  means  of  a  light  plough,  the  seed 
is  sown. 

On  the  field  prepared  in  this  original  fashion  is  so^\^l  barley,  rye, 
or  flax ;  and  the  harvests,  nearly  always  good,  sometimes  border  on 
the  miraculous.  Barley  or  rye  may  be  expected  to  produce  al)Out 
sixfold  in  ordinary  years,  and  they  may  produce  as  much  as  thirty- 
fold  under  peculiarly  favourable  circumstances.  The  fertility  is, 
however,  short-lived.  If  the  soil  is  poor  and  stony,  not  more  than 
two  crops  can  be  raised;  if  it  is  of  a  better  quality,  it  may  give 
tolerable  harvests  for  six  or  seven  successive  years.  In  most  coun- 
tries this  would  be  an  absurdly  expensive  way  of  manuring,  for 
wood  is  much  too  valuable  a  commodity  to  be  used  for  such  a 
purpose ;  but  in  this  northern  region  the  forests  are  boundless,  and 
in  the  districts  where  there  is  no  river  or  stream  by  which  timber 
may  be  floated,  the  trees  not  used  in  this  way  rot  from  old  age. 
Under  these  circumstances  the  system  is  reasonable,  but  it  must  be 
admitted  that  it  does  not  give  a  very  large  return  for  the  amount 
of  labour  expended,  and  in  bad  seasons  it  gives  almost  no  return 
at  all. 

The  other  sources  of  revenue  are  scarcely  less  precarious.  With 
his  gun  and  a  little  parcel  of  provisions  the  peasant  wanders 
about  in  the  trackless  forests,  and  too  often  returns  after  many 
days  with  a  very  light  bag ;  or  he  starts  in  autumn  for  some  distant 
lake,  and  comes  back  after  five  or  six  weeks  with  nothing  better  than 
perch  and  pike.  Sometimes  he  tries  his  luck  at  deep-sea  fishing. 
In  this  case  he  starts  in  February — probably  on  foot — for  Kem,  on 
the  shore  of  the  White  Sea,  or  perhaps  for  the  more  distant  Kola, 
situated  on  a  small  river  which  falls  into  the  Arctic  Ocean.  There, 
in  company  with  three  or  four  comrades,  he  starts  on  a  fishing 
cruise  along  the  ]\Iurman  coast,  or,  it  may  be,  off  the  coast  of 
Spitzbergen.  His  gains  will  depend  on  the  amount  caught,  for  it 
is  a  joint-venture ;  but  in  no  case  can  they  be  very  great,  for  three- 
fourths  of  the  fish  brought  into  port  belongs  to  the  owner  of  the 
craft  and  tackle.  Of  the  sum  realised,  he  brings  home  perhaps 
only  a  small  part,  for  he  has  a  strong  temptation  to  buy  rum,  tea. 


106  EUSSIA 

and  other  luxuries,  which  are  very  dear  in  those  northern  latitudes. 
If  the  fishing  is  good  and  he  resists  temptation,  he  may  save  as 
much  as  100  roubles — about  £10 — and  thereby  live  comfortably  all 
winter ;  but  if  the  fishing  season  is  bad,  he  may  find  himself  at  the 
end  of  it  not  only  with  empty  pockets,  but  in  debt  to  the  owner  of 
the  boat.  This  debt  he  may  pay  off,  if  he  has  a  horse,  by  transport- 
ing the  dried  fish  to  Kargopol,  St.  Petersburg,  or  some  other 
market. 

It  is  here  in  the  Far  ISTorth  that  the  ancient  folk-lore — popular 
songs,  stories,  and  fragments  of  epic  poetry — has  been  best  pre- 
served ;  but  this  is  a  field  on  which  I  need  not  enter,  for  the  reader 
can  easily  find  all  that  he  may  desire  to  know  on  the  subject  in  the 
brilliant  writings  of  M.  Eambaud  and  the  very  interesting,  con- 
scientious works  of  the  late  Mr.  Ealston,*  which  enjoy  a  high 
reputation  in  Eussia. 

*  Rambaud,  "  La  Russie  Epique,"  Paris,  1876 ;  Ralston,  "  The  Songs 
of  the  Russian  People,"  London,  1872 ;  and  "  Russian  Folk-tales," 
London,  1873. 


CHAPTER   YIII 

THE   MIR,   OR   VILLAGE   COMMUNITY 

Social  and  Political  Importance  of  the  Mir — The  Mir  and  the  Family 
Compared — Theory  of  the  Communal  System — Practical  Deviations 
from  the  Theory — The  Mir  a  Good  Specimen  of  Constitutional 
Government  of  the  Extreme  Democratic  Type — The  Village 
Assemhly — Female  Members — The  Elections — Distribution  of  the 
Communal  Land. 

Al /"HEN"  I  had  gained  a  clear  notion  of  the  family-life  and  oceu-: 
^^  pations  of  the  peasantry,  I  turned  my  attention  to  the  con- 
stitution of  the  village.  This  was  a  subject  which  specially  inter- 
ested me,  because  I  was  aware  that  the  Mir  is  the  most  peculiar  of 
Eussian  institutions.  Long  before  visiting  Eussia  I  had  looked 
into  Haxthausen's  celebrated  work,  by  which  the  peculiarities  of 
the  Eussian  village  system  were  first  made  known  to  Western 
Europe,  and  during  my  stay  in  St.  Petersburg  I  had  often  been 
informed  by  intelligent,  educated  Eussians  that  the  rural  Commune 
presented  a  practical  solution  of  many  difficult  social  problems  with 
which  the  philosophers  and  statesmen  of  the  West  had  long  been 
vainly  struggling.  "  The  nations  of  the  West " — such  was  the  sub- 
stance of  innumerable  discourses  which  I  had  heard — "  are  at  pres- 
ent on  the  high-road  to  political  and  social  anarch}',  and  England 
has  the  unenviable  distinction  of  being  foremost  in  the  race.  The 
natural  increase  of  population,  together  with  the  expropriation  of 
the  small  landholders  by  the  great  landed  proprietors,  has  created 
a  dangerous  and  ever-increasing  Proletariat — a  great  disorganised 
mass  of  human  beings,  without  homes,  without  permanent  domicile, 
without  property  of  any  kind,  without  any  stake  in  the  existing 
institutions.  Part  of  these  gain  a  miserable  pittance  as  agricul- 
tural labourers,  and  live  in  a  condition  infinitely  worse  than  serfage. 
The  others  have  been  forever  uprooted  from  the  soil,  and  have  col- 
lected in  the  large  towns,  where  they  earn  a  precarious  living  in  the 
factories  and  workshops,  or  swell  the  ranks  of  the  criminal  classes. 
In  England  you  have  no  longer  a  peasantry  in  the  proper  sense  of 
the  term,  and  unless  some  radical  measures  be  very  soon  adopted, 

107 


108  EUSSIA 

you  will  never  be  able  to  create  such  a  class,  for  men  who  have  been 
long  exposed  to  the  unwholesome  influences  of  town  life  are  physi- 
cally and  morally  incapable  of  becoming  agriculturists. 

"  Hitherto/'  the  disquisition  proceeded,  "  England  has  enjoyed, 
in  consequence  of  her  geographical  position,  her  political  free- 
dom, and  her  vast  natural  deposits  of  coal  and  iron,  a  wholly 
exceptional  position  in  the  industrial  world.  Fearing  no  com- 
petition, she  has  proclaimed  the  principles  of  Free  Trade,  and 
has  inundated  the  world  with  her  manufactures — using  unscrupu- 
lously her  powerful  navy  and  all  the  other  forces  at  her  command 
for  breaking  down  every  barrier  tending  to  check  the  flood  sent 
forth  from  ^Manchester  and  Birmingham.  In  that  way  her  hungry 
Proletariat  has  been  fed.  But  the  industrial  supremacy  of  Eng- 
land is  drawing  to  a  close.  The  nations  have  discovered  the  per- 
fidious fallacy  of  Free-Trade  principles,  and  are  now  learning  to 
manufacture  for  their  own  wants,  instead  of  paying  England  enor- 
mous sums  to  manufacture  for  them.  Very  soon  English  goods 
will  no  longer  find  foreign  markets,  and  how  will  the  hungry  Pro- 
letariat then  be  fed?  Already  the  grain  production  of  England 
is  far  from  sufficient  for  the  wants  of  the  population,  so  that,  even 
when  the  harvest  is  exceptionally  abundant,  enormous  quantities  of 
wheat  are  imported  from  all  quarters  of  the  globe.  Hitherto  this 
grain  has  been  paid  for  by  the  manufactured  goods  annually  ex- 
ported, but  how  will  it  be  procured  when  these  goods  are  no  longer 
wanted  by  foreign  consumers?  And  what  then  will  the  hungry 
Proletariat  do  ?  "  * 

This  sombre  picture  of  England's  future  had  often  been  pre- 
sented to  me,  and  on  nearly  every  occasion  I  had  been  assured  that 
Eussia  had  been  saved  from  these  terrible  evils  by  the  rural  Com- 
mune— an  institution  which,  in  spite  of  its  simplicity  and  incalcu- 
lable utility.  West  Europeans  seemed  utterly  incapable  of  under- 
standing and  appreciating. 

The  reader  will  now  easily  conceive  with  what  interest  I  took  to 
studying  this  wonderful  institution,  and  with  what  energy  I  prose- 
cuted my  researches.  An  institution  which  professes  to  solve 
satisfactorily  the  most  difficult  social  problems  of  the  future  is  not 
to  be  met  with  every  day,  even  in  Eussia,  which  is  specially  rich 
in  material  for  the  student  of  social  science. 

On  my  arrival  at  Ivanofka  my  knowledge  of  the  institution  was 

♦  This  passage  was  written,  precisely  as  it  stands,  long  before  the 
fiscal  question  was  raised  by  Mr.  Chamberlain.  It  will  be  found  in  the 
first  edition  of  this  work,  published  in  1877.     (Vol,  I.,  pp.  179-81.) 


THE    MIR,    OR    VILLAGE    COMMUNITY  109 

of  that  vague,  superficial  kind  wliich  is  commonly  derived  from 
men  who  are  fonder  of  sweeping  generalisations  and  rhetorical 
declamation  than  of  serious,  patient  study  of  phenomena.  I  knew 
that  the  chief  personage  in  a  Russian  village  is  the  Selsl'i  Stdrosta, 
or  Village  Elder,  and  that  all  important  Communal  affairs  are 
regulated  by  the  SelsH  Skhod,  or  Village  Assembly.  Further,  I 
was  aware  that  the  land  in  the  vicinity  of  the  village  belongs  to  the 
Commune,  and  is  distributed  periodically  among  the  members  in 
such  a  way  that  every  able-bodied  peasant  possesses  a  share  suffi- 
cient, or  nearly  sufficient,  for  his  maintenance.  Beyond  this 
elementary  information  I  knew  little  or  nothing. 

My  first  attempt  at  extending  my  knowledge  was  not  very  suc- 
cessful. Hoping  that  my  friend  Ivan  might  be  able  to  assist  me, 
and  knowing  that  the  popular  name  for  the  Commune  is  Mir, 
which  means  also  "  the  world,"  I  put  to  him  the  direct,  simple 
question,  "  What  is  the  Mir  ?  " 

Ivan  was  not  easily  disconcerted,  but  for  once  he  looked  puzzled, 
and  stared  at  me  vacantly.  When  I  endeavoured  to  explain  to  him 
my  question,  he  simply  knitted  his  brows  and  scratched  the  back 
of  his  head.  This  latter  movement  is  the  Russian  peasant's  method 
of  accelerating  cerebral  action;  but  in  the  present  instance  it  had 
no  practical  result.  In  spite  of  his  efforts,  Ivan  could  not  get  much 
further  than  the  "  Kak  vam  skazat'  ?  "  that  is  to  say,  "  How  am  I 
to  tell  you?'' 

It  was  not  difficult  to  perceive  that  I  had  adopted  an  utterly  false 
method  of  investigation,  and  a  moment's  reflection  sufficed  to  show 
me  the  absurdity  of  my  question.  I  had  asked  from  an  uneducated 
man  a  philosophical  definition,  instead  of  extracting  from  him  ma- 
terial in  the  form  of  concrete  facts,  and  constructing  therefrom  a 
definition  for  myself.  These  concrete  facts  Ivan  was  both  able  and 
willing  to  supply;  and  as  soon  as  I  adopted  a  rational  mode  of 
questioning,  I  obtained  from  him  all  I  wanted.  The  information 
he  gave  me,  together  with  the  results  of  much  subsequent  conversa- 
tion and  reading,  I  now  propose  to  present  to  the  reader  in  my  own 
words. 

The  peasant  family  of  the  old  t}'pe  is,  as  we  have  Just  seen,  a 
kind  of  primitive  association  in  which  the  members  have  nearly 
all  things  in  common.  The  village  may  be  rouglily  described  as 
a  primitive  association  on  a  larger  scale. 

Between  these  two  social  units  there  are  many  points  of  analogy. 
In  both  there  are  common  interests  and  common  responsibilities. 
In  both  there  is  a  principal  personage,  who  is  in  a  certain  sense  ruler 


110  EUSSIA 

within  and  representative  as  regards  the  outside  world :  in  the  one 
case  called  Eliozdin,  or  Head  of  the  Household,  and  in  the  otlier 
Stdrosta,  or  Village  Elder.  In  both  the  authority  of  the  ruler  is 
limited :  in  the  one  case  by  the  adult  members  of  the  family,  and  in 
the  other  by  the  Heads  of  Households.  In  both  there  is  a  certain 
amount  of  common  property :  in  the  one  case  the  house  and  nearly 
all  that  it  contains,  and  in  the  other  the  arable  land  and  possibly 
a  little  pasturage.  In  both  cases  there  is  a  certain  amount  of 
common  responsibility :  in  the  one  case  for  all  the  debts,  and  in  the 
other  for  all  the  taxes  and  Communal  obligations.  And  both  are 
protected  to  a  certain  extent  against  the  ordinary  legal  consequences 
of  insolvency,  for  the  family  cannot  be  deprived  of  its  house  or 
necessary  agricultural  implements,  and  the  Commune  cannot  be 
deprived  of  its  land,  by  importunate  creditors. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  many  important  points  of  contrast. 
The  Commune  is,  of  course,  much  larger  than  the  family,  and  the 
mutual  relations  of  its  members  are  by  no  means  so  closely  inter- 
woven. The  members  of  a  family  all  farm  together,  and  those  of 
them  who  earn  money  from  other  sources  are  expected  to  put  their 
savings  into  the  common  purse;  whilst  the  households  composing 
a  Commune  farm  independently,  and  pay  into  the  common  treasury 
only  a  certain  fixed  sum. 

From  these  brief  remarks  the  reader  will  at  once  perceive  that  a 
Eussian  village  is  something  very  different  from  a  village  in  our 
sense  of  the  term,  and  that  the  villagers  are  bound  together  by  ties 
quite  unknown  to  the  English  rural  population.  A  family  living 
in  an  English  village  has  little  reason  to  take  an  interest  in  the 
affairs  of  its  neighbours.  The  isolation  of  the  individual  families 
is  never  quite  perfect,  for  man,  being  a  social  animal,  takes  neces- 
sarily a  certain  interest  in  the  affairs  of  those  around  him,  and  this 
social  duty  is  sometimes  fulfilled  by  the  weaker  sex  with  more  zeal 
than  is  absolutely  indispensable  for  the  public  welfare ;  but  families 
may  live  for  many  years  in  the  same  village  without  ever  becoming 
conscious  of  common  interests.  So  long  as  the  Jones  family  do  not 
commit  any  culpable  breach  of  public  order,  such  as  putting  ob- 
structions on  the  highway  or  habitually  setting  their  house  on 
fire,  their  neighbour  Brown  takes  probably  no  interest  in  their 
affairs,  and  has  no  ground  for  interfering  with  their  perfect  liberty 
of  action.  Amongst  the  families  composing  a  Eussian  village, 
such  a  state  of  isolation  is  impossible.  The  Heads  of  Households 
must  often  meet  together  and  consult  in  the  Village  Assembly,  and 
their  daily  occupation  must  be  influenced  by  the  Communal  decrees. 


THE   MIR,    OR   VILLAGE    COMMUNITY  111 

They  cannot  begin  to  mow  the  hay  or  plough  the  fallow  field  until 
the  Village  Assembly  has  passed  a  resolution  on  the  su])ject.  If 
a  peasant  becomes  a  drunkard,  or  takes  some  equally  efficient  means 
to  become  insolvent,  every  family  in  the  village  has  a  right  to  com- 
plain, not  merely  in  the  interests  of  public  morality,  but  from 
selfish  motives,  because  all  the  families  are  collectively  responsible 
for  his  taxes.*  For  the  same  reason  no  peasant  can  permanently 
leave  the  village  without  the  consent  of  the  Commune,  and  this 
consent  will  not  be  granted  until  the  applicant  gives  satisfactory 
security  for  the  fulfilment  of  his  actual  and  future  liabilities.  If 
a  peasant  wishes  to  go  away  for  a  short  time,  in  order  to  work 
elsewhere,  he  must  obtain  a  written  permission,  which  serves  him 
as  a  passport  during  his  absence;  and  he  may  be  recalled  at  any 
moment  by  a  Communal  decree.  In  reality  he  is  rarely  recalled  so 
long  as  he  sends  home  regularly  the  full  amount  of  his  taxes — 
including  the  dues  which  he  has  to  pay  for  the  temporary  passport 
— but  sometimes  the  Commune  uses  the  power  of  recall  for  pur- 
poses of  extortion.  If  it  becomes  known,  for  instance,  that  an 
absent  member  is  receiving  a  good  salary  or  otherwise  making 
money,  he  may  one  day  receive  a  formal  order  to  return  at  once 
to  his  native  village,  but  he  is  probably  informed  at  the  same 
time,  unofficially,  that  his  presence  will  be  dispensed  with  if 
he  will  send  to  the  Commune  a  certain  specified  sum.  The 
money  thus  sent  is  generally  used  by  the  Commune  for  convivial 
purposes.! 

In  all  countries  the  theory  of  government  and  administration 
differs  considerably  from  the  actual  practice.  Nowhere  is  this 
difference  greater  than  in  Russia,  and  in  no  Russian  institution  is 
it  greater  than  in  the  Village  Commune.  It  is  necessary,  therefore, 
to  know  both  theory  and  practice;  and  it  is  well  to  begin  with  the 
former,  because  it  is  the  simpler  of  the  two.  "When  we  have  once 
thoroughly  mastered  the  theory,  it  is  easy  to  understand  the 
deviations  that  are  made  to  suit  peculiar  local  conditions. 

According,  then,  to  theory,  all  male  peasants  in  every  part  of 
the  Empire  are  inscribed  in  census-lists,  which  form  the  basis  of 
the  direct  taxation.     These  lists  are  revised  at  irregular  intervals, 

*  This  common  responsibility  for  the  taxes  was  abolished  in  1903 
by  the  Emperor,  on  the  advice  of  M.  Witte,  and  the  other  Communal 
fetters  are  being  gradually  relaxed.  A  peasant  may  now,  if  he  wishes, 
cease  to  be  a  member  of  the  Commune  altogether,  as  soon  as  he  has 
defrayed  all  his  outstanding  obligations. 

t  With  the  recent  relaxing  of  the  Conmiunal  fetters,  referred  to  in  the 
foregoing  note,  this  abuse  should  disappear. 


112  RUSSIA 

and  all  males  alive  at  the  time  of  the  "revision,"  from  the  new- 
born babe  to  the  centenarian,  are  duly  inscribed.  Each  Commune 
has  a  list  of  this  kind,  and  pays  to  the  Government  an  annual  sum 
proportionate  to  the  number  of  names  which  the  list  contains,  or, 
in  popular  language,  according  to  the  number  of  "  revision  souls." 
During  the  intervals  between  the  revisions  the  financial  authorities 
take  no  notice  of  the  births  and  deaths.  A  Commune  which  has 
a  hundred  male  members  at  the  time  of  the  revision  may  have  in 
a  few  years  considerably  more  or  considerably  less  than  that  num- 
ber, but  it  has  to  pay  taxes  for  a  hundred  members  all  the  same 
until  a  new  revision  is  made  for  the  whole  Empire. 

Now  in  Russia,  so  far  at  least  as  the  rural  population  is  con- 
cerned, the  payment  of  taxes  is  inseparably  connected  with  the  pos- 
session of  land.  Every  peasant  who  pays  taxes  is  supposed  to  have 
a  share  of  the  land  belonging  to  the  Commune.  If  the  Communal 
revision  lists  contain  a  hundred  names,  the  Communal  land  ought 
to  be  divided  into  a  hundred  shares,  and  each  "  revision  soul " 
should  enjoy  his  share  in  return  for  the  taxes  which  he  pays. 

The  reader  who  has  followed  my  explanations  up  to  this  point 
may  naturally  conclude  that  the  taxes  paid  by  the  peasants  are  in 
reality  a  species  of  rent  for  the  land  which  they  enjoy.  Such  a 
conclusion  would  not  be  altogether  justified.  When  a  man  rents 
a  bit  of  land  he  acts  according  to  his  own  judgment,  and  makes 
a  voluntary  contract  with  the  proprietor;  but  the  Russian  peasant 
is  obliged  to  pay  his  taxes  whether  he  desires  to  enjoy  land  or  not. 
The  theory,  therefore,  that  the  taxes  are  simply  the  rent  of  the 
land  will  not  bear  even  superficial  examination.  Equally  unten- 
able is  the  theory  that  they  are  a  species  of  land-tax.  In  any 
reasonable  system  of  land-dues  the  yearly  sum  imposed  bears  some 
kind  of  proportion  to  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  land  enjoyed ; 
but  in  Russia  it  may  be  that  the  members  of  one  Commune  possess 
six  acres  of  bad  land,  and  the  members  of  the  neighbouring  Com- 
mune seven  acres  of  good  land,  and  yet  the  taxes  in  both  cases 
are  the  same.  The  truth  is  that  the  taxes  are  personal,  and  are 
calculated  according  to  the  number  of  male  "  souls,"  and  the  Gov- 
ernment does  not  take  the  trouble  to  inquire  how  the  Communal 
land  is  distributed.  The  Commune  has  to  pay  into  the  Imperial 
Treasury  a  fixed  yearly  sum,  according  to  the  number  of  its  "re- 
vision souls,"  and  distributes  the  land  among  its  members  as  it 
thinks  fit. 

How,  then,  does  the  Commune  distribute  the  land?  To  this 
question  it  is  impossible  to  reply  in  brief,  general  terms,  because 


THE   MIR,    OR   VILLAGE    COMMUNITY  113 

each  Commune  acts  as  it  pleases !  *  Some  act  strictly  according  to 
the  theory.  These  divide  their  land  at  the  time  of  the  revision  into 
a  numher  of  portions  or  shares  corresponding  to  the  number  of 
revision  souls,  and  give  to  each  family  a  number  of  shares  corre- 
sponding to  the  number  of  revision  souls  which  it  contains.  This  is 
from  the  administrative  point  of  view  by  far  the  simplest  system. 
The  census-list  determines  how  much  land  each  family  will  enjoy, 
and  the  existing  tenures  are  disturbed  only  by  the  revisions  which 
take  place  at  irregular  intervals.t  But,  on  the  other  hand,  this 
system  has  serious  defects.  The  revision-list  represents  merely  the 
numerical  strength  of  the  families,  and  the  numerical  strength  is 
often  not  at  all  in  proportion  to  the  working  power.  Let  us  sup- 
pose, for  example,  two  families,  each  containing  at  the  time  of  the 
revision  five*  male  members.  According  to  the  census-list  these  two 
families  are  equal,  and  ought  to  receive  equal  shares  of  the  land; 
but  in  reality  it  may  happen  that  the  one  contains  a  father  in  the 
prime  of  life  and  four  able-bodies  sons,  whilst  the  other  contains  a 
widow  and  five  little  boys.  The  wants  and  working  power  of  these 
two  families  are  of  course  very  different;  and  if  the  above  system 
of  distribution  be  applied,  the  man  with  four  sons  and  a  goodly 
supply  of  grandchildren  will  probably  find  that  he  has  too  little 
land,  whilst  the  widow  with  her  five  little  boys  will  find  it  difficult 
to  cultivate  the  five  shares  alloted  to  her,  and  utterly  impossible  to 
pay  the  corresponding  amount  of  taxation — for  in  all  cases,  it  must 
be  remembered,  the  Communal  burdens  are  distributed  in  the  same 
proportion  as  the  land. 

But  why,  it  may  be  said,  should  the  widow  not  accept  provision- 
ally the  five  shares,  and  let  to  others  the  part  which  she  does  not 
require?  The  balance  of  rent  after  payment  of  the  taxes  might 
help  her  to  bring  up  her  young  family. 

So  it  seems  to  one  acquainted  only  with  the  rural  economy  of 
England,  where  land  is  scarce,  and  always  gives  a  revenue  more 
than  sufficient  to  defray  the  taxes.  But  in  Russia  the  possession 
of  a  share  of  Communal  land  is  often  not  a  privilege,  but  a  burden. 
In  some  Communes  the  land  is  so  poor  and  abundant  that  it  cannot 

*  A  long  list  of  the  various  systems  of  allotment  to  be  found  in  individ- 
ual Communes  in  different  parts  of  the  country  is  given  in  the  opening 
chapter  of  a  valuable  work  by  Karelin,  entitled  "  Obshtchinnoye  Vlady- 
enie  v  Rossii "  ( St.  Petersburg,  1893 ) .  As  my  object  is  to  convey  to  the 
reader  merely  a  general  idea  of  the  institution,  I  refrain  from  confusing 
him  by  an  enumeration  of  the  endless  divergencies  from  the  original 
type. 

t  Since  1719  eleven  revisions  have  been  made,  the  last  in  1897.  The 
intervals  varied  from  six  to  forty-one  years. 


114  EUSSIA 

be  let  at  any  price.  In  others  the  soil  will  repay  cultivation,  but 
a  fair  rent  will  not  suffice  to  pay  the  taxes  and  dues. 

To  obviate  these  inconvenient  results  of  the  simpler  system, 
many  Communes  have  adopted  the  expedient  of  allotting  the  land, 
not  according  to  the  number  of  revision  souls,  but  according  to  the 
working  power  of  the  families.  Thus,  in  the  instance  above  sup- 
posed, the  widow  would  receive  perhaps  two  shares,  and  the  large 
household,  containing  five  workers,  would  receive  perhaps  seven  or 
eight.  Since  the  breaking-up  of  the  large  families,  such  inequality 
as  I  have  supposed  is,  of  course,  rare;  but  inequality  of  a  less  ex- 
treme kind  does  still  occur,  and  Justifies  a  departure  from  the 
system  of  allotment  according  to  the  revision-lists. 

Even  if  the  allotment  be  fair  and  equitable  at  the  time  of  the 
revision,  it  may  soon  become  unfair  and  burdensome  by  the  natural 
fluctuations  of  the  population.  Births  and  deaths  may  in  the 
course  of  a  very  few  years  entirely  alter  the  relative  working  power 
of  the  various  families.  The  sons  of  the  widow  may  grow  up  to 
manhood,  whilst  two  or  three  able-bodied  members  of  the  other 
family  may  be  cut  off  by  an  epidemic.  Thus,  long  before  a  new 
revision  takes  place,  the  distribution  of  the  land  may  be  no  longer 
in  accordance  with  the  wants  and  capacities  of  the  various  families 
composing  the  Commune.  To  correct  this,  various  expedients  are 
employed.  Some  Communes  transfer  particular  lots  from  one 
family  to  another,  as  circumstances  demand;  whilst  others  make 
from  time  to  time,  during  the  intervals  between  the  revisions,  a 
complete  redistribution  and  reallotment  of  the  land.  Of  these  two 
systems  the  former  is  now  more  frequently  employed.  ) 

The  system  of  allotment  adopted  depends  entirely  on  the  will  of 
■  the  particular  Commune.  In  this  respect  the  Communes  enjoy  the 
most  complete  autonomy,  and  no  peasant  ever  dreams  of  appealing 
against  a  Communal  decree.*  The  higher  authorities  not  only 
abstain  from  all  interference  in  the  allotment  of  the  Communal 
lands,  but  remain  in  profound  ignorance  as  to  which  system  the 
Communes  habitually  adopt.  Though  the  Imperial  Administra- 
tion has  a  most  voracious  appetite  for  symmetrically  constructed 
statistical  tables — many  of  them  formed  chiefly  out  of  materials 
supplied  by  the  mysterious  inner  consciousness  of  the  subordinate 

*  This  has  been  somewhat  modified  by  recent  legislation.  According 
to  the  Emancipation  Law  of  1861,  redistribution  of  the  land  could  take 
place  at  any  time  provided  it  was  voted  by  a  majority  of  two-thirds  at 
the  Village  Assembly.  By  a  law  of  1893  redistribution  cannot  take 
place  oftener  than  once  in  twelve  years,  and  must  receive  the  sanction 
of  certain  local  authorities. 


THE   MIE,    OR   VILLAGE    COMMUNITY  115 

officials — no  attempt  has  yet  been  made,  so  far  as  I  know,  to  collect 
statistical  data  which  might  throw  light  on  this  important  subject. 
In  spite  of  the  systematic  and  persistent  efforts  of  the  centralised 
bureaucracy  to  regulate  minutely  all  departments  of  the  national 
life,  the  rural  Communes,  which  contain  about  five-sixths  of  the 
population,  remain  in  many  respects  entirely  beyond  its  influence, 
and  even  beyond  its  sphere  of  vision!  But  let  not  the  reader  be 
astonished  overmuch.  He  will  learn  in  time  that  Russia  is  the 
land  of  paradoxes;  and  meanwhile  he  is  about  to  receive  a  still 
more  startling  bit  of  information.  In  "the  great  stronghold  of 
Cffisarian  despotism  and  centralised  bureaucracy,"  these  Village 
Communes,  containing  about  five-sixths  of  the  population,  are 
capital  specimens  of  representative  Constitutional  government  of 
the  extreme  democratic  type! 

When  I  say  that  the  rural  Commune  is  a  good  specimen  of  Con- 
stitutional government,  I  use  the  phrase  in  the  English,  and  not 
in  the  Continental  sense.  In  the  Continental  languages  a  Con- 
stitutional regime  implies  the  existence  of  a  long,  formal  document, 
in  which  the  functions  of  the  various  institutions,  the  powers  of 
the  various  authorities,  and  the  methods  of  procedure  are  carefully 
defined.  Such  a  document  was  never  heard  of  in  Russian^  Village 
Communes,  except  those  belonging  to  the  Imperial  Domains,  and 
the  special  legislation  which  formerly  regulated  their  affairs  was 
repealed  at  the  time  of  the  Emancipation.  At  the  present  day  the 
Constitution  of  all  the  Village  Communes  is  of  the  English  type— 
a  body  of  unwritten,  traditional  conceptions,  which  have  grovm.  up 
and  modified  themselves  under  the  influence  of  ever-changing  prac- 
tical necessity.  No  doubt  certain  definitions  of  the  functions  and 
mutual  relations  of  the  Communal  authorities  might  be  extracted 
from  the  Emancipation  Law  and  subsequent  official  documents,  but 
as  a  rule  neither  the  Village  Elder  nor  the  members  of  the  Village 
Assembly  ever  heard  of  such  definitions;  and  yet  every  peasant 
'  knows,  as  if  by  instinct,  what  each  of  these  authorities  can  do  and 
cannot  do.  The  Commune  is,  in  fact,  a  living  institution,  whose 
spontaneous  vitality  enables  it  to  dispense  with  the  assistance  and 
guidance  of  the  written  law,  and  its  constitution  is  thoroughly 
democratic.  The  Elder  represents  merely  the  executive  power. 
The  real  authority  resides  in  the  Assembly,  of  which  all  Heads  of 
Households  are  members.* 

*  An  attempt  was  made  by  Alexander  III.  in  1884  to  bring  the  rural 
Communes  under  supervision  and  control  by  the  appointment  of  rural 
officials  called  Zemskiyc  XatchdUiiki.  Of  this  so-called  reform  I  shall 
have  occasion  to  speak  later. 


^ 


116  EUSSIA 

The  simple  procedure,  or  rather  the  absence  of  all  formal  pro- 
cedure, at  the  Assemblies,  illustrates  admirably  the  essentially  prac- 
tical character  of  the  institution.  The  meetings  are  held  in  the 
open  air,  because  in  the  village  there  is  no  building — except  the 
church,  which  can  be  used  only  for  religious  purposes — large 
enough  to  contain  all  the  members;  and  they  almost  always  take 
place  on  Sundays  or  holidays,  when  the  peasants  have  plenty  of 
•  leisure.  Any  open  space  may  serve  as  a  Forum.  The  discussions 
are  occasionally  very  animated,  but  there  is  rarely  any  attempt  at 
speech-making.  If  any  young  member  should  show  an  inclina- 
tion to  indulge  in  oratory,  he  is  sure  to  be  unceremoniously  inter- 
rupted by  some  of  the  older  members,  who  have  never  any  sympathy 
with  fine  talking.  The  assemblage  has  the  appearance  of  a  crowd 
of  people  who  have  accidentally  come  together  and  are  discussing 
in  little  groups  subjects  of  local  interest.  Gradually  some  one 
group,  containing  two  or  three  peasants  who  have  more  moral 
influence  than  their  fellows,  attracts  the  others,  and  the  dis- 
cussion becomes  general.  Two  or  more  peasants  may  speak  at 
a  time,  and  interrupt  each  other  freely — using  plain,  unvarnished 
language,  not  at  all  parliamentary — and  the  discussion  may  become 
a  confused,  unintelligible  din ;  but  at  the  moment  when  the  specta- 
tor imagines  that  the  consultation  is  about  to  be  transformed  into 
a  free  fight,  the  tumult  spontaneously  subsides,  or  perhaps  a  gen- 
eral roar  of  laughter  announces  that  some  one  has  been  successfully 
hit  by  a  strong  argumentum  ad  Jiominem,  or  biting  personal  re- 
mark. In  any  case  there  is  no  danger  of  the  disputants  coming  to 
blows.  No  class  of  men  in  the  world  are  more  good-natured  and 
pacific  than  the  Russian  peasantry.  When  sober  they  never  fight, 
and  even  when  under  the  influence  of  alcohol  they  are  more  likely 
to  be  violently  affectionate  than  disagreeably  quarrelsome.  If  two 
of  them  take  to  drinking  together,  the  probability  is  that  in  a  few 
minutes,  though  they  may  never  have  seen  each  other  before,  they 
will  be  expressing  in  very  strong  terms  their  mutual  regard  and 
affection,  confirming  their  words  with  an  occasional  friendly 
embrace. 

-  Theoretically  speaking,  the  Village  Parliament  has  a  Speaker, 
in  the  person  of  the  Village  Elder.  The  word  Speaker  is  etjTuo- 
logically  less  objectionable  than  the  term  President,  for  the  per- 
sonage in  question  never  sits  down,  but  mingles  in  the  crowd  like 
the  ordinary  members.  Objection  may  be  taken  to  the  word  on 
the  ground  that  the  Elder  speaks  much  less  than  many  other  mem- 
bers, but  this  may  likewise  be  said  of  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of 


THE   ^riE,    OR   VILLAGE    COMMUNITY  117 

Commons.  Whatever  we  may  call  him,  the  Elder  is  officially  the 
principal  personage  in  the  crowd,  and  wears  the  insignia  of  office 
in  the  form  of  a  small  medal  suspended  from  his  neck  by  a  thin 
brass  chain.  His  duties,  however,  are  extremely  light.  To  call  to 
order  those  who  interrupt  the  discussion  is  no  part  of  his  functions. 
If  he  calls  an  honourable  member  "Durak  "  (blockhead),  or  inter- 
rupts an  orator  with  a  laconic  "Moltchi!"  (hold  your  tongue!), 
he  does  so  in  virtue  of  no  special  prerogative,  but  simply  in  accord- 
ance with  a  time-honoured  privilege,  which  is  equally  enjoyed  by 
all  present,  and  may  be  employed  with  impunity  against  himself. 
Indeed,  it  may  be  said  in  general  that  the  phraseology  and  the 
procedure  are  not  subjected  to  any  strict  rules.  The  Elder  comes 
prominently  forward  only  when  it  is  necessary  to  take  the  sense 
of  the  meeting.  On  such  occasions  he  may  stand  back  a  little 
from  the  crowd  and  say,  "  Well,  orthodox,  have  you  decided  so  ?  " 
and  the  crowd  will  probably  shout,  "  Ladno !  ladno ! "  that  is  to 
ssij,  "  Agreed !  agreed !  " 

Communal  measures  are  generally  carried  in  this  way  by  accla- 
mation; but  it  sometimes  happens  that  there  is  such  a  diversity  of 
opinion  that  it  is  difficult  to  tell  which  of  the  two  parties  has  a 
majority.  In  this  case  the  Elder  requests  the  one  party  to  stand 
to  the  right  and  the  other  to  the. left.  The  two  groups  are  then 
counted,  and  the  minority  submits,  for  no  one  ever  dreams  of  op- 
posing openly  the  will  of  the  Mir. 

During  the  reign  of  Nicholas  I.  an  attempt  was  made  to  regulate 
by  the  written  law  the  procedure  of  Village  Assemblies  amongst  the 
peasantry  of  the  State  Domains,  and  among  other  reforms  voting 
by  ballot  was  introduced;  but  the  new  custom  never  struck  root. 
The  peasants  did  not  regard  with  favour  the  new  method,  and  per- 
sisted in  calling  it,  contemptuously,  "playing  at  marbles."  Here, 
again,  we  have  one  of  those  wonderful  and  apparently  anomalous 
"facts  which  frequently  meet  the  student  of  Eussian  affairs:  the 
Emperor  Nicholas  I.,  the  incarnation  of  autocracy  and  the  cham- 
pion of  the  Reactionary  Party  throughout  Europe,  forces  the 
ballot-box,  the  ingenious  invention  of  extreme  radicals,  on  several 
millions  of  his  subjects ! 

In  the  northern  provinces,  where  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
male  population  is  always  absent,  the  Village  Assembly  generally 
includes  a  good  many  female  members.  These  are  women  wlio,  on 
account  of  the  absence  or  death  of  their  husbands,  happen  to  be 
for  the  moment  Heads  of  Households.  As  such  they  are  entitled 
to  be  present,  and  their  right  to  take  part  in  the  deliberations  is 


118  EUSSIA 

never  called  in  question.  In  matters  affecting  the  general  welfare 
of  the  Commune  they  rarely  speak,  and  if  they  do  venture  to 
enounce  an  opinion  on  such  occasions  they  have  little  chance  of 
commanding  attention,  for  the  Eussian  peasantry  are  as  yet  little 
imbued  with  the  modern  doctrines  of  female  equality,  and  express 
their  opinion  of  female  intelligence  by  the  homely  adage :  "  The 
hair  is  long,  but  the  mind  is  short."  According  to  one  proverb, 
seven  women  have  collectively  but  one  soul,  and,  according  to  a 
still  more  ungallant  popular  saying,  women  have  no  souls  at  all,  but 
only  a  vapour.  Woman,  therefore,  as  woman,  is  not  deserving  of 
much  consideration,  but  a  particular  woman,  as  Head  of  a  House- 
hold, is  entitled  to  speak  on  all  questions  directly  affecting  the 
household  under  her  care.  If,  for  instance,  it  be  proposed  to  in- 
crease or  diminish  her  household's  share  of  the  land  and  the  bur- 
dens, she  will  be  allowed  to  speak  freely  on  the  subject,  and  even 
to  indulge  in  personal  invective  against  her  male  opponents.  She 
thereby  exposes  herself,  it  is  true,  to  uncomplimentary  remarks; 
but  any  which  she  happens  to  receive  she  is  pretty  sure  to  repay 
with  interest — referring,  perhaps,  with  pertinent  virulence  to  the 
domestic  affairs  of  those  who  attack  her.  And  when  argument 
and  invective  fail,  she  can  try  the  effect  of  pathetic  appeal,  sup- 
ported by  copious  tears. 

As  the  Village  Assembly  is  really  a  representative  institution  in 
the  full  sense  of  the  term,  it  reflects  faithfully  the  good  and  the 
bad  qualities  of  the  rural  population.  Its  decisions  are  therefore 
usually  characterised  by  plain,  practical  common  sense,  but  it  is 
subject  to  occasional  unfortunate  aberrations  in  consequence  of 
pernicious  influences,  chiefly  of  an  alcoholic  kind.  An  instance 
of  this  fact  occurred  during  my  sojourn  at  Ivanofka.  The  question 
under  discussion  was  whether  a  hahdlc,  or  gin-shop,  should  be  estab- 
lished in  the  village.  A  trader  from  the  district  town  desired  to 
establish  one,  and  offered  to  pay  to  the  Commune  a  yearly  sum 
for  the  necessary  permission.  The  more  industrious,  respectable 
members  of  the  Commune,  backed  by  the  whole  female  population, 
were  strongly  opposed  to  the  project,  knowing  full  well  that  a 
l-ahdJc  would  certainly  lead  to  the  ruin  of  more  than  one  household ; 
but  the  enterprising  trader  had  strong  arguments  wherewith  to 
seduce  a  large  number  of  the  members,  and  succeeded  in  obtaining 
a  decision  in  his  favour. 

The  Assembly  discusses  all  matters  affecting  the  Communal 
welfare,  and,  as  these  matters  have  never  been  legally  defined,  its 
recognised  competence  is  very  wide.    It  fixes  the  time  for  making 


THE   MIR,    OR   VILLAGE    COMMUXITY  119 

the  hay,  and  the  day  for  commencing  the  ploughing  of  the  fallow 
field ;  it  decrees  what  measures  shall  be  employed  against  those  who 
do  not  punctually  pay  their  taxes;  it  decides  whether  a  new  mem- 
ber shall  be  admitted  into  the  Commune,  and  whether  an  old  mem- 
ber shall  be  allowed  to  change  his  domicile;  it  gives  or  withholds 
permission  to  erect  new  buildings  on  the  Communal  land;  it 
prepares  and  signs  all  contracts  which  the  Commune  makes  with 
one  of  its  own  members  or  with  a  stranger;  it  interferes  whenever 
it  thinks  necessary  in  the  domestic  affairs  of  its  members ;  it  elects 
the  Elder — as  well  as  the  Communal  tax-collector  and  watchman, 
where  such  offices  exist — and  the  Communal  herd-boy;  above  all, 
it  divides  and  allots  the  Communal  land  among  the  members  as 
it  thinks  fit. 

Of  all  these  various  proceedings  the  English  reader  may  natu- 
rally assume  that  the  elections  are  the  most  noisy  and  exciting.  In 
reality  this  is  a  mistake.  The  elections  produce  little  excitement, 
for  the  simple  reason  that,  as  a  rule,  no  one  desires  to  be  elected. 
Once,  it  is  said,  a  peasant  who  had  been  guilty  of  some  misde- 
meanor was  informed  by  an  Arbiter  of  the  Peace — a  species  of 
official  of  which  I  shall  have  occasion  to  speak  in  the  sequel — that 
he  would  be  no  longer  capable  of  filling  any  Communal  office;  and 
instead  of  regretting  this  diminution  of  his  civil  rights,  he  bowed 
very  low,  and  respectfully  expressed  his  thanks  for  the  new  privi- 
lege which  he  had  acquired.  This  anecdote  may  not  be  true,  but  it 
illustrates  the  undoubted  fact  that  the  Russian  peasant  regards 
office  as  a  burden  rather  than  as  an  honour.  There  is  no  civic 
ambition  in  those  little  rural  commonwealths,  whilst  the  privilege 
of  wearing  a  bronze  medal,  which  commands  no  respect,  and  the 
reception  of  a  few  roubles  as  salary  afford  no  adequate  compensa- 
tion for  the  trouble,  annoyance,  and  responsibility  which  a  Village 
Elder  has  to  bear.  The  elections  are  therefore  generally  very  tame 
and  uninteresting.  The  following  description  may  serve  as  an 
illustration : 

It  is  a  Sunday  afternoon.  The  peasants,  male  and  female,  have 
turned  out  in  Sunday  attire,  and  the  bright  costumes  of  the 
women  help  the  sunshine  to  put  a  little  rich  colour  into  the  scene, 
which  is  at  ordinary  times  monotonously  grey.  Slowly  the  crowd 
collects  on  the  open  space"  at  the  side  of  the  church.  All  classes 
of  the  population  are  represented.  On  the  extreme  outskirts  are  a 
band  of  fair-haired,  merry  children — some  of  them  standing  or 
lying  on  the  grass  and  gazing  attentively  at  the  proceedings,  and 
others  running  about  and  amusing  themselves.     Close  to  these 


120  EUSSIA 

stand  a  group  of  young  girls,  convulsed  with  half-suppressed  laugh- 
ter. The  cause  of  their  merriment  is  a  youth  of  some  seventeen 
summers,  evidently  the  wag  of  the  village,  who  stands  beside  them 
with  an  accordion  in  his  hand,  and  relates  to  them  in  a  half- 
whisper  how  he  is  about  to  be  elected  Elder,  and  what  mad  pranks 
he  will  play  in  that  capacity.  When  one  of  the  girls  happens  to 
laugh  outright,  the  matrons  who  are  standing  near  turn  round  and 
scowl;  and  one  of  them,  stepping  forward,  orders  the  offender,  in 
a  tone  of  authority,  to  go  home  at  once  if  she  cannot  behave  her- 
self. Crestfallen,  the  culprit  retires,  and  the  youth  who  is  the 
cause  of  the  merriment  makes  the  incident  the  subject  of  a  new 
joke.  Meanwhile  the  deliberations  have  begun.  The  majority  of 
the  members  are  chatting  together,  or  looking  at  a  little  group 
composed  of  three  peasants  and  a  woman,  who  are  standing  a 
little  apart  from  the  others.  Here  alone  the  matter  in  hand  is 
being  really  discussed.  The  woman  is  explaining,  with  tears  in 
her  eyes,  and  with  a  vast  amount  of  useless  repetition,  that  her 
"  old  man,"  who  is  Elder  for  the  time  being,  is  very  ill,  and  cannot 
fulfil  his  duties. 

"  But  he  has  not  yet  served  a  year,  and  he'll  get  better,"  remarks 
one  peasant,  evidently  the  youngest  of  the  little  group. 

"  Who  knows  ?  "  replies  the  woman,  sobbing.  "  It  is  the  will  of 
God,  but  I  don't  believe  that  he'll  ever  put  his  foot  to  the  ground 
again.  The  Feldsher  has  been  four  times  to  see  him,  and  the 
doctor  himself  came  once,  and  said  that  he  must  be  brought  to  the 
hospital." 

"  And  why  has  he  not  been  taken  there  ?  " 

"  How  could  he  be  taken  ?  Who  is  to  carry  him  ?  Do  you  think 
he's  a  baby?  The  hospital  is  forty  versts  off.  If  you  put  him  in 
a  cart  he  would  die  before  he  had  gone  a  verst.  And  then,  who 
knows  what  they  do  with  people  in  the  hospital  ?  "  This  last  ques- 
tion contained  probably  the  true  reason  why  the  doctor's  orders 
had  been  disobeyed. 

"  Very  well,  that's  enough ;  hold  your  tongue,"  says  the  grey- 
beard of  the  little  group  to  the  woman;  and  then,  turning  to  the 
other  peasants,  remarks,  "There  is  nothing  to  be  done.  The 
Stanovoi  [officer  of  rural  police]  will  be  here  one  of  these  days, 
and  will  make  a  row  again  if  we  don't  elect  a  new  Elder.  Whom 
shall  we  choose  ?  " 

As  soon  as  this  question  is  asked  several  peasants  look  down 
to  the  ground,  or  try  in  some  other  way  to  avoid  attracting  atten- 
tion, lest  their  names  should  be  suggested.    When  the  silence  has 


THE   MIR,    OR    VILLAGE    COMMUNITY  121 

continued  a  minute  or  two,  tlie  greybeard  says,  "  There  is  Alexei 
Ivanof ;  he  has  not  served  yet!  " 

"  Yes,  yes,  Alexei  Ivanof !  "  sliout  half-a-dozen  voices,  belonging 
probably  to  peasants  who  fear  they  may  be  elected. 

Alexei  protests  in  the  strongest  terms.  He  cannot  say  that  he 
is  ill,  because  his  big  ruddy  face  would  give  him  the  lie  direct,  but 
he  finds  half-a-dozen  other  reasons  why  he  should  not  be  chosen, 
and  accordingly  requests  to  be  excused.  But  his  protestations  are 
not  listened  to,  and  the  proceedings  terminate.  A  new  Village 
Elder  has  been  duly  elected. 

Far  more  important  than  the  elections  is  the  redistribution  of 
the  Communal  land.  It  can  matter  but  little  to  the  Head  of  a 
Household  how  the  elections  go,  provided  he  himself  is  not  chosen. 
He  can  accept  with  perfect  equanimity  Alexei,  or  Ivan,  or  Nikolai, 
because  the  oflfice-bearers  have  very  little  influence  in  Communal 
affairs.  But  he  cannot  remain  a  passive,  indifferent  spectator  when 
the  division  and  allotment  of  the  land  come  to  be  discussed,  for 
the  material  welfare  of  every  household  depends  to  a  great  extent 
on  the  amount  of  land  and  of  burdens  which  it  receives. 

In  the  southern  provinces,  where  the  soil  is  fertile,  and  the 
taxes  do  not  exceed  the  normal  rent,  the  process  of  division  and 
allotment  is  comparatively  simple.  Here  each  peasant  desires  to 
get  as  much  land  as  possible,  and  consequently  each  household 
demands  all  the  land  to  which  it  is  entitled — that  is  to  say,  a  num- 
ber of  shares  equal  to  the  number  of  its  members  inscribed  in  the 
last  revision  list.  The  Assembly  has  therefore  no  difficult  ques- 
tions to  decide.  The  Communal  revision  list  determines  the  num- 
ber of  shares  into  which  the  land  must  be  divided,  and  the  number 
of  shares  to  be  allotted  to  each  family.  The  only  difficulty  likely 
to  arise  is  as  to  which  particular  shares  a  particular  family  shall 
receive,  and  this  difficulty  is  commonly  obviated  by  the  custom  of 
drawing  lots.  There  may  be,  it  is  true,  some  difference  of  opinion 
as  to  when  a  redistribution  should  be  made,  but  this  question  is 
easily  decided  by  a  vote  of  the  Assembly. 

Very  different  is  the  process  of  division  and  allotment  in  many 
Communes  of  the  northern  provinces.  Here  the  soil  is  often  very 
unfertile  and  the  taxes  exceed  the  normal  rent,  and  consequently 
it  may  happen  that  the  peasants  strive  to  have  as  little  land 
as  possible.  In  these  eases  such  scenes  as  the  following  may 
occur : 

Ivan  is  being  asked  how  many  shares  of  the  Communal  land  he 
will  take,  and  replies  in  a  slow,  contemplative  way,  "  I  have  two 


122  EUSSIA 

sons,  and  there  is  myself,  so  I'll  take  three  shares,  or  somewhat 
less,  if  it  is  your  pleasure." 

"  Less  !  "  exclaims  a  middle-aged  peasant,  who  is  not  the  Village 
Elder,  but  merely  an  influential  member,  and  takes  the  leading 
part  in  the  proceedings.  "  You  talk  nonsense.  Your  two  sons 
are  already  old  enough  to  help  you,  and  soon  they  may  get  mar- 
ried, and  so  bring  you  two  new  female  labourers." 

"  My  eldest  son,"  explains  Ivan,  "  always  works  in  Moscow,  and 
the  other  often  leaves  me  in  summer." 

"But  they  both  send  or  bring  home  money,  and  when  they  get 
married,  the  wives  will  remain  with  you." 

"  God  knows  what  will  be,"  replies  Ivan,  passing  over  in  silence 
the  first  part  of  his  opponent's  remark.  "  Who  knows  if  they  will 
marry  ? " 

"  You  can  easily  arrange  that !  " 

"  That  I  cannot  do.  The  times  are  changed  now.  The  young 
people  do  as  they  wish,  and  when  they  do  get  married  they  all  wish 
to  have  houses  of  their  own.  Three  shares  will  be  heavy  enough 
for  me ! " 

"  No,  no.  If  they  wish  to  separate  from  you,  they  will  take 
some  land  from  you.  You  must  take  at  least  four.  The  old  wives 
there  who  have  little  children  cannot  take  shares  according  to  the 
number  of  souls." 

"  He  is  a  rich  muzhik ! "  says  a  voice  in  the  crowd.  "  Lay  on 
him  five  souls ! "  (that  is  to  say,  give  him  five  shares  of  the  land 
and  of  the  burdens). 

"  Five  souls  I  cannot !    By  God,  I  cannot !  " 

"Very  well,  you  shall  have  four,"  says  the  leading  spirit  to 
Ivan ;  and  then,  turning  to  the  crowd,  inquires,  "  Shall  it  be  so  ?  " 

"  Four !  four !  "  murmurs  the  crowd ;  and  the  question  is  settled. 

Next  comes  one  of  the  old  wives  just  referred  to.  Her  husband 
is  a  permanent  invalid,  and  she  has  three  little  boys,  only  one  of 
whom  is  old  enough  for  field  labour.  If  the  number  of  souls  were 
taken  as  the  basis  of  distribution,  she  would  receive  four  shares; 
but  she  would  never  be  able  to  pay  four  shares  of  the  Communal 
burdens.  She  must  therefore  receive  less  than  that  amount.  When 
asked  how  many  she  will  take,  she  replies  with  downcast  eyes,  "  As 
the  Mir  decides,  so  be  it !  " 

"  Then  you  must  take  three." 

"  What  do  you  say,  little  father  ?  "  cries  the  woman,  throwing  off 
suddenly  her  air  of  submissive  obedience.  "  Do  you  hear  that,  ye 
orthodox?*'  They  want  to  lay  upon  me  three  souls!     Was  such  a 


THE   MIR,    OR   VILLAGE    COMMUNITY  123 

thing  ever  heard  of?  Since  St.  Peter's  Day  my  husband  has  been 
bedridden — bewitched,  it  seems,  for  nothing  does  him  good.  He 
cannot  put  a  foot  to  the  ground — all  the  same  as  if  he  were  dead; 
only  he  eats  bread  !  " 

"  You  talk  nonsense,"  says  a  neighbour ;  "  he  was  in  the  Tcahdk 
[gin-shop]  last  week." 

"  And  you ! "  retorts  the  woman,  wandering  from  the  subject  in 
hand ;  "  what  did  you  do  last  parish  fete  ?  Was  it  not  you  who  got 
drunk  and  beat  your  wife  till  she  roused  the  whole  village  with  her 
shrieking  ?    And  no  further  gone  than  last  Sunday — pfu !  " 

"  Listen ! "  says  the  old  man,  sternly  cutting  short  the  torrent 
of  invective.  "  You  must  take  at  least  two  shares  and  a  half.  If 
you  cannot  manage  it  yourself,  you  can  get  some  one  to  help  you." 

"  How  can  that  be  ?  Where  am  I  to  get  the  money  to  pay  a 
labourer?"  asks  the  woman,  with  much  wailing  and  a  flood  of 
tears.  "  Have  pity,  ye  orthodox,  on  the  poor  orphans !  God  will 
reward  you ! "  and  so  on,  and  so  on. 

I  need  not  worry  the  reader  with  a  further  description  of  these 
scenes,  which  are  always  very  long  and  sometimes  violent.  All 
present  are  deeply  interested,  for  the  allotment  of  the  land  is  by 
far  the  most  important  event  in  Russian  peasant  life,  and  the 
arrangement  cannot  be  made  without  endless  talking  and  discus- 
sion. After  the  number  of  shares  for  each  family  has  been  decided, 
the  distribution  of  the  lots  gives  rise  to  new  difficulties.  The  fami- 
lies who  have  plentifully  manured  their  land  strive  to  get  back 
their  old  lots,  and  the  Commune  respects  their  claims  so  far  as 
these  are  consistent  with  the  new  arrangement;  but  often  it  hap- 
pens that  it  is  impossible  to  conciliate  private  rights  and  Com- 
munal interests,  and  in  such  cases  the  former  are  sacrificed  in  a 
way  that  would  not  be  tolerated  by  men  of  Anglo-Saxon  race. 
This  leads,  however,  to  no  serious  consequences.  The  peasants  are 
accustomed  to  work  together  in  this  way,  to  make  concessions  for 
the  Communal  welfare,  and  to  bow  unreservedly  to  the  will  of  the 
Mir.  1  know  of  many  instances  where  the  peasants  have  set  at 
-defiance  the  authority  of  the  police,  of  the  provincial  governor,  and 
of  the  central  Government  itself,  but  I  have  never  heard  of  any 
instance  where  the  will  of  the  Mir  was  openly  opposed  by  one  of 
its  members. 

In  the  preceding  pages  I  have  repeatedly  spoken  about  "  shares 
of  the  Communal  land."  To  prevent  misconception  I  must  explain 
carefully  what  this  expression  means.  A  share  does  not  mean 
simply  a  plot  or  parcel  of  laud ;  on  the  contrary,  it  always  contains 


124  EUSSIA 

at  least  four,  and  may  contain  a  large  number  of  distinct  plots. 
We  have  here  a  new  point  of  difference  between  the  Russian  village 
and  the  villages  of  Western  Europe. 

Communal  land  in  Eussia  is  of  three  kinds:  the  land  on  which 
the  village  is  built,  the  arable  land,  and  the  meadow  or  hay-field, 
if  the  village  is  fortunate  enough  to  possess  one.  On  the  first  of 
these  each  family  possesses  a  house  and  garden,  which  are  the 
hereditary  property  of  the  family,  and  are  never  affected  by  the 
periodical  redistributions.  The  other  two  kinds  are  both  subject 
to  redistribution,  but  on  somewhat  different  principles. 

The  whole  of  the  Communal  arable  land  is  first  of  all  divided 
into  three  fields,  to  suit  the  triennial  rotation  of  crops  already  de- 
scribed, and  each  field  is  divided  into  a  number  of  long  narrow 
strips — corresponding  to  the  number  of  male  members  in  the  Com- 
mune— as  nearly  as  possible  equal  to  each  other  in  area  and  quality. 
Sometimes  it  is  necessary  to  divide  the  field  into  several  portions, 
according  to  the  quality  of  the  soil,  and  then  to  subdivide  each  of 
these  portions  into  the  requisite  number  of  strips.  Tlius  in  all 
cases  every  household  possesses  at  least  one  strip  in  each  field; 
and  in  those  cases  where  subdivision  is  necessary,  every  household 
possesses  a  strip  in  each  of  the  portions  into  which  the  field  is  sub- 
divided. It  often  happens,  therefore,  that  the  strips  are  very  nar- 
row, and  the  portions  belonging  to  each  family  very  numerous 
Strips  six  feet  wide  are  by  no  means  rare.  In  12-i  villages  of  the 
province  of  Moscow,  regarding  which  I  have  special  information, 
they  varied  in  width  from  3  to  45  yards,  with  an  average  of 
1 1  yards.  Of  these  narrow  strips  a  household  may  possess  as  many 
as  thirty  in  a  single  field !  The  complicated  process  of  division 
and  subdivision  is  accomplished  by  the  peasants  themselves,  with 
the  aid  of  simple  measuring-rods,  and  the  accuracy  of  the  result  is 
truly  marvellous. 

The  meadow,  which  is  reserved  for  the  production  of  hay,  is 
divided  into  the  same  number  of  shares  as  the  arable  land.  There, 
however,  the  division  and  distribution  take  place,  not  at  irregular 
intervals,  but  annually.  Every  year,  on  a  day  fixed  by  the  Assem- 
bly, the  villagers  proceed  in  a  body  to  this  part  of  their  property, 
and  divide  it  into  the  requisite  number  of  portions.  Lots  are  then 
cast,  and  each  family  at  once  mows  the  portion  allotted  to  it.  In 
some  Communes  the  meadow  is  mown  by  all  the  peasants  in  com- 
mon, and  the  hay  afterwards  distributed  by  lot  among  the  families ; 
but  this  system  is  by  no  means  so  frequently  used. 

As  the  whole  of  the  Communal  land  thus  resembles  to  some 


THE   MIR,    OR   VILLAGE    COMMUNITY  125 

extent  a  big  farm,  it  is  necessary  to  make  certain  rules  concerning 
cultivation.  A  family  may  sow  what  it  likes  in  the  land  allotted 
to  it,  but  all  families  must  at  least  conform  to  the  accepted  system 
of  rotation.  In  like  manner,  a  family  caijnot  begin  the  autumn 
])loughing  before  the  appointed  time,  because  it  would  thereby 
interfere  with  the  rights  of  the  other  families,  who  use  the  fallow 
field  as  pasturage. 

It  is  not  a  little  strange  that  this  primitive  system  of  land  tenure 
should  have  succeeded  in  living  into  the  twentieth  century,  and 
still  more  remarkable  that  the  institution  of  which  it  forms  an 
essential  part  should  be  regarded  by  many  intelligent^  people  as 
one  of  the  great  institutions  of  the  future,  and  almost  as  a  panacea 
for  social  and  political  evils.  The  explanation  of  these  facts  will 
form  the  subject  of  the  next  chapter. 


CHAPTER   IX 

HOW    THE    COMMUNE    HAS    BEEN    PRESERVED.    AND    WHAT 
IT    IS    TO    EFFECT    IN    THE    FUTURE 

Sweeping  Reforms  after  the  Crimeau  War— Protest  Against  the  Laisses 
Fa  ire  Principle — Fear  of  the  Proletariat — English  and  Russian 
Methods  of  Legislation  Contrasted — Sanguine  Exi>ectations — Evil 
Consequences  of  the  Communal  System— The  Commune  of  the 
Future— Proletariat  of  the  Towns— The  Present  State  of  Things 
Merely  Temporary. 

THE  reader  is  probably  aware  that  immediately  after  the  Cri- 
mean War  Eussia  was  subjected  to  a  series  of  sweeping  reforms, 
including  the  emancipation  of  the  serfs  and  the  creation  of  a  new 
system  of  local  self-government,  and  he  may  naturally  wonder 
how  it  came  to  pass  that  a  curious,  primitive  institution  like  the 
rural  Commune  succeeded  in  weathering  the  bureaucratic  hurri- 
cane. This  strange  phenomena  I  now  proceed  to  explain,  partly 
because  the  subject  is  in  itself  interesting,  and  partly  because  I 
hope  thereby  to  throw  some  light  on  the  peculiar  intellectual  con- 
dition of  the  Eussian  educated  classes. 

When  it  became  evident,  in  ISoT,  that  the  serfs  were  about  to 
be  emancipated,  it  was  at  first  pretty  generally  supposed  that  the 
rural  Commune  would  be  entirely  abolished,  or  at  least  radically 
modified.  At  that  time  many  Eussians  were  enthusiastic,  indis- 
criminate admirers  of  English  institutions,  and  believed,  in  com- 
mon with  the  orthodox  school  of  political  economists,  that  England 
had  acquired  her  commercial  and  industrial  superioritv*  by  adopt- 
ing the  principle  of  individual  liberty  and  unrestricted  competi- 
tion, or.  as  French  writers  term  it.  the  "  laissez  faire"  principle. 
This  principle  is  plainly  inconsistent  with  the  rural  Commune, 
•which  compels  the  peasantry  to  possess  land,  prevents  an  enter- 
prising peasant  from  acquiring  the  land  of  his  less  enterprising 
neighbours,  and  places  very  considerable  restrictions  on  the  free- 
dom of  action  of  the  individual  members.  Accordingly  it  was 
assumed  that  the  rural  Commune,  being  inconsistent  with  the 
modern  spirit  of  progress,  would  find  no  place  in  the  new  regime 
of  liberty  which  was  about  to  be  inaugurated, 

Xo  sooner  had  these  ideas  been  announced  in  the  Press  than 
they  called  forth  strenuous  protests.     In  the  crowd  of  protesters 

12G 


now  THE  COMMUTE  HAS  BEEN  PRESERVED     127 

were  two  wcll-dcfincd  groups.  On  the  one  liand  tliore  wcro  tlie 
so-called  Slavophils,  a  small  band  of  patriotic,  highly  educated 
;^[oscovitcs,  wlio  were  strongly  disposed  to  admire  everything  spe-  . 
cifically  Russian,  and  who  habitually  refused  to  bow  the  knee  to"^-^ 
the  wisdom  of  Western  Europe.  These  gentlemen,  in  a  special 
organ  which  thcv  had  recently  founded,  pointed  out  to  their  coun- 
trymen that  the  Commune  was  a  venerable  and  peculiarly  Russian 
institution,  which  had  mitigated  in  the  past  the  baneful  influence 
of  serfage,  and  would  certainly  in  the  future  confer  inestimable 
benefits  on  the  emancipated  peasantry.  The  other  group  was  ani- 
mated by  a  very  dilferent  spirit.  They  had  no  sympathy  with 
national  peculiarities,  and  no  reverence  for  hoary  antiquity.  That 
the  Commune  was  specifically  Russian  or  Slavonic,  and  a  remnant 
of  primitive  times,  was  in  their  eyes  anything  but  a  recommenda- 
tion in  its  favour.  Cosmopolitan  in  tlieir  tendencies,  and  abso- 
lutely free  from  all  arcluvological  sentimentality,  they  regarded  the 
institution  from  the  purely  utilitarian  point  of  view.  They  agreed, 
however,  with  the  Slavophils  in  thinking  that  its  preservaton  would  ] 
have  a  beneficial  influence  on  the  material  and  moral  welfare  of 
the  peasantry. 

For  the  sake  of  convenience  it  is  necessary  to  designate  this 
latter  group  by  some  definite  name,  but  I  confess  I  have  some 
difficulty  in  making  a  choice.  I  do  not  wish  to  call  these  gentle- 
men Socialists,  because  many  people  habitually  and  involuntarily 
attach  a  stigma  to  the  word,  and  believe  that  all  to  whom  the  term 
is  applied  must  bo  first-cousins  to  the  petroleuses.  To  avoid  mis- 
conceptions of  this  kind,  it  will  be  well  to  designate  them  simply 
by  the  organ  which  most  ably  represented  their  views,  and  to  call 
them  the  adherents  of  The  Contemporary. 

The  Slavophils  and  the  adherents  of  The  Contemporary,  though 
differing  widely  from  each  other  in  many  respects,  had  the  same 
immediate  object  in  view,  and  accordingly  worked  together.  Witli 
great  ingenuity  they  contended  that  the  Communal  system  of  land 
tenure  had  much  greater  advantages,  and  was  attended  with  much 
fewer  inconveniences,  than  people  generally  supposed.  But  they 
did  not  confine  themselves  to  these  immediate  practical  advantages, 
which  had  very  little  interest  for  the  general  reader.  The  writers 
in  The  Contemporary  explained  that  the  importance  of  the  rural 
Commune  lies,  not  in  its  actual  condition,  but  in  its  capabilities  of 
development,  and  they  drew,  with  prophetic  eye,  most  attractive 
pictures  of  the  happy  rural  Conmiune  of  the  future.  Let  me 
give  here,  as  an  illustration,  one  of  these  prophetic  descriptions : 


128  EUSSIA 

"  Thanks  to  the  spread  of  primary  and  technical  education  the 
peasants  have  become  well  acquainted  with  the  science  of  agri- 
culture, and  are  always  ready  to  undertake  in  common  the  neces- 
sary improvements.  They  no  longer  exhaust  the  soil  by  exporting 
the  grain,  but  sell  merely  certain  technical  products  containing  no 
mineral  ingredients.  For  this  purpose  the  Communes  possess 
distilleries,  starch-works,  and  the  like,  and  the  soil  thereby  retains 
its  original  fertility.  The  scarcity  induced  by  the  natural  increase 
of  the  population  is  counteracted  by  improved  methods  of  cultiva- 
tion. If  the  Chinese,  who  know  nothing  of  natural  science,  have 
succeeded  by  purely  empirical  methods  in  perfecting  agriculture 
to  such  an  extent  that  a  whole  family  can  support  itself  on  a  few 
square  yards  of  land,  what  may  not  the  European  do  with  the 
help  of  chemistry,  botanical  physiology,  and  the  other  natural 
sciences  ?  " 

Coming  back  from  the  possibilities  of  the  future  to  the  actuali- 
ties of  the  present,  these  ingenious  and  eloquent  writers  pointed  out 
that  in  the  rural  Commune,  Eussia  possessed  a  sure  preventive 
against  the  greatest  evil  of  West-European  social  organisation,  the 
Proletariat.  Here  the  Slavophils  could  strike  in  with  their  favourite 
refrain  about  the  rotten  social  condition  of  Western  Europe;  and 
their  temporary  allies,  though  they  habitually  scoffed  at  the  Slavo- 
phil jeremiads,  had  no  reason  for  the  moment  to  contradict  them. 
Very  soon  the  Proletariat  became,  for  the  educated  classes,  a  species 
of  bugbear,  and  the  reading  public  were  converted  to  the  doctrine 
that  the  Communal  institutions  should  be  preserved  as  a  means  of 
excluding  the  monster  from  Eussia. 

This  fear  of  what  is  vaguely  termed  the  Proletariat  is  still  fre- 
quently to  be  met  with  in  Eussia,  and  I  have  often  taken  pains  to 
discover  precisely  what  is  meant  by  the  term.  I  cannot,  however, 
say  that  my  efforts  have  been  completely  successful.  The  monster 
seems  to  be  as  vague  and  shadowy  as  the  awful  forms  which  Milton 
placed  at  the  gate  of  the  infernal  regions.  At  one  moment  he 
seems  to  be  simply  our  old  enemy  Pauperism,  but  when  we  ap- 
proach a  little  nearer  we  find  that  he  expands  to  colossal  dimen- 
sions, so  as  to  include  all  who  do  not  possess  inalienable  landed 
property.  In  short,  he  turns  out  to  be,  on  examination,  as  vague 
and  undefinable  as  a  good  bugbear  ought  to  be;  and  this  vagueness 
contributed  probably  not  a  little  to  his  success. 

The  influence  which  the  idea  of  the  Proletariat  exercised  on 
the  public  mind  and  on  the  legislation  at  the  time  of  the  Emanci- 
pation is  a  very  notable  fact,  and  well  worthy  of  attention,  because 


HOW  THE  COMMUXE  HAS  BEEX  PEESERVED      120 

it  helps  to  illustrate  a  point  of  difference  between  Eussians  and 
Englishmen. 

Englishmen  are,  as  a  rule,  too  much  occupied  with  the  multifa- 
rious concerns  of  the  present  to  look  much  ahead  into  the  distant 
future.  We  profess,  indeed,  to  regard  with  horror  the  maxim, 
Apres  nous  le  deluge!  and  we  should  probably  annihilate  with  our 
virtuous  indignation  any  one  who  should  boldly  profess  the  prin- 
ciple. And  yet  we  often  act  almost  as  if  we  were  really  partisans 
of  that  heartless  creed.  When  called  upon  to  consider  the  inter- 
ests of  the  future  generations,  we  declared  that  "  sufficient  unto  the 
day  is  the  evil  thereof,"  and  stigmatise  as  visionaries  and  dreamers 
all  who  seek  to  withdraw  our  attention  from  the  present.  A  mod- 
ern Cassandra  who  confidently  predicts  the  near  exhaustion  of  our 
coal-fields,  or  graphically  describes  a  crushing  national  disaster 
that  must  some  day  overtake  us,  may  attract  some  public  attention; 
but  when  we  learn  that  the  misfortune  is  not  to  take  place  in  our 
time,  we  placidly  remark  that  future  generations  must  take  care 
of  themselves,  and  that  we  cannot  reasonably  be  expected  to  bear 
their  burdens.  When  we  are  obliged  to  legislate,  we  proceed  in 
a  cautious,  tentative  way,  and  are  quite  satisfied  with  any  homely, 
simple  remedies  that  common  sense  and  experience  may  suggest, 
W'ithout  taking  the  trouble  to  inquire  whether  the  remedy  adopted 
is  in  accordance  with  scientific  theories.  In  short,  there  is  a  certain 
truth  in  those  "  famous  prophetiek  pictures  "  spoken  of  by  Still- 
ingfleet,  which  "  represent  the  fate  of  England  by  a  mole,  a  crea- 
ture blind  and  busy,  continually  working  under  ground." 

In  Eussia  we  find  the  opposite  extreme.  There  reformers  have 
been  trained,  not  in  the  arena  of  practical  politics,  but  in  the 
school  of  political  speculation.  As  soon,  therefore,  as  they  begin 
to  examine  any  simple  matter  with  a  view  to  legislation,  it  at  once 
becomes  a  "  question,"  and  flies  up  into  the  region  of  political  and 
social  science.  Whilst  we  have  been  groping  along  an  unexplored 
path,  the  Eussians  have — at  least  in  recent  times — been  constantly 
mapping  out,  with  the  help  of  foreign  experience,  the  country  that 
lay  before  them,  and  advancing  with  gigantic  strides  according  to 
the  newest  political  theories.  Men  trained  in  this  way  cannot  rest 
satisfied  with  homely  remedies  which  merely  alleviate  the  evils  of 
the  moment.  They  wish  to  "tear  up  evil  by  the  roots,"  and  to 
legislate  for  future  generations  as  well  as  for  themselves. 

This  tendency  was  peculiarly  strong  at  the  time  of  the  Emanci- 
pation. The  educated  classes  were  profoundly  convinced  that  the 
system  of  Nicholas  I.  had  been  a  mistake,  and  that  a  new  and 


130  RUSSIA 

brighter  era  was  about  to  dawn  upon  the  country.  Ever}i;hing  had 
to  be  reformed.  The  whole  social  and  political  edifice  had  to  be 
reconstructed  on  entirely  new  principles. 

Let  us  imagine  the  position  of  a  man  who,  having  no  practical 
acquaintance  with  building,  suddenly  finds  himself  called  upon  to 
construct  a  large  house,  containing  all  the  newest  appliances  for 
convenience  and  comfort.  What  will  his  first  step  be?  Probably 
he  will  proceed  at  once  to  study  the  latest  authorities  on  architec- 
ture and  construction,  and  when  he  has  mastered  the  general  prin- 
ciples he  will  come  down  gradually  to  the  details.  This  is  precisely 
what  the  Eussians  did  when  they  found  themselves  called  upon 
to  reconstruct  the  political  and  social  edifice.  They  eagerly  con- 
sulted the  most  recent  English,  French,  and  German  writers  on 
social  and  political  science,  and  here  it  was  that  they  made  the 
acquaintance  of  the  Proletariat. 

People  who  read  books  of  travel  without  ever  leaving  their  own 
country  are  very  apt  to  acquire  exaggerated  notions  regarding  the 
hardships  and  dangers  of  uncivilised  life.  They  read  about  savage 
tribes,  daring  robbers,  ferocious  wild  beasts,  poisonous  snakes,  deadly 
fevers,  and  the  like ;  and  they  cannot  but  wonder  how  a  human  being 
can  exist  for  a  week  among  such  dangers.  But  if  they  happen  there- 
after to  visit  the  countries  described,  they  discover  to  their  surprise 
that,  though  the  descriptions  may  not  have  been  exaggerated,  life 
under  such  conditions  is  much  easier  than  they  supposed.  Now  the 
Eussians  who  read  about  the  Proletariat  were  very  much  like  the 
people  who  remain  at  home  and  devour  books  of  travel.  They 
gained  exaggerated  notions,  and  learned  to  fear  the  Proletariat 
much  more  than  we  do,  who  habitually  live  in  the  midst  of  it. 
Of  course  it  is  quite  possible  that  their  view  of  the  subject  is  truer 
than  ours,  and  that  we  may  some  day,  like  the  people  who  live 
tranquilly  on  the  slopes  of  a  volcano,  be  rudely  awakened  from  our 
fancied  security.  But  this  is  an  entirely  different  question.  I  am 
at  present  not  endeavouring  to  Justify  our  habitual  callousness  with 
regard  to  social  dangers,  but  simply  seeking  to  explain  why  the 
Eussians,  who  have  littlo  or  no  practical  acquaintance  with  pau- 
perism, should  have  taken  such  elaborate  precautions  against  it. 

But  how  can  the  preservation  of  the  Communal  institutions  lead 
to  this  "consummation  devoutly  to  be  wished/'  and  how  far  are 
the  precautions  likely  to  be  successful? 

Those  who  have  studied  the  mysteries  of  social  science  have 
generally  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  Proletariat  has  been 
formed  chiefly  by  the  expropriation  of  the  peasantry  or  small  land- 


HOW  THE  COMMUNE  HAS  BEEN  PRESERVED      131 

holders,  and  that  its  formation  might  be  prevented,  or  at  least 
retarded,  by  any  system  of  legislation  which  would  secure  the  pos- 
session of  land  for  the  peasants  and  prevent  them  from  being  up- 
rooted from  the  soil.  Now  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  Russian 
Communal  system  is  admirably  adapted  for  this  purpose.  About 
one-half  of  the  arable  land  has  been  reserved  fur  the  peasantry,  and 
cannot  be  encroached  on  by  the  great  landowners  or  the  capitalists, 
and  every  adult  peasant,  roughly  speaking,  has  a  right  to  a  share 
of  this  land.  When  I  have  said  that  the  peasantry  compose  about 
five-sixths  of  the  population,  and  that  it  is  extremely  dilficult  for 
a  peasant  to  sever  his  connection  with  the  rural  Commune,  it  will 
be  at  once  evident  that,  if  the  theories  of  social  philosophers  are 
correct,  and  if  the  sanguine  expectations  entertained  in  many 
quarters  regarding  the  permanence  of  the  present  Communal  insti- 
tutions are  destined  to  be  realised,  there  is  little  or  no  danger  of  a 
numerous  Proletariat  being  formed,  and  the  Russians  are  justified 
in  maintaining,  as  they  often  do,  that  they  have  successfully  solved 
one  of  the  most  important  and  most  difficult  of  social  problems. 

But  is  there  any  reasonable  chance  of  these  sanguine  expecta- 
tions being  realised? 

This  is,  doubtless,  a  most  complicated  and  difficult  question,  but 
it  cannot  be  shirked.  However  sceptical  we  may  be  with  regard  to 
social  panaceas  of  all  sorts,  we  cannot  dismiss  with  a  few  hack- 
neyed phrases  a  gigantic  experiment  in  social  science  involving 
the  material  and  moral  welfare  of  many  millions  of  human  beings. 
On  the  other  hand,  I  do  not  wish  to  exhaust  the  reader's  patience 
by  a  long  series  of  multifarious  details  and  conflicting  arguments. 
What  I  propose  to  do,  therefore,  is  to  state  in  a  few  words  the  con- 
clusions at  which  I  have  arrived,  after  a  careful  study  of  the  ques- 
tion in  all  its  bearings,  and  to  indicate  in  a  general  way  how  I 
have  arrived  at  these  conclusions. 

If  Russia  were  content  to  remain  a  purely  agricultural  country 
of  the  Sleepy  Hollow  type,  and  if  her  Government  were  to  devote 
all  its  energies  to  maintaining  economic  and  social  stagnation,  the 
rural  Commune  might  perhaps  prevent  the  formation  of  a  large 
Proletariat  in  the  future,  as  it  has  tended  to  prevent  it  for  cen- 
turies in  the  past.  The  periodical  redistributions  of  the  Com- 
munal land  would  secure  to  every  family  a  portion  of  the  soil,  and 
when  the  population  became  too  dense,  the  evils  arising  from  inor- 
dinate subdivision  of  the  land  might  be  obviated  by  a  carefully 
regulated  system  of  emigration  to  the  outlying,  thinly  populated 
provinces.     All  this  sounds  very  well  in  theory,  but  experience  is 


132  EUSSIA 

proving  that  it  cannot  be  carried  out  in  practice.  In  Eussia,  as  in 
"Western  Europe,  the  struggle  for  life,  even  among  the  conservative 
agricultural  classes,  is  becoming  yearly  more  and  more  intense,  and 
is  producing  both  the  desire  and  the  necessity  for  greater  freedom 
of  individual  character  and  effort,  so  that  each  man  may  make  his 
way  in  the  world  according  to  the  amount  of  his  intelligence,  en- 
evgy,  spirit  of  enterprise,  and  tenacity  of  purpose.  Whatever  insti- 
tutions tend  to  fetter  tho  individual  and  maintain  a  dead  level  of 
mediocrity  have  little  chance  of  subsisting  for  any  great  length  of 
time,  and  it  must  be  admitted  that  among  such  institutions  the 
rural  Commune  in  its  present  form  occupies  a  prominent  place. 
All  its  members  must  possess,  in  principle  if  not  always  in  prac- 
tice, an  equal  share  of  the  soil  and  must  practice  the  same  methods 
of  agriculture,  and  when  a  certain  inequality  has  been  created  by 
individual  effort  it  is  in  great  measure  wiped  out  by  a  redistribu- 
tion of  the  Communal  land. 

Now,  I  am  well  aware  that  in  practice  the  injustice  and  incon- 
veniences of  the  system,  being  always  tempered  and  corrected  by 
ingenious  compromises  suggested  by  long  experience,  are  not  nearly 
so  great  as  the  mere  theorist  might  naturally  suppose;  but  they 
are,  I  believe,  quite  great  enough  to  prevent  the  permanent  main- 
tenance of  the  institution,  and  already  there  are  ominous  indica- 
tions of  the  coming  change,  as  I  shall  explain  more  fully  when  I 
come  to  deal  with  the  consequences  of  serf-emancipation.  On  the 
other  hand  there  is  no  danger  of  a  sudden,  general  abolition  of  the 
old  system.  Though  the  law  now  permits  the  transition  from  Com- 
munal to  personal  hereditary  tenure,  even  the  progessive  enterpris- 
ing peasants  are  slow  to  avail  themselves  of  the  permission ;  and  the 
reason  I  once  heard  given  for  this  conservative  tendency  is  worth 
recording.  A  well-to-do  peasant  who  had  been  in  the  habit  of 
manuring  his  land  better  than  his  neighbours,  and  who  was,  conse- 
quently, a  loser  by  the  existing  system,  said  to  me :  "  Of  course  I 
want  to  keep  the  allotment  I  have  got.  But  if  the  land  is  never 
again  to  be  divided  my  grandchildren  may  be  beggars.  We  must 
not  sin  against  those  who  are  to  come  after  us."  This  unexpected 
reply  gave  me  food  for  reflection.  Surely  those  muzhiks  who  are 
so  often  accused  of  being  brutally  indifferent  to  moral  obligations 
must  have  peculiar  deep-rooted  moral  conceptions  of  their  own 
which  exercise  a  great  influence  on  their  daily  life,  A  man  who 
hesitates  to  sin  against  his  grandchildren  still  unborn,  though  his 
conceptions  of  the  meum  and  the  tuum  in  the  present  may  be  occa- 
sionally a  little  confused,  must  possess  somewhere  deep  down  in  his 


HOW  THE  COMMUNE  HAS  BEEN  PRESERVED      133 

nature  a  secret  fund  of  moral  feeling  of  a  very  respectable  kind. 
Even  among  the  educated  classes  in  Russia  the  way  of  looking 
at  these  matters  is  very  different  from  ours.  We  should  naturally 
feel  inclined  to  applaud,  encourage,  and  assist  the  peasants  who 
show  energy  and  initiative,  and  who  try  to  rise  above  their  fellows. 
To  the  Russian  this  seems  at  once  inexpedient  and  immoral.  The 
success  of  the  few,  he  explains,  is  always  obtained  at  the  expense 
of  the  many,  and  generally  by  means  which  the  severe  moralist 
cannot  approve  of.  The  rich  peasants,  for  example,  have  gained 
their  fortune  and  influence  by  demoralising  and  exploiting  their 
weaker  brethren,  by  committing  all  manner  of  illegalities,  and  by 
bribing  the  local  authorities.  Hence  they  are  styled  Miroyedy 
(Commune-devourers)  or  Kulaki  (fists),  or  something  equally  un- 
complimentary. Once  this  view  is  adopted,  it  follows  logically  that 
the  Communal  institutions,  in  so  far  as  they  form  a  barrier  to  the 
activity  of  such  persons,  ought  to  be  carefully  preserved.  This  idea 
underlies  nearly  all  the  arguments  in  favour  of  the  Commune,  and 
explains  why  they  are  so  popular.  Russians  of  all  classes  have,  in 
fact,  a  leaning  towards  socialistic  notions,  and  very  little  s}Tnpathy 
with  our  belief  in  individual  initiative  and  unrestricted  competition. 

Even  if  it  be  admitted  that  the  Commune  may  effectually  prevent 
the  formation  of  an  agricultural  Proletariat,  the  question  is  thereby 
only  half  answered.  Russia  aspires  to  become  a  great  industrial 
and  commercial  country,  and  accordingly  her  town  population  is 
rapidly  augmenting.  We  have  still  to  consider,  then,  how  the 
Commune  affects  the  Proletariat  of  the  towns.  In  Western  Europe 
the  great  centres  of  industry  have  uprooted  from  the  soil  and 
collected  in  the  towns  a  great  part  of  the  rural  population.  Those 
who  yielded  to  this  attractive  influence  severed  all  connection  with 
their  native  villages,  became  unfit  for  field  labour,  and  were  trans- 
formed into  artisans  or  factory-workers.  In  Russia  this  trans- 
formation could  not  easily  take  place.  The  peasant  might  work 
during  the  greater  part  of  his  life  in  the  to^\Tis,  but  he  did  not 
thereby  sever  his  connection  with  his  native  village.  He  remained, 
whether  he  desired  it  or  not,  a  member  of  the  Commune,  possessing 
a  share  of  the  Communal  land,  and  liable  for  a  share  of  the  Com- 
munal burdens.  During  his  residence  in  the  town  his  wife  and 
family  remained  at  home,  and  thither  he  himself  sooner  or  later 
returned.  In  this  way  a  class  of  hybrids — half-peasants,  half- 
artisans — has  been  created,  and  the  formation  of  a  town  Proletariat 
has  been  greatly  retarded. 

The  existence  of  this  hybrid  class  is  commonly  cited  as  a  benefi- 


134  EUSSIA 

cent  result  of  the  Communal  institutions.  The  artisans  and  factory 
labourers,  it  is  said,  have  thus  always  a  home  to  which  they  can 
retire  when  thrown  out  of  work  or  overtaken  by  old  age,  and  their 
children  are  brought  up  in  the  country,  instead  of  being  reared 
among  the  debilitating  influences  of  overcrowded  cities.  Every 
common  labourer  has,  in  short,  by  this  ingenious  contrivance,  some 
small  capital  and  a  country  residence. 

In  the  present  transitional  state  of  Eussian  society  this  peculiar 
arrangement  is  at  once  natural  and  convenient,  but  amidst  its 
advantages  it  has  many  serious  defects.  The  unnatural  separation 
of  the  artisan  from  his  wife  and  family  leads  to  very  undesirable 
results,  well  known  to  all  who  are  familiar  with  the  details  of 
peasant  life  in  the  northern  provinces.  And  whatever  its  advan- 
tages and  defects  may  be,  it  cannot  be  permanently  retained.  At 
the  present  time  native  industry  is  still  in  its  infancy.  Pro- 
tected by  the  tariff  from  foreign  competition,  and  too  few  in  num- 
ber to  produce  a  strong  competition  among  themselves,  the  existing 
factories  can  give  to  their  owners  a  large  revenue  without  any 
strenuous  exertion.  Manufacturers  can  therefore  allow  themselves 
many  little  liberties,  which  would  be  quite  inadmissible  if  the 
price  of  manufactured  goods  were  lowered  by  brisk  competition. 
Ask  a  Lancashire  manufacturer  if  he  could  allow  a  large  portion 
of  his  workers  to  go  yearly  to  Cornwall  or  Caithness  to  mow  a 
field  of  hay  or  reap  a  few  acres  of  wheat  or  oats !  And  if  Eussia 
is  to  make  great  industrial  progress,  the  manufacturers  of  Moscow, 
Lodz,  Ivanovo,  and  Shui  will  some  day  be  as  hard  pressed  as  are 
(those  of  Bradford  and  Manchester.  The  invariable  tendency  of 
/  modern  industry,  and  the  secret  of  its  progress,  is  the  ever-increas- 
ing division  of  labour ;  and  how  can  this  principle  be  applied  if  the 
artisans  insist  on  remaining  agriculturists? 

The  interests  of  agriculture,  too,  are  opposed  to  the  old  system. 
Agriculture  cannot  be  expected  to  make  progress,  or  even  to  be 
tolerably  productive,  if  it  is  left  in  great  measure  to  women  and 
children.  At  present  it  is  not  desirable  that  the  link  which  binds 
the  factory-worker  or  artisan  with  the  village  should  be  at  once 
severed,  for  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  large  factories  there  is 
often  no  proper  accommodation  for  the  families  of  the  workers, 
and  agriculture,  as  at  present  practised,  can  be  carried  on  success- 
fully though  the  Head  of  the  Household  happens  to  be  absent. 
But  the  system  must  be  regarded  as  simply  temporary,  and  the 
disruption  of  large  families — a  phenomenon  of  which  I  have  already 
spoken — renders  its  application  more  and  more  difficult. 


CHAPTEE   X 

FINNISH    AND    TARTAR    VILLAGES 

A  Finnish  Tribe — Finnish  Villages — Various  Stages  of  Russification — 
Finnish  Women — Finnish  Religions — Method  of  "  Laying"  Ghosts — 
Curious  Mixture  of  Christianity  and  Paganism — Conversion  of  the 
Finns — A  Tartar  Village — A  Russian  Peasant's  Conception  of  Ma- 
hometanism — A  Mahometan's  View  of  Christianity — I'roi)aganda — 
The  Russian  Colonist — Migrations  of  Peoples  During  the  Dark  Ages. 

"Il/HEN  talking  one  day  with  a  landed  proprietor  who  lived  near 
'' *  Ivanofka,  I  accidentally  discovered  that  in  a  district  at  some 
distance  to  the  northeast  there  were  certain  villages  the  inhabitants 
of  which  did  not  understand  Eussian,  and  habitually  used  a  pecul- 
iar language  of  their  own.  With  an  illogical  hastiness  worthy  of 
a  genuine  ethnologist,  I  at  once  assumed  that  these  must  be  the 
remnants  of  some  aboriginal  race. 

"  Des  aborigenes ! "  I  exclaimed,  unable  to  recall  the  Eussian 
equivalent  for  the  term,  and  knowing  that  my  friend  understood 
French.  "  Doubtless  the  remains  of  some  ancient  race  who  form- 
erly held  the  country,  and  are  now  rapidly  disappearing.  Have 
you  any  Aborigines  Protection  Society  in  this  part  of  the  world  ?  " 

My  friend  had  evidently  great  difficulty  in  imagining  what  an 
Aborigines  Protection  Society  could  be,  and  promptly  assured  me 
that  there  was  nothing  of  the  kind  in  Eussia.  On  being  told  that 
such  a  society  might  render  valuable  services  by  protecting  the 
weaker  against  the  stronger  race,  and  collecting  important  materials 
for  the  new  science  of  Social  Embryology,  he  looked  thoroughly 
mystified.  As  to  the  new  science,  he  had  never  heard  of  it,  and 
as  to  protection,  he  thought  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  villages  in 
question  were  quite  capable  of  protecting  themselves.  "  I  could 
invent,"  he  added,  with  a  malicious  smile,  "  a  society  for  the  pro- 
tection of  all  peasants,  but  I  am  quite  sure  that  the  authorities 
would  not  allow  me  to  carry  out  my  idea." 

My  ethnological  curiosity  was  thoroughly  aroused,  and  I 
endeavoured  to  awaken  a  similar  feeling  in  my  friend  by  hinting 
that  we  had  at  hand  a  promising  field  for  discoveries  which  might 
immortalise  the  fortunate  explorers;  but  my  efforts  were  in  vain. 

135 


136  EUSSIA 

The  old  gentleman  was  a  portly,  indolent  man,  of  phlegmatic  tem- 
perament, who  thought  more  of  comfort  than  of  immortality  in 
the  terrestrial  sense  of  the  term.  To  my  proposal  that  we  should 
start  at  once  on  an  exploring  expedition,  he  replied  calmly  that 
the  distance  was  considerable,  that  the  roads  were  muddy,  and  that 
there  was  nothing  to  be  learned.  The  villages  in  question  were 
very  like  other  villages,  and  their  inhabitants  lived,  to  all  intents 
and  purposes,  in  the  same  way  as  their  Russian  neighbours.  If 
they  had  any  secret  peculiarities  they  would  certainly  not  divulge 
them  to  a  stranger,  for  they  were  notoriously  silent,  gloomy,  morose, 
and  uncommunicative.  Everything  that  was  known  about  them, 
my  friend  assured  me,  might  be  communicated  in  a  few  words. 
They  belonged  to  a  Finnish  tribe  called  Korelli,  and  had  been 
transported  to  their  present  settlements  in  comparatively  recent 
times.  In  answer  to  my  questions  as  to  how,  when,  and  by  whom 
they  had  been  transported  thither  my  informant  replied  that  it 
had  been  the  work  of  Ivan  the  Terrible. 

Though  I  knew  at  that  time  little  of  Russian  history,  I  suspected 
that  the  last  assertion  was  invented  on  the  spur  of  the  moment, 
in  order  to  satisfy  my  troublesome  curiosity,  and  accordingly  I 
determined  not  to  accept  it  without  verification.  The  result  showed 
how  careful  the  traveller  should  be  in  accepting  the  testimony  of 
"intelligent,  well-informed  natives."  On  further  investigation  I 
discovered,  not  only  that  the  story  about  Ivan  the  Terrible  was  a 
pure  invention — whether  of  my  friend  or  of  the  popular  imagina- 
tion, which  always  uses  heroic  names  as  pegs  on  which  to  hang 
traditions,  I  know  not — but  also  that  my  first  theory  was  correct. 
These  Finnish  peasants  turned  out  to  be  a  remnant  of  the  aborig- 
ines, or  at  least  of  the  oldest  known  inhabitants  of  the  district. 
Men  of  the  same  race,  but  bearing  different  tribal  names,  such  as 
Finns,  Korelli,  Tcheremiss,  Tchuvash,  Mordva,  Votyaks,  Permyaks, 
Zyryanye,  Voguls,  are  to  be  found  in  considerable  numbers  all  over 
the  northern  provinces,  from  the  Gulf  of  Bothnia  to  Western 
Siberia,  as  well  as  in  the  provinces  bordering  the  Middle  Volga  as 
far  south  as  Penza,  Simbirsk,  and  Tamboff.*  The  Russian  peasants, 
who  now  compose  the  great  mass  of  the  population,  are  the 
intruders. 

*  The  semi-official  "  Statesman's  Handbook  for  Russia,"  published  in 
1896,  enumerates  fourteen  different  tribes,  with  an  aggregate  of  about 
4,650,000  souls,  but  these  numbers  must  not  be  regarded  as  having  any 
pretensions  to  accuracy.     The  best   authorities  differ  widely   in  their 

estimates. 


FINNISH    AND    TAETAR   VILLAGES  137 

I  had  long  taken  a  deep  interest  in  what  learned  Germans  call 
the  Volkerwanderung — that  is  to  say,  the  migrations  of  peoples 
during  the  gradual  dissolution  of  the  Roman  Empire,  and  it  had 
often  occurred  to  me  that  the  most  approved  authorities,  who  had 
expended  an  infinite  amount  of  learning  on  the  subject,  had  not 
always  taken  the  trouble  to  investigate  the  nature  of  the  process. 
It  is  not  enough  to  know  that  a  race  or  tribe  extended  its  dominions 
or  changed  its  geographical  position.  We  ought  at  the  same  time 
to  inquire  whether  it  expelled,  exterminated,  or  absorbed  the  former 
inhabitants,  and  how  the  expulsion,  extermination,  or  absorption 
was  effected.  Now  of  these  three  processes,  absorption  may  have 
been  more  frequent  than  is  commonly  supposed,  and  it  seemed  to 
me  that  in  Northern  Russia  this  process  might  be  conveniently 
studied.  A  thousand  years  ago  the  whole  of  Northern  Russia  was 
peopled  by  Finnish  pagan  tribes,  and  at  the  present  day  the 
greater  part  of  it  is  occupied  by  peasants  who  speak  the  language  of 
Moscow,  profess  the  Orthodox  faith,  present  in  their  physiognomy 
no  striking  peculiarities,  and  appear  to  the  superficial  observer  pure 
Russians.  And  we  have  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  former 
inhabitants  were  expelled  or  exterminated,  or  that  they  gradually 
died  out  from  contact  with  the  civilisation  and  vices  of  a  higher 
race.  History  records  no  wholesale  Finnish  migrations  like  that 
of  the  Kalmyks,  and  no  war  of  extermination;  and  statistics  prove 
that  among  the  remnants  of  those  primitive  races  the  population 
increases  as  rapidly  as  among  the  Russian  peasantry.*  From  these 
facts  I  concluded  that  the  Finnish  aborigines  had  been  simply 
absorbed,  or  rather,  were  being  absorbed,  by  the  Slavonic  intruders. 

This  conclusion  has  since  been  confirmed  by  observation.  Dur- 
ing my  wanderings  in  these  northern  provinces  I  have  found 
villages  in  every  stage  of  Russification.  In  one,  everything  seemed 
thoroughly  Finnish:  the  inhabitants  had  a  reddish-olive  skin,  very 
high  cheek-bones,  obliquely  set  eyes,  and  a  peculiar  costume;  none 
of  the  women,  and  very  few  of  the  men,  could  understand  Russian, 
and  any  Russian  who  visited  the  place  was  regarded  as  a  foreigner. 
In  a  second,  there  were  already  some  Russian  inhabitants ;  the  others 
had  lost  something  of  their  pure  Finnish  type,  many  of  the  men 
had  discarded  the  old  costume  and  spoke  Russian  fluently,  and  a 
Russian  visitor  was  no  longer  shunned.  In  a  third,  the  Finnish 
type  was  still  further  weakened:  all  the  men  spoke  Russian,  and 

*  This  latter  statement  is  made  on  the  authority  of  Popoff  ("  Zyryanye 
i  zyryanski  krai,"  Moscow.  1874)  and  Tcheremshanski  ("Opisanie  Oreu- 
burgskoi  Gubernii,"  Ufa,  1859). 


138  RUSSIA 

nearly  all  the  women  understood  it;  the  old  male  costume  had 
entirely  disappeared,  and  the  old  female  costume  was  rapidly  fol- 
lowing it;  while  intermarriage  with  the  Eussian  population  was 
no  longer  rare.  In  a  fourth,  intermarriage  had  almost  completely 
done  its  work,  and  the  old  Finnish  element  could  be  detected  merely 
in  certain  peculiarities  of  physiognomy  and  pronunciation.* 

The  process  of  Eussification  may  be  likewise  observed  in  the 
manner  of  building  the  houses  and  in  the  methods  of  farming, 
which  show  plainly  that  the  Finnish  races  did  not  obtain  rudi- 
mentary civilisation  from  the  Slavs.  Whence,  then,  was  it  derived  ? 
Was  it  obtained  from  some  other  race,  or  is  it  indigenous?  These 
are  questions  which  I  have  no  means  of  answering. 

A  Positivist  poet — or  if  that  be  a  contradiction  in  terms,  let 
us  say  a  Positivist  who  wrote  verses — once  composed  an  appeal  to 
the  fair  sex,  beginning  with  the  words: 

"  Pourquoi,  O  femmes,  restez-vous  en  arriere?" 

The  question  might  have  been  addressed  to  the  women  in  these 
Finnish  villages.  Like  their  sisters  in  France,  they  are  much  more 
conservative  than  the  men,  and  oppose  much  more  stubbornly  the 
Eussian  influence.  On  the  other  hand,  like  women  in  general, 
when  they  do  begin  to  change,  they  change  more  rapidly.  This 
is  seen  especially  in  the  matter  of  costume.  The  men  adopt  the 
Russian  costume  very  gradually;  the  women  adopt  it  at  once.  As 
soon  as  a  single  woman  gets  a  gaudy  Eussian  dress,  every  other 
woman  in  the  village  feels  envious  and  impatient  till  she  has  done 
likewise.  I  remember  once  visiting  a  Mordva  village  when  this 
critical  point  had  been  reached,  and  a  very  characteristic  incident 
occurred.  In  the  preceding  villages  through  which  I  had  passed 
I  had  tried  in  vain  to  buy  a  female  costume,  and  I  again  made 
the  attempt.  This  time  the  result  was  very  different.  A  few 
minutes  after  I  had  expressed  my  wish  to  purchase  a  costume,  the 
house  in  which  I  was  sitting  was  besieged  by  a  great  crowd  of 
women,  holding  in  their  hands  articles  of  wearing  apparel.  In 
order  to  make  a  selection  I  went  out  into  the  crowd,  but  the  desire 
to  find  a  purchaser  was  so  general  and  so  ardent  that  I  was  regularly 
mobbed.  The  women,  shouting  "  Kupi !  kupi !  "  ("  Buy !  buy !  "), 
and  struggling  with  each  other  to  get  near  me,  were  so  importunate 
that  I  had  at  last  to  take  refuge  in  the  house,  to  prevent  my  own 

*  One  of  the  most  common  peculiarities  of  pronunciation  is  the  substi- 
tution of  the  sound  of  ts  for  that  of  tch,  which  I  found  almost  universal 
over  a  large  area. 


FINNISH    AND   TARTAR   VILLAGES  139 

costume  from  being  torn  to  shreds.  But  even  there  I  was  not 
safe,  for  the  women  followed  at  my  heels,  and  a  considerable  amount 
of  good-natured  violence  had  to  be  employed  to  expel  the  intruders. 

It  is  especially  interesting  to  observe  the  transformation  of 
nationality  in  the  sphere  of  religious  conceptions.  The  "Finns 
remained  pagans  long  after  the  Russians  had  become  Christians, 
but  at  the  present  time  the  whole  population,  from  the  eastern 
boundary  of  Finland  proper  to  the  Ural  Mountains,  are  officially 
described  as  members  of  the  Greek  Orthodox  Church.  The  manner 
in  which  this  change  of  religion  was  effected  is  well  worthy  of 
attention. 

The  old  religion  of  the  Finnish  tribes,  if  we  may  judge  from  the 
fragments  which  still  remain,  had,  like  the  people  themselves, 
a  thoroughly  practical,  prosaic  character.  Their  theology  con- 
sisted not  of  abstract  dogmas,  but  merely  of  simple  prescriptions 
for  the  ensuring  of  material  welfare.  Even  at  the  present  day,  in 
the  districts  not  completely  Russified,  their  prayers  are  plain, 
unadorned  requests  for  a  good  harvest,  plenty  of  cattle,  and  the 
like,  and  are  expressed  in  a  tone  of  childlike  familiarity  that  sounds 
strange  in  our  ears.  They  make  no  attempt  to  veil  their  desires 
with  mystic  solemnity,  but  ask,  in  simple,  straightforward  fashion, 
that  God  should  make  the  barley  ripen  and  the  cow  calve  success- 
fully, that  He  should  prevent  their  horses  from  being  stolen,  and 
that  he  should  help  them  to  gain  money  to  pay  their  taxes. 

Their  religious  ceremonies  have,  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  dis- 
cover, no  hidden  mystical  signification,  and  are  for  the  most  part 
rather  magical  rites  for  averting  the  influence  of  malicious  spirits, 
or  freeing  themselves  from  the  unwelcome  visits  of  their  departed 
relatives.  For  this  latter  purpose  many  even  of  those  who  are 
officially  Christians  proceed  at  stated  seasons  to  the  graveyards 
and  place  an  abundant  supply  of  cooked  food  on  the  graves  of  their 
relations  who  have  recently  died,  requesting  the  departed  to  accept 
this  meal,  and  not  to  return  to  their  old  homes,  where  their  presence 
is  no  longer  desired.  Though  more  of  the  food  is  eaten  at  night 
by  the  village  dogs  than  by  the  famished  spirits,  the  custom  is 
believed  to  have  a  powerful  influence  in  preventing  the  dead  from 
wandering  about  at  night  and  frightening  the  living.  If  it  be 
true,  as  I  am  inclined  to  believe,  that  tombstones  were  originally 
used  for  keeping  the  dead  in  their  graves,  then  it  must  be  admitted 
that  in  the  matter  of  "  laying  "  ghosts  the  Finns  have  sho^Ti  them- 
selves much  more  humane  than  other  races.  It  may,  however,  be 
suggested  that  in  the  original  home  of  the  Finns — "  le  berccau  de 


140  RUSSIA 

la  race"  as  French  ethnologists  say — stones  could  not  easily  be 
procured,  and  that  the  custom  of  feeding  the  dead  was  adopted  as 
a  pis  aller.  The  decision  of  the  question  must  be  left  to  those  who 
know  where  the  original  home  of  the  Finns  was. 

As  the  Eussian  peasantry,  knowing  little  or  nothing  of  theology, 
and  placing  implicit  confidence  in  rites  and  ceremonies,  did  not 
differ  very  widely  from  the  pagan  Finns  in  the  matter  of  religious 
conceptions,  the  friendly  contact  of  the  two  races  naturally  led  to 
a  curious  blending  of  the  two  religions.  The  Russians  adopted 
many  customs  from  the  Finns,  and  the  Finns  adopted  still  more 
from  the  Russians.  When  Yumala  and  the  other  Finnish  deities 
did  not  do  as  they  were  desired,  their  worshippers  naturally  applied 
for  protection  or  assistance  to  the  Madonna  and  the  "Russian 
God."  If  their  own  traditional  magic  rites  did  not  suffice  to  ward 
off  evil  influences,  they  naturally  tried  the  effect  of  crossing  them- 
selves, as  the  Russians  do  in  moments  of  danger.  All  this  may 
seem  strange  to  us  who  have  been  taught  from  our  earliest  years 
that  religion  is  something  quite  different  from  spells,  charms,  and 
incantations,  and  that  of  all  the  various  religions  in  the  world  one 
alone  is  true,  all  the  others  being  false.  But  we  must  remember 
that  the  Finns  have  had  a  very  different  education.  They  do  not 
distinguish  religion  from  magic  rites,  and  they  have  never  been 
taught  that  other  religions  are  less  true  than  their  own.  For  them 
the  best  religion  is  the  one  which  contains  the  most  potent  spells, 
and  they  see  no  reason  why  less  powerful  religions  should  not  be 
blended  therewith.  Their  deities  are  not  Jealous  gods,  and  do  not 
insist  on  having  a  monopoly  of  devotion ;  and  in  any  case  they  can- 
not do  much  injury  to  those  who  have  placed  themselves  under 
the  protection  of  a  more  powerful  divinity. 

This  simple-minded  eclecticism  often  produces  a  singular  mix- 
ture of  Christianity  and  paganism.  Thus,  for  instance,  at  the 
harvest  festivals,  Tchuvash  peasants  have  been  known  to  pray  first 
to  their  own  deities,  and  then  to  St.  Nicholas,  the  miracle-worker, 
who  is  the  favourite  saint  of  the  Russian  peasantry.  Such  dual 
worship  is  sometimes  even  recommended  by  the  Yomzi — a  class 
of  men  who  correspond  to  the  medicine-men  among  the  Red  Indians 
— and  the  prayers  are  on  these  occasions  couched  in  the  most 
familiar  terms.  Here  is  a  specimen  given  by  a  Russian  who  has 
specially  studied  the  language  and  customs  of  this  interesting 
people:*  "Look  here,  0  Nicholas-god!  Perhaps  my  neighbour, 
little  Michael,  has  been  slandering  me  to  you,  or  perhaps  he  will 

♦Mr.   Zolotnitski,   "  Tchuvasko-russki  slovar,"  p.   167. 


FINNISH   AND   TARTAR   VILLAGES  141 

do  so.  If  he  does,  don't  believe  him.  I  have  done  him  no  ill,  and 
wish  him  none.  He  is  a  worthless  boaster  and  a  babbler.  He  does 
not  really  honour  you,  and  merely  plays  the  hypocrite.  But  I 
honour  you  from  my  heart;  and,  behold,  I  place  a  taper  before 
you ! "  Sometimes  incidents  occur  which  display  a  still  more 
curious  blending  of  the  two  religions.  Thus  a  Tcheremiss,  on  one 
occasion,  in  consequence  of  a  serious  illness,  sacrificed  a  young  foal 
to  our  Lady  of  Kazan ! 

Though  the  Finnish  beliefs  affected  to  some  extent  the  Russian 
peasantry,  the  Russian  faith  ultimately  prevailed.  This  can  be 
explained  without  taking  into  consideration  the  inherent  superiority 
of  Christianity  over  all  forms  of  paganism.  The  Finns  had  no 
organised  priesthood,  and  consequently  never  offered  a  systematic 
opposition  to  the  new  faith;  the  Russians,  on  the  contrary,  had  a 
regular  hierarchy  in  close  alliance  with  the  civil  administration. 
In  the  principal  villages  Christian  churches  were  built,  and  some 
of  the  police-officers  vied  with  the  ecclesiastical  officials  in  the  work 
of  making  converts.  At  the  same  time  there  were  other  influences 
tending  in  the  same  direction.  If  a  Russian  practised  Finnish 
superstitions  he  exposed  himself  to  disagreeable  consequences  of  a 
temporal  kind;  if,  on  the  contrary,  a  Finn  adopted  the  Christian 
religion,  the  temporal  consequences  that  could  result  were  all 
advantageous  to  him. 

Many  of  the  Finns  gradually  became  Christians  almost  uncon- 
sciously. The  ecclesiastical  authorities  were  extremely  moderate  in 
their  demands.  They  insisted  on  no  religious  knowledge,  and 
merely  demanded  that  the  converts  should  be  baptised.  The  con- 
verts, failing  to  understand  the  spiritual  significance  of  the  cere- 
mony, commonly  offered  no  resistance,  so  long  as  the  immersion 
was  performed  in  summer.  So  little  repugnance,  indeed,  did  they 
feel,  that  on  some  occasions,  when  a  small  reward  was  given  to 
those  who  consented,  some  of  the  new  converts  wished  the  cere- 
mony to  be  repeated  several  times.  The  chief  objection  to  receiv- 
ing the  Christian  faith  lay  in  the  long  and  severe  fasts  imposed 
by  the  Greek  Orthodox  Church;  but  this  difficulty  was  over- 
come by  assuming  that  they  need  not  be  strictly  observed.  At 
first,  in  some  districts,  it  was  popularly  believed  that  the  Icons 
informed  the  Russian  priests  against  those  who  did  not  fast  as 
the  Church  prescribed;  but  experience  gradually  exploded  this 
theory.  Some  of  the  more  prudent  converts,  however,  to  prevent 
all  possible  tale-telling,  took  the  precaution  of  turning  the  face  of 
the  Icon  to  the  wall  when  prohibited  meats  were  about  to  be  eaten ! 


143  EUSSIA 

This  gradual  conversion  of  the  Finnish  tribes,  effected  without 
any  intellectual  revolution  in  the  minds  of  the  converts,  had  very 
important  temporal  consequences.  Community  of  faith  led  to 
intermarriage,  and  intermarriage  led  rapidly  to  the  blending  of 
the  two  races. 

If  we  compare  a  Finnish  village  in  any  stage  of  Eussification 
with  a  Tartar  village,  of  which  the  inhabitants  are  Mahometans,  we 
cannot  fail  to  be  struck  by  the  contrast.  In  the  latter,  though  there 
may  be  many  Eussians,  there  is  no  blending  of  the  two  races. 
Between  them  religion  has  raised  an  impassable  barrier.  There 
are  many  villages  in  the  eastern  and  north-eastern  provinces  of 
European  Eussia  which  have  been  for  generations  half  Tartar  and 
half  Eussian,  and  the  amalgamation  of  the  two  nationalities  has  not 
yet  begun.  Near  the  one  end  stands  the  Christian  church,  and  near 
the  other  stands  the  little  metcliet,  or  Mahometan  house  of  prayer. 
The  whole  village  forms  one  Commune,  with  one  Village  Assembly 
and  one  Village  Elder ;  but,  socially,  it  is  composed  of  two  distinct 
communities,  each  possessing  its  peculiar  customs  and  peculiar 
mode  of  life.  The  Tartar  may  learn  Eussian,  but  he  does  not  on 
that  account  become  Eussianised. 

It  must  not,  however,  be  supposed  that  the  two  races  are  imbued 
with  fanatical  hatred  towards  each  other.  On  the  contrary,  they 
live  in  perfect  good-fellowship,  elect  as  Village  Elder  sometimes  a 
Eussian  and  sometimes  a  Tartar,  and  discuss  the  Communal  affairs 
in  the  Village  Assembly  without  reference  to  religious  matters.  I 
know  one  village  where  the  good-fellowship  went  even  a  step 
farther:  the  Christians  determined  to  repair  their  church,  and  the 
Mahometans  helped  them  to  transport  wood  for  the  purpose!  All 
this  tends  to  show  that  under  a  tolerably  good  Government,  which 
does  not  favour  one  race  at  the  expense  of  the  other,  Mahometan 
Tartars  and  Christian  Slavs  can  live  peaceably  together. 

The  absence  of  fanaticism  and  of  that  proselytising  zeal  which 
is  one  of  the  most  prolific  sources  of  religious  hatred,  is  to  be 
explained  by  the  peculiar  religious  conceptions  of  these  peasants. 
In  their  minds  religion  and  nationality  are  so  closely  allied  as  to  be 
almost  identical.  The  Eussian  is,  as  it  were,  by  nature  a  Christian, 
and  the  Tartar  a  Mahometan;  and  it  never  occurs  to  any  one  in 
these  villages  to  disturb  the  appointed  order  of  nature.  On  this 
subject  I  had  once  an  interesting  conversation  with  a  Eussian  peas- 
ant who  had  been  for  some  time  living  among  Tartars.  In  reply 
to  my  question  as  to  what  kind  of  people  the  Tartars  were,  he 
replied  laconically,  "  Nitchevo  " — that  is  to  say,  "  nothing  in  par- 


FINNISH    AND   TAETAE   VILLAGES  143 

ticular";  and  on  being  pressed  for  a  more  definite  expression  of 
opinion,  he  admitted  that  they  were  very  good  people  indeed. 

"And  what  kind  of  faith  have  they?"  I  continued. 

"  A  good  enough  faith,"  was  the  prompt  reply. 

"  Is  it  better  than  the  faith  of  the  Molokanye  ?"  The  Molokanj-e 
are  Russian  sectarians — closely  resembling  Scotch  Presbyterians — 
of  whom  I  shall  have  more  to  say  in  the  sequel. 

"  Of  course  it  is  better  than  the  j\Iolokan  faith." 

"  Indeed !  "  I  exclaimed,  endeavouring  to  conceal  my  astonish- 
ment at  this  strange  judgment.  "  Are  the  Molokanye,  then,  very 
bad  people  ?  " 

"  Not  at  all.    The  Molokanye  are  good  and  honest." 

"  Why,  then,  do  you  think  their  faith  is  so  much  worse  than  that 
of  the  Mahometans  ?  " 

"  How  shall  I  tell  you  ? "  The  peasant  here  paused  as  if  to 
collect  his  thoughts,  and  then  proceeded  slowly,  "  The  Tartars,  you 
see,  received  their  faith  from  God  as  they  received  the  colour  of 
their  skins,  but  the  Molokanye  are  Russians  who  have  invented  a 
faith  out  of  their  own  heads ! " 

This  singular  answer  scarcely  requires  a  commentary.  As  it 
would  be  absurd  to  try  to  make  Tartars  change  the  colour  of  their 
skins,  so  it  would  be  absurd  to  try  to  make  them  change  their 
religion.  Besides  this,  such  an  attempt  would  be  an  unjustifiable 
interference  with  the  designs  of  Providence,  for,  in  the  peasant's 
opinion,  God  gave  Mahometanism  to  the  Tartars  just  as  he  gave 
the  Orthodox  faith  to  the  Russians. 

The  ecclesiastical  authorities  do  not  formally  adopt  this  strange 
theory,  but  they  generally  act  in  accordance  with  it.  There  is 
little  official  propaganda  among  the  Mahometan  subjects  of  the 
Tsar,  and  it  is  well  that  it  is  so,  for  an  energetic  propaganda  would 
lead  merely  to  the  stirring  up  of  any  latent  hostility  which  may 
exist  deep  down  in  the  nature  of  the  two  races,  and  it  would  not 
make  any  real  converts.  The  Tartars  cannot  unconsciously  imbibe 
Christianity  as  the  Finns  have  done.  Their  religion  is  not  a  rude, 
simple  paganism  without  theology  in  the  scholastic  sense  of  the 
term,  but  a  monotheism  as  exclusive  as  Christianity  itself.  Enter 
into  conversation  with  an  intelligent  man  who  has  no  higher  relig- 
ious belief  than  a  rude  sort  of  paganism,  and  you  may,  if  you 
know  him  well  and  make  a  judicious  use  of  your  knowledge,  easily 
interest  him  in  the  touching  story  of  Christ's  life  and  teaching. 
And  in  these  unsophisticated  natures  there  is  but  one  step  from 
interest  and  sympathy  to  conversion. 


144  EUSSIA 

Try  the  same  method  with  a  Mussulman,  and  you  will  soon  find 
that  all  your  efforts  are  fruitless.  He  has  already  a  theology  and 
a  prophet  of  his  own,  and  sees  no  reason  why  he  should  exchange 
them  for  those  which  you  have  to  offer.  Perhaps  he  will  show  you 
more  or  less  openly  that  he  pities  your  ignorance  and  wonders  that 
you  have  not  been  able  to  advance  from  Christianity  to  Mahome- 
tanism.  In  his  opinion — I  am  supposing  that  the  is  a  man  of  edu- 
cation— Moses  and  Christ  were  great  prophets  in  their  day,  and 
consequently  he  is  accustomed  to  respect  their  memory;  but  he  is 
profoundly  convinced  that  however  appropriate  they  were  for  their 
own  times,  they  have  been  entirely  superseded  by  Mahomet,  pre- 
cisely as  we  believe  that  Judaism  was  superseded  by  Christianity. 
Proud  of  his  superior  knowledge,  he  regards  you  as  a  benighted 
polytheist,  and  may  perhaps  tell  you  that  the  Orthodox  Christians 
with  whom  he  comes  in  contact  have  three  Gods  and  a  host  of 
lesser  deities  called  saints,  that  they  pray  to  idols  called  Icons,  and 
that  they  keep  their  holy  days  by  getting  drunk.  In  vain  you 
endeavour  to  explain  to  him  that  saints  and  Icons  are  not  essential 
parts  of  Christianity,  and  that  habits  of  intoxication  have  no  relig- 
ious significance.  On  these  points  he  may  make  concessions  to  you, 
but  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  remains  for  him  a  fatal  stumbling- 
block.  "  You  Christians,"  he  will  say,  "  once  had  a  great  prophet 
called  Jisous,  who  is  mentioned  with  respect  in  the  Koran,  but 
you  falsified  your  sacred  writings  and  took  to  worshipping  him, 
and  now  you  declare  that  he  is  the  equal  of  Allah.  Far  from  us  be 
such  blasphemy!  There  is  but  one  God,  and  Mahomet  is  His 
prophet." 

A  worthy  Christian  missionary,  who  had  laboured  long  and 
zealously  among  a  Mussulman  population,  once  called  me  sharply 
to  account  for  having  expressed  the  opinion  that  Mahometans  are 
very  rarely  converted  to  Christianity.  When  I  brought  him  down 
from  the  region  of  vague  general  statements  and  insisted  on  know- 
ing how  many  cases  he  had  met  with  in  his  own  personal  experience 
during  sixteen  years  of  missionary  work,  he  was  constrained  to 
admit  that  he  had  know  only  one :  and  when  I  pressed  him  farther 
as  to  the  disinterested  sincerity  of  the  convert  in  question  his  reply 
was  not  altogether  satisfactory. 

The  policy  of  religious  non-intervention  has  not  always  been 
practised  by  the  Government.  Soon  after  the  conquest  of  the 
Khanate  of  Kazan  in  the  sixteenth  century,  the  Tsars  of  Muscovy 
attempted  to  convert  their  new  subjects  from  Mahometanism  to 
Christianity.    The  means  employed  were  partly  spiritual  and  partly 


FINNISH    AND   TAETxiR   VILLAGES  145 

administrative,  ])ut  the  police-officers  seem  to  have  played  a  more 
important  part  than  the  clergy.  In  this  way  a  certain  numher  of 
Tartars  were  baptised;  but  the  authorities  were  obliged  to  admit 
that  the  new  converts  "  shamelessly  retain  many  horrid  Tartar 
customs,  and  neither  hold  nor  know  the  Christian  faith."  When 
spiritual  exhortations  failed,  the  Government  ordered  its  officials 
to  "  pacify,  imprison,  put  in  irons,  and  thereby  untcach  and  frighten 
from  the  Tartar  faith  those  who,  though  baptised,  do  not  ol^ey  the 
admonitions  of  the  Metropolitan."  These  energetic  measures 
proved  as  ineffectual  as  the  spiritual  exhortations ;  and  Catherine  II. 
adopted  a  new  method,  highly  characteristic  of  her  system  of 
administration.  The  new  converts — who,  be  it  remembered,  were 
unable  to  read  and  write — were  ordered  by  Imperial  ukaz  to  sign ' 
a  written  promise  to  the  effect  that  "  they  would  completely  forsake 
their  infidel  errors,  and,  avoiding  all  intercourse  with  unbelievers, 
would  hold  firmly  and  unwaveringly  the  Christian  faith  and  its 
dogmas  "  * — of  which  latter,  we  may  add,  they  had  not  the  slightest 
knowledge.  The  childlike  faith  in  the  magical  efficacy  of  stamped 
paper  here  displayed  was  not  justified.  The  so-called  "  baptised 
Tartars  "  are  at  the  present  time  as  far  from  being  Christians  as 
they  were  in  the  sixteenth  century.  They  cannot  openly  profess 
Mahometanism,  because  men  who  have  been  once  formally  admitted 
into  the  National  Church  cannot  leave  it  without  exposing  them- 
selves to  the  severe  pains  and  penalties  of  the  criminal  code,  but 
they  strongly  object  to  be  Christianised. 

On  this  subject  I  have  found  a  remarkable  admission  in  a  semi- 
official article,  published  as  recently  as  1872.t  "  It  is  a  fact  worthy 
of  attention,"  says  the  writer,  "  that  a  long  series  of  evident  aposta- 
sies coincides  with  the  beginning  of  measures  to  confirm  the  con- 
verts in  the  Christian  faith.  There  must  be,  therefore,  some  collat- 
arel  cause  producing  those  cases  of  apostasy  precisely  at  the  moment 
when  the  contrary'  might  be  expected."  There  is  a  delightful  naivete 
in  this  way  of  stating  the  fact.  The  mysterious  cause  vaguely 
indicated  is  not  difficult  to  find.  So  long  as  the  Government 
demanded  merely  that  the  supposed  converts  should  be  inscribed  as 
Christians  in  the  official  registers,  there  was  no  official  apostasy; 
but  as  soon  as  active  measures  began  to  be  taken  "to  confirm  the 
converts,"  a  spirit  of  hostility  and  fanaticism  appeared  among  the 
]\lussulman  population,  and  made  those  who  were  inscribed  as 
Christians  resist  the  propaganda. 

*  "  Ukaz  Kazanskoi  dukbovnoi  Konsistorii."    Anno  1778, 

t  "  Zburual  Ministerstva  Narodnago  Prosveshtcheniya."     June,  1872. 


146  EUSSIA 

It  may  safely  be  said  that  Christians  are  impervious  to  Islam, 
and  genuine  Mussulmans  impervious  to  Christianity;  but  between 
the  two  there  are  certain  tribes,  or  fractions  of  tribes,  which  present 
a  promising  field  for  missionary  enterprise.  In  this  field  the 
Tartars  show  much  more  zeal  than  the  Russians,  and  possess  certain 
advantages  over  their  rivals.  The  tribes  of  Northeastern  Russia 
learn  Tartar  much  more  easily  than  Russian,  and  their  geographical 
position  and  modes  of  life  bring  them  in  contact  with  Russians 
much  less  than  with  Tartars.  The  consequence  is  that  whole 
villages  of  Tcheremiss  and  Votiaks,  officially  inscribed  as  belonging 
to  the  Greek  Orthodox  Church,  have  openly  declared  themselves 
Mahometans;  and  some  of  the  more  remarkable  conversions  have 
been  commemorated  by  popular  songs,  which  are  sung  by  young 
and  old.  Against  this  propaganda  the  Orthodox  ecclesiastical 
authorities  do  little  or  nothing.  Though  the  criminal  code  contains 
severe  enactments  against  those  who  fall  away  from  the  Orthodox 
Church,  and  still  more  against  those  who  produce  apostasy,*  the 
enactments  are  rarely  put  in  force.  Both  clergy  and  laity  in  the 
Russian  Church  are,  as  a  rule,  very  tolerant  where  no  political 
questions  are  involved.  The  parish  priest  pays  attention  to  apostasy 
only  when  it  diminishes  his  annual  revenues,  and  this  can  be 
easily  avoided  by  the  apostate's  paying  a  small  yearly  sum.  If 
this  precaution  be  taken,  whole  villages  may  be  converted  to  Islam 
without  the  higher  ecclesiastical  authorities  knowing  anything  of 
the  matter. 

Whether  the  barrier  that  separates  Christians  and  Mussulmans 
in  Russia,  as  elsewhere,  will  ever  be  broken  down  by  education,  I 
do  not  know;  but  I  may  remark  that  hitherto  the  spread  of  educa- 
tion among  the  Tartars  has  tended  rather  to  imbue  them  with 
fanaticism.  If  we  remember  that  theological  education  always 
produces  intolerance,  and  that  Tartar  education  is  almost  ex- 
clusively theological,  we  shall  not  be  surprised  to  find  that  a  Tar- 
tar's religious  fanaticism  is  generally  in  direct  proportion  to  the 
amount  of  his  intellectual  culture.  The  unlettered  Tartar,  unspoiled 
by  learning  falsely  so  called,  and  knowing  merely  enough  of  his 
religion  to  perform  the  customary  ordinances  prescribed  by  the 
Prophet,  is  peaceable,  kindly,  and  hospitable  towards  all  men;  but 
the  learned  Tartar,  who  has  been  taught  that  the  Christian  is  a 

*  A  person  convicted  of  converting  a  Christian  to  Islamism  is  sen- 
tenced, according  to  tlie  criminal  code  (§184),  to  the  loss  of  all  civil 
rights,  and  to  imprisonment  with  hard  labour  for  a  term  varying  from 
eight  to  ten  years. 


FINNISH    AND    TARTAR   VILLAGES  147 

hiafir  (infidel)  and  a  milshrik  (polythcist),  odious  in  the  sight 
of  Allah,  and  already  condemned  to  eternal  punishment,  is  as 
intolerant  and  fanatical  as  the  most  ])igoted  Roman  Catholic  or 
Calvinist.  Such  fanatics  are  occasionally  to  be  met  with  in  the 
eastern  provinces,  but  they  are  few  in  number,  and  have  little 
influence  on  the  masses.  From  my  own  experience  I  can  testify 
that  during  the  whole  course  of  my  wanderings  I  have  nowhere 
received  more  kindness  and  hospitality  than  among  the  uneducated 
Mussulman  Bashkirs,  Even  here,  however,  Islam  opposes  a  strong 
barrier  to  Russification. 

Though  no  such  barrier  existed  among  the  pagan  Finnish  tribes, 
the  work  of  Russification  among  them  is  still,  as  I  have  already 
indicated,  far  from  complete.  Not  only  whole  villages,  but  even 
many  entire  districts,  are  still  very  little  affected  by  Russian  influ- 
ence. This  is  to  be  explained  partly  by  geographical  conditions. 
In  regions  which  have  a  poor  soil,  and  are  intersected  by  no  naviga- 
ble river,  there  are  few  or  no  Russian  settlers,  and  consequently 
the  Finns  have  there  preserved  intact  their  language  and  customs; 
whilst  in  those  districts  which  present  more  inducements  to  coloni- 
sation, the  Russian  population  is  more  numerous,  and  the  Finns 
less  conservative.  It  must,  however,  be  admitted  that  geographical 
conditions  do  not  completely  explain  the  facts.  The  various 
tribes,  even  when  placed  in  the  same  conditions,  are  not  equally 
susceptible  to  foreign  influence.  The  j\Iordva,  for  instance,  are 
infinitely  less  conservative  than  the  Tchuvash.  This  I  have  often 
noticed,  and  my  impression  has  been  confirmed  by  men  who  have 
had  more  opportunities  of  observation.  For  the  present  we  must 
attribute  this  to  some  occult  ethnological  peculiarity,  but  future 
investigations  may  some  day  supply  a  more  satisfactory^  explanation. 
Already  I  have  obtained  some  facts  which  appear  to  throw  light 
on  the  subject.  The  Tchuvash  have  certain  customs  which  seem 
to  indicate  that  they  were  formerly,  if  not  avowed  Mahometans, 
at  least  under  the  infiuence  of  Islam,  whilst  we  have  no  reason  to 
suppose  that  the  Mordva  ever  passed  through  that  school. 

The  absence  of  religious  fanaticism  greatly  facilitated  Russian 
colonisation  in  these  northern  regions,  and  the  essentially  peaceful 
disposition  of  the  Russian  peasantry  tended  in  the  same  direction. 
The  Russian  peasant  is  admirably  fitted  for  the  work  of  peaceful 
agricultural  colonisation.  Among  uncivilised  tribes  he  is  good- 
natured,  long-suffering,  conciliatory,  capable  of  bearing  extreme 
hardships,  and  endowed  with  a  marvellous  power  of  adapting  him- 
self to  circumstances.    The  haughty  consciousness  of  personal  and 


148  EUSSIA 

national  superiority  habitually  displayed  by  Englishmen  of  all 
ranks  when  they  are  brought  in  contact  with  races  which  they  look 
upon  as  lower  in  the  scale  of  humanity  than  themselves,  is  entirely 
foreign  to  his  character.  He  has  no  desire  to  rule,  and  no  wish 
to  make  the  natives  hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of  water.  All  he 
desires  is  a  few  acres  of  land  which  he  and  his  family  can  cultivate ; 
and  so  long  as  he  is  allowed  to  enjoy  these  he  is  not  likely  to  molest 
his  neighbours.  Had  the  colonists  of  the  Finnish  country  been 
men  of  Anglo-Saxon  race,  they  would  in  all  probability  have  taken 
possession  of  the  land  and  reduced  the  natives  to  the  condition  of 
agricultural  labourers.  The  Russian  colonists  have  contented  them- 
selves with  a  humbler  and  less  aggressive  mode  of  action;  they 
have  settled  peaceably  among  the  native  population,  and  are  rapidly 
becoming  blended  with  it.  In  many  districts  the  so-called  Eussians 
have  perhaps  more  Finnish  than  Slavonic  blood  in  their  veins. 

But  what  has  all  this  to  do,  it  may  be  asked,  with  the  afore- 
mentioned V blherwanderung ,  or  migration  of  peoples,  during  the 
Dark  Ages?  More  than  may  at  first  sight  appear.  Some  of  the 
so-called  migrations  were,  I  suspect,  not  at  all  migrations  in  the 
ordinary  sense  of  the  term,  but  rather  gradual  changes,  such  as 
those  which  have  taken  place,  and  are  still  taking  place,  in  Northern 
Eussia.  A  thousand  years  ago  what  is  now  known  as  the  province 
of  Yaroslavl  was  inhabited  by  Finns,  and  now  it  is  occupied  by 
men  who  are  commonly  regarded  as  pure  Slavs.  But  it  would 
be  an  utter  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  Finns  of  this  district 
migrated  to  those  more  distant  regions  where  they  are  now  to  be 
found.  In  reality  they  formerly  occupied,  as  I  have  said,  the  whole 
of  Northern  Eussia,  and  in  the  province  of  Yaroslavl  they  have 
been  transformed  by  Slav  infiltration.  In  Central  Europe  the 
Slavs  may  be  said  in  a  certain  sense  to  have  retreated,  for  in  former 
times  they  occupied  the  whole  of  Northern  Germany  as  far  as  the 
Elbe.  But  what  does  the  word  "retreat"  mean  in  this  case? 
It  means  probably  that  the  Slavs  were  gradually  Teutonised,  and 
then  absorbed  by  the  Teutonic  race.  Some  tribes,  it  is  true,  swept 
over  a  part  of  Europe  in  genuine  nomadic  fashion,  and  endeavoured 
perhaps  to  expel  or  exterminate  the  actual  possessors  of  the  soil. 
This  kind  of  migration  may  likewise  be  studied  in  Eussia.  But 
I  must  leave  the  subject  till  I  come  to  speak  of  the  southern 
provinces. 


CHAPTEE  XI 

LORD    NOVGOROD    THE    GREAT 

Departure  from  Ivfinofka  and  Arrival  at  Novgorod — The  Eastern  Half 
of  the  Town — The  Kremlin — An  Old  Legend — The  Armed  Men  of 
Rus — The  Northmen — Popular  Liberty  in  Novgorod — The  I'rince 
and  the  Popular  Assembly — Civil  Dissensions  and  Faction-fights — 
The  Commercial  Republic  Conquered  by  the  Muscovite  Tsars — Ivan 
the  Terrible — Present  Condition  of  the  Town — Provincial  Society 
— Card-playing — Periodicals — "  Eternal   Stillness." 

COUNTRY  life  in  Russia  is  pleasant  enough  in  summer  or  in 
winter,  but  between  summer  and  winter  there  is  an  inter- 
mediate period  of  several  weeks  when  the  rain  and  mud  transform 
a  country-house  into  something  very  like  a  prison.  To  escape  this 
durance  vile  I  determined  in  the  month  of  October  to  leave 
Ivanofka,  and  chose  as  my  headquarters  for  the  next  few  months 
the  town  of  Novgorod — the  old  town  of  that  name,  not  to  be  con- 
founded ^vith  Nizhni  Novgorod — i.e..  Lower  Novgorod,  on  the 
Volga — where  the  great  annual  fair  is  held. 

For  this  choice  there  were  several  reasons.  I  did  not  wish  to  go 
to  St.  Petersburg  or  Moscow,  because  I  foresaw  that  in  either  of 
those  cities  my  studies  would  certainly  be  interrupted.  In  a  quiet, 
sleepy  provincial  tovm  I  should  have  much  more  chance  of  coming 
in  contact  with  people  who  could  not  speak  fluently  any  West- 
European  languages,  and  much  better  opportunities  for  studying 
native  life  and  local  administration.  Of  the  provincial  capitals, 
Novgorod  was  the  nearest,  and  more  interesting  than  most  of  its 
rivals;  for  it  has  had  a  curious  history,  much  older  than  that  of 
St.  Petersburg  or  even  of  Moscow,  and  some  traces  of  its  former 
greatness  are  still  visible.  Though  now  a  town  of  third-rate  im- 
portance— a  mere  shadow  of  its  former  self — it  still  contains  about 
31,000  inhabitants,  and  is  the  administrative  centre  of  the  large 
province  in  which  it  is  situated. 

About  eighty  miles  before  reaching  St.  Petersburg  the  Moscow 
railway  crosses  the  Volkhof,  a  rapid,  muddy  river  which  connects 
Lake  Ilmen  with  Lake  Ladoga.  At  the  point  of  intersection  I  got 
on  board  a  small  steamer  and  sailed  up  stream  towards  Lake 

149 


150  EUSSIA 

Ilmen  for  about  fifty  miles.*  The  journey  was  tedious,  for  the 
country  was  flat  and  monotonous,  and  the  steamer,  though  it 
puffed  and  snorted  inordinately,  did  not  make  more  than  nine 
knots.  Towards  sunset  Novgorod  appeared  on  the  horizon.  Seen 
thus  at  a  distance  in  the  soft  twilight,  it  seemed  decidedly  pic- 
turesque. On  the  east  bank  lay  the  greater  part  of  the  town,  the 
sky  line  of  which  was  agreeably  broken  by  the  green  roofs  and 
pear-shaped  cupolas  of  many  churches.  On  the  opposite  bank  rose 
the  Kremlin.  Spanning  the  river  was  a  long,  venerable  stone 
bridge,  half  hidden  by  a  temporary  wooden  one,  which  was  doing 
duty  for  the  older  structure  while  the  latter  was  being  repaired. 
A  cynical  fellow-passenger  assured  me  that  the  temporary  structure 
was  destined  to  become  permanent,  because  it  yielded  a  comfortable 
revenue  to  certain  oflQcials,  but  this  sinister  prediction  has  not  been 
verified. 

That  part  of  Novgorod  which  lies  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the 
river,  and  in  which  I  took  up  my  abode  for  several  months,  con- 
tains nothing  that  is  worthy  of  special  mention.  As  is  the  case  in 
most  Russian  towns,  the  streets  are  straight,  wide,  and  ill-paved, 
and  all  run  parallel  or  at  right  angles  to  each  other.  At  the  end 
of  the  bridge  is  a  spacious  market-place,  flanked  on  one  side  by  the 
Town-house.  Near  the  other  side  stand  the  houses  of  the  Gov- 
ernor and  of  the  chief  military  authority  of  the  district.  The 
only  other  buildings  of  note  are  the  numerous  churches,  which 
are  mostly  small,  and  offer  nothing  that  is  likely  to  interest  the 
student  of  architecture.  Altogether  this  part  of  the  town  is  un- 
questionably commonplace.  The  learned  archaeologist  may  detect 
in  it  some  traces  of  the  distant  past,  but  the  ordinary  traveller 
will  find  little  to  arrest  his  attention. 

If  now  we  cross  over  to  the  other  side  of  the  river,  we  are  at 
once  confronted  by  something  which  very  few  Eussian  towns 
possess— a  kremlin,  or  citadel.  This  is  a  large  and  slightly-elevated 
enclosure,  surrounded  by  high  brick  walls,  and  in  part  by  the 
remains  of  a  moat.  Before  the  days  of  heavy  artillery  these  walls 
must  have  presented  a  formidable  barrier  to  any  besieging  force, 
but  they  have  long  ceased  to  have  any  military  significance,  and  are 
now  nothing  more  than  an  historical  monument.  Passing  through 
the  gateway  which  faces  the  bridge,  we  find  ourselves  in  a  large 
open  space.  To  the  right  stands  the  cathedral — a  small,  much- 
venerated  church,  which  can  make  no  pretensions  to  architectural 

*  The  journey  would  now  be  made  by  rail,  but  the  branch  line  which 
runs  near  the  bank  of  the  river  had  not  been  constructed  at  that  time. 


LORD    NOVGOROD   THE    GREAT  151 

beauty — and  an  irregular  group  of  buildings  containing  the  con- 
sistory and  the  residence  of  the  Archbishop.  To  the  left  is  a 
long  symmetrical  range  of  buildings  containing  the  Government 
offices  and  the  law  courts.  ]\Iidway  between  this  and  the  cathedral, 
in  the  centre  of  the  great  open  space,  stands  a  colossal  monument, 
composed  of  a  massive  circular  stone  pedestal  and  an  enormous 
globe,  on  and  around  which  cluster  a  number  of  emblematic  and 
historical  figures.  This  curious  monument,  which  has  at  least  the 
merit  of  being  original  in  design,  was  erected  in  1862,  in  com- 
memoration of  Russia's  thousandth  birthday,  and  is  supposed  to 
represent  the  history  of  Russia  in  general  and  of  Novgorod  in  par- 
ticular during  the  last  thousand  years.  It  was  placed  here  because 
Novgorod  is  the  oldest  of  Russian  towns,  and  because  somewhere 
in  the  surrounding  country  occurred  the  incident  which  is  com- 
monly recognised  as  the  foundation  of  the  Russian  Empire.  The 
incident  in  question  is  thus  described  in  the  oldest  chronicle : 

"At  that  time,  as  the  southern  Slavonians  paid  tribute  to  the 
Kozars,  so  the  Novgorodian  Slavonians  suffered  from  the  attacks 
of  the  Variags.  For  some  time  the  Variags  exacted  tribute  from 
the  Novgorodian  Slavonians  and  the  neighbouring  Finns ;  then  the 
conquered  tribes,  by  uniting  their  forces,  drove  out  the  foreigners. 
But  among  the  Slavonians  arose  strong  internal  dissensions;  the 
clans  rose  against  each  other.  Then,  for  the  creation  of  order  and 
safety,  they  resolved  to  call  in  princes  from  a  foreign  land.  In 
the  year  862  Slavonic  legates  went  away  beyond  the  sea  to  the 
Variag  tribe  called  Rus,  and  said,  '  Our  land  is  great  and  fruitful, 
but  there  is  no  order  in  it;  come  and  reign  and  rule  over  us.' 
Three  brothers  accepted  the  invitation,  and  appeared  with  their 
armed  followers.  The  eldest  of  these,  Rurik,  settled  in  Novgorod ; 
the  second,  Sineus,  at  Byelo-ozcro;  and  the  third,  Truvor,  in 
Isborsk.  From  them  our  land  is  called  Rus.  After  two  years  the 
brothers  of  Rurik  died.  He  alone  began  to  rule  over  the  Nov- 
gorod district,  and  confided  to  his  men  the  administration  of  the 
principal  towns." 

This  simple  legend  has  given  rise  to  a  vast  amount  of  learned 
controversy,  and  historical  investigators  have  fought  valiantly  with 
each  other  over  the  important  question.  Who  were  those  armed 
men  of  Rus  ?  For  a  long  time  the  commonly  received  opinion  was 
that  they  were  Normans  from  Scandinavia.  The  Slavophils 
accepted  the  legend  literally  in  this  sense,  and  constructed  upon  it 
an  ingenious  theory  of  Russian  history.  The  nations  of  the  West, 
they  said,  were  conquered  by  invaders,  who  seized  the  country  and 


153  EUSSIA 

created  the  feudal  system  for  their  own  benefit;  hence  the  history 
of  Western  Europe  is  a  long  tale  of  bloody  struggles  between  con- 
.  querors  and  conquered,  and  at  the  present  day  the  old  enmity  still 
lives  in  the  political  rivalry  of  the  different  social  classes.  The 
Eusso-Slavonians,  on  the  contrary,  were  not  conquered,  but  volun- 
tarily invited  a  foreign  prince  to  come  and  rule  over  them !  Hence 
the  whole  social  and  political  development  of  Eussia  has  been 
essentially  peaceful,  and  the  Eussian  people  know  nothing  of  social 
castes  or  feudalism.  Though  this  theory  afforded  some  nourish- 
ment for  patriotic  self-satisfaction,  it  displeased  extreme  patriots, 
who  did  not  like  the  idea  that  order  was  first  established  in  their 
country  by  men  of  Teutonic  race.  These  preferred  to  adopt  the 
theory  that  Eurik  and  his  companions  were  Slavonians  from  the 
shores  of  the  Baltic. 

Though  I  devoted  to  the  study  of  this  question  more  time  and 
labour  than  perhaps  the  subject  deserved,  I  have  no  intention  of 
inviting  the  reader  to  follow  me  through  the  tedious  controversy. 
Suffice  it  to  say  that,  after  careful  consideration,  and  with  all  due 
deference  to  recent  historians,  I  am  inclined  to  adopt  the  old  theory, 
and  to  regard  the  Normans  of  Scandinavia  as  in  a  certain  sense  the 
founders  of  the  Eussian  Empire.  We  know  from  other  sources 
that  during  the  ninth  century  there  was  a  great  exodus  from  Scan- 
dinavia. Greedy  of  booty,  and  fired  with  the  spirit  of  adventure, 
the  Northmen,  in  their  light,  open  boats,  swept  along  the  coasts  of 
Germany,  France,  Spain,  Greece,  and  Asia  Minor,  pillaging  the 
towns  and  villages  near  the  sea,  and  entering  into  the  heart  of  the 
country  by  means  of  the  rivers.  At  first  they  were  mere  marauders, 
and  showed  everywhere  such  ferocity  and  cruelty  that  they  came 
to  be  regarded  as  something  akin  to  plagues  and  famines,  and  the 
faithful  added  a  new  petition  to  the  Litany,  "  From  the  wrath  and 
malice  of  the  Normans,  0  Lord,  deliver  us ! "  But  towards  the 
middle  of  the  century  the  movement  changed  its  character.  The 
raids  became  military  invasions,  and  the  invaders  sought  to  con- 
quer the  lands  which  they  had  formerly  plundered,  "  ut  acquirant 
sibi  spoliando  regna  quibus  possent  vivere  pace  perpetua."  The 
chiefs  embraced  Christianity,  married  the  daughters  or  sisters  of 
the  reigning  princes,  and  obtained  the  conquered  territories  as 
feudal  grants.  Thus  arose  Norman  principalities  in  the  Low  Coun- 
tries, in  France,  in  Italy,  and  in  Sicily;  and  the  Northmen, 
rapidly  blending  with  the  native  population,  soon  showed  as  much 
political  talent  as  they  had  formerly  shown  reckless  and  destructive 
valour. 


LOED  XOVGOROD  THE  GEEAT       153 

It  would  have  been  strange  indeed  if  these  adventurers,  who 
succeeded  in  reaching  Asia  Minor  and  the  coasts  of  Xorth  America, 
should  have  overlooked  Eussia,  which  lay,  as  it  were,  at  their  very 
doors.  The  Volkhof,  flowing  through  Novgorod,  formed  part  of 
a  great  waterway  which  afforded  almost  uninterrupted  water- 
communication  between  the  Baltic  and  the  Black  Sea ;  and  we  know 
tliat  some  time  afterwards  the  Scandinavians  used  this  route  in 
their  journeys  to  Constantinople.  The  change  which  the  Scandi- 
navian movement  underwent  elsewhere  is  clearly  indicated  by  the 
Eussian  chronicles :  first,  the  Variags  came  as  collectors  of  tribute, 
and  raised  so  much  popular  opposition  that  they  were  expelled, 
and  then  they  came  as  rulers,  and  settled  in  the  country.  Whether 
they  really  came  on  invitation  may  be  doubted,  but  that  they 
adopted  the  language,  religion,  and  customs  of  the  native  popula- 
tion does  not  militate  against  the  assertion  that  they  were  Xormans. 
On  the  contrary,  we  have  here  rather  an  additional  confirmation, 
for  elsewhere  the  Normans  did  likewise.  In  the  North  of  France 
they  adopted  almost  at  once  the  French  language  and  religion,  and 
the  son  and  successor  of  the  famous  Eollo  was  sometimes  reproached 
with  being  more  French  than  Norman.* 

Though  it  is  difficult  to  decide  how  far  the  legend  is  literally 
true,  there  can  be  no  possible  doubt  that  the  event  which  it  more  or 
less  accurately  describes  had  an  important  influence  on  Eussian 
history.  From  that  time  dates  the  rapid  expansion  of  the  Eusso- 
Slavonians — a  movement  that  is  still  going  on  at  the  present  day. 
To  the  north,  the  east,  and  the  south  new  principalities  were 
formed  and  governed  by  men  who  all  claimed  to  be  descendants  of 
Eurik,  and  down  to  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century  no  Eussian 
outside  of  this  great  family  ever  attempted  to  establish  independent 
sovereignty. 

For  six  centuries  after  the  so-called  invitation  of  Eurik  the  city 
on  the  Yolkhof  had  a  strange,  checkered  history.  Eapidly  it  con- 
quered the  neighbouring  Finnish  tribes,  and  grew  into  a  powerful 
independent  state,  with  a  territory  extending  to  the  Gulf  of  Fin- 
land, and  northwards  to  the  White  Sea.  At  the  same  time  its  com- 
mercial importance  increased,  and  it  became  an  outpost  of  the 
Hanseatic  League.  In  this  work  the  descendants  of  Eurik  played 
an  important  part,  but  they  were  always  kept  in  strict  subordina- 
tion to  the  popular  will.  Political  freedom  kept  pace  with  com- 
mercial prosperity.  What  means  Eurik  employed  for  establishing 
and  preserving  order  we  know  not,  but  the  chronicles  show  that  his 

*  Strinuholm,  "Die  Vikiugerziige "   (Hamburg,  1839),  I.,  p.  135. 


154  EUSSIA 

successors  in  Novgorod  possessed  merely  such  authority  as  was 
freely  granted  them  by  the  people.  The  supreme  power  resided,  not 
in  the  prince,  but  in  the  assembly  of  the  citizens  called  together  in 
the  market-place  by  the  sound  of  the  great  bell.  This  assembly 
made  laws  for  the  prince  as  well  as  for  the  people,  entered  into 
alliances  with  foreign  powers,  declared  war,  and  concluded  peace, 
imposed  taxes,  raised  troops,  and  not  only  elected  the  magistrates, 
but  also  judged  and  deposed  them  when  it  thought  fit.  The  prince 
was  little  more  than  the  hired  commander  of  the  troops  and  the 
president  of  the  Judicial  administration.  When  entering  on  his 
functions  he  had  to  take  a  solemn  oath  that  he  would  faithfully 
observe  the  ancient  laws  and  usages,  and  if  he  failed  to  fulfil  his 
promise  he  was  sure  to  be  summarily  deposed  and  expelled.  The 
people  had  an  old  rhymed  proverb,  "Koli  khud  knyaz,  tak  v 
gryaz!"  "If  the  prince  is  bad,  into  the  mud  with  him  !"),  and 
they  habitually  acted  according  to  it.  So  unpleasant,  indeed,  was 
the  task  of  ruling  those  sturdy,  stiff-necked  burghers,  that  some 
princes  refused  to  undertake  it,  and  others,  having  tried  it  for  a 
time,  voluntarily  laid  down  their  authority  and  departed.  But 
these  frequent  depositions  and  abdications — as  many  as  thirty  took 
place  in  the  course  of  a  single  century — did  not  permanently  dis- 
turb the  existing  order  of  things.  The  descendants  of  Eurik  were 
numerous,  and  there  were  always  plenty  of  candidates  for  the 
vacant  post.  The  municipal  republic  continued  to  grow  in  strength 
and  in  riches,  and  during  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries  it 
proudly  styled  itself  "Lord  Novgorod  the  Great"  {Gospodin 
Veliki  Novgorod). 

"Then  came  a  change,  as  all  things  human  change."  To  the 
east  arose  the  principality  of  Moscow — not  an  old,  rich  municipal 
republic,  but  a  young,  vigorous  State,  ruled  by  a  line  of  crafty, 
energetic,  ambitious,  and  unscrupulous  princes  of  the  Eurik  stock, 
who  were  freeing  the  country  from  the  Tartar  yoke  and  gradually 
annexing  by  fair  means  and  foul  the  neighbouring  principalities 
to  their  own  dominions.  At  the  same  time,  and  in  a  similar  man- 
ner, the  Lithuanian  Princes  to  the  westward  united  various  small 
principalities  and  formed  a  large  independent  State.  Thus  Nov- 
gorod found  itself  in  a  critical  position.  Under  a  strong  Govern- 
ment it  might  have  held  its  own  against  these  rivals  and  success- 
fully maintained  its  independence,  but  its  strength  was  already 
undermined  by  internal  dissensions.  Political  liberty  had  led  to 
anarchy.  Again  and  again  on  that  great  open  space  where  the 
national  monument  now  stands,  and  in  the  market-place  on  the 


LOED  NOVGOROD  THE  GREAT       155 

other  side  of  the  river,  scenes  of  disorder  and  bloodshed  took  place, 
and  more  than  once  on  the  bridge  battles  were  fought  by  con- 
tending factions.  Sometimes  it  was  a  contest  between  rival 
families,  and  sometimes  a  struggle  between  the  municipal  aristoc- 
racy, who  sought  to  monopolise  the  political  power,  and  the  com- 
mon people,  who  wished  to  have  a  large  share  in  the  administration. 
A  State  thus  divided  against  itself  could  not  long  resist  the  aggres- 
sive tendencies  of  powerful  neighbours.  Artful  diplomacy  could 
but  postpone  the  evil  day,  and  it  required  no  great  political  fore- 
sight to  predict  that  sooner  or  later  Novgorod  must  l^ecome 
Lithuanian  or  Muscovite.  The  great  families  inclined  to  Lithuania, 
but  the  popular  party  and  the  clergy,  disliking  Roman  Catholicism, 
looked  to  Moscow  for  assistance,  and  the  Grand  Princes  of  Mus- 
covy ultimately  won  the  prize. 

The  barbarous  way  in  which  the  Grand  Princes  effected  the 
annexation  shows  how  thoroughly  they  had  imbibed  the  spirit  of 
Tartar  statesmanship.  Thousands  of  families  were  transported  to 
Moscow,  and  Muscovite  families  put  in  their  places;  and  when,  in 
spite  of  this,  the  old  spirit  revived,  Ivan  the  Terrible  determined 
to  apply  the  method  of  physical  extermination  which  he  had  found 
so  effectual  in  breaking  the  power  of  his  own  nobles.  •  Advancing 
with  a  large  army,  which  met  with  no  resistance,  he  devastated  the 
country  with  fire  and  sword,  and  during  a  residence  of  five  weeks 
in  the  town  he  put  the  inhabitants  to  death  with  a  ruthless  ferocity 
which  has  perhaps  never  been  surpassed  even  by  Oriental  despots. 
If  those  old  walls  could  speak  they  would  have  many  a  horrible  tale 
to  tell.  Enough  has  been  preserved  in  the  chronicles  to  give  us 
some  idea  of  this  awful  time.  Monks  and  priests  were  subjected 
to  the  Tartar  punishment  called  pravezh,  which  consisted  in  tying 
the  victim  to  a  stake,  and  flogging  him  daily  until  a  certain  sum 
of  money  was  paid  for  his  release.  The  merchants  and  officials 
were  tortured  with  fire,  and  then  thrown  from  the  bridge  with  their 
wives  and  children  into  the  river.  Lest  any  of  them  should  escape 
by  swimming,  boatfuls  of  soldiers  despatched  those  who  were  not 
killed  by  the  fall.  At  the  present  day  there  is  a  curious  bubbling 
immediately  below  the  bridge,  which  prevents  the  water  from  freez- 
ing in  winter,  and  according  to  popular  belief  this  is  caused  by  the 
spirits  of  the  terrible  Tsar's  victims.  Of  those  who  were  murdered 
in  the  villages  there  is  no  record,  but  in  the  town  alone  no  less  than 
60,000  human  beings  are  said  to  have  been  butchered — an  awful 
hecatomb  on  the  altar  of  national  unity  and  autocratic  power ! 

This  tragic  scene,  which  occurred  in  1570,  closes  the  history  of 


156  RUSSIA 

Novgorod  as  an  independent  State.  Its  real  independence  had  long 
since  ceased  to  exist,  and  now  the  last  spark  of  the  old  spirit  was 
extinguished.  The  Tsars  could  not  suffer  even  a  shadow  of  political 
independence  to  exist  within  their  dominions. 

In  the  old  days,  when  many  Hanseatic  merchants  annually 
visited  the  city,  and  when  the  market-place,  the  bridge,  and  the 
Kremlin  were  often  the  scene  of  violent  political  struggles,  Nov- 
gorod must  have  been  an  interesting  place  to  live  in;  but  now  its 
glory  has  departed,  and  in  respect  of  social  resources  it  is  not 
even  a  first-rate  provincial  town.  Kief,  Kharkof,  and  other  towns 
which  are  situated  at  a  greater  distance  from  the  capital,  in  districts 
fertile  enough  to  induce  the  nobles  to  farm  their  own  land,  are  in 
their  way  little  semi-independent  centres  of  civilisation.  They 
contain  a  theatre,  a  library,  two  or  three  clubs,  and  large  houses 
belonging  to  rich  landed  proprietors,  who  spend  the  summer  on 
their  estates  and  come  into  town  for  the  winter  months.  These 
proprietors,  together  with  the  resident  officials,  form  a  numerous 
society,  and  during  the  winter,  dinner-parties,  balls,  and  other 
social  gatherings  are  by  no  means  infrequent.  In  Novgorod  the 
society  is  much  more  limited.  It  does  not,  like  Kief,  Kharkof,  and 
Kazan,  possess  a  university,  and  it  contains  no  houses  belonging 
to  wealthy  nobles.  The  few  proprietors  of  the  province  who  live 
on  their  estates,  and  are  rich  enough  to  spend  part  of  the  year  in 
town,  prefer  St.  Petersburg  for  their  winter  residence.  The 
society,  therefore,  is  composed  exclusively  of  the  officials  and  of 
the  officers  who  happen  to  be  quartered  in  the  town  or  the  imme- 
diate vicinity. 

Of  all  the  people  whose  acquaintance  I  made  at  Novgorod,  I  can 
recall  only  two  men  who  did  not  occupy  some  official  position,  civil 
or  military.  One  of  these  was  a  retired  doctor,  who  was  attempting 
to  farm  on  scientific  principles,  and  who,  I  believe,  soon  afterwards 
gave  up  the  attempt  and  migrated  elsewhere.  The  other  was  a 
Polish  bishop  who  had  been  compromised  in  the  insurrection  of 
1863,  and  was  condemned  to  live  here  under  police  supervision. 
This  latter  could  scarcely  be  said  to  belong  to  the  society  of  the 
place;  though  he  sometimes  appeared  at  the  unceremonious  weekly 
receptions  given  by  the  Governor,  and  was  invariably  treated  by  all 
present  with  marked  respect,  he  could  not  but  feel  that  he  was  in 
a  false  position,  and  he  was  rarely  or  never  seen  in  other  houses. 

The  official  circle  of  a  town  like  Novgorod  is  sure  to  contain  a 
good  many  people  of  average  education  and  agreeable  manners, 
but  it  is  sure  to  be  neither  brilliant  nor  interesting.     Though  it 


LORD   NOYGOEOD    THE    GREAT  157 

is  constantly  undergoing  a  gradual  renovation  by  the  received  sys- 
tem of  frequently  transferring  officials  from  one  town  to  another, 
it  preserves  faithfully,  in  spite  of  the  new  blood  which  it  thus 
receives,  its  essentially  languid  character.  When  a  new  official 
arrives  he  exchanges  visits  with  all  the  notal)les,  and  for  a  few 
days  he  produces  quite  a  sensation  in  the  little  community.  If 
he  appears  at  social  gatherings  he  is  much  talked  to,  and  if  he 
does  not  appear  he  is  much  talked  about.  His  former  history  is 
repeatedly  narrated,  and  his  various  merits  and  defects  assiduously 
discussed. 

If  he  is  married,  and  has  brought  his  wife  with  him,  the 
field  of  comment  and  discussion  is  very  much  enlarged.  The 
first  time  that  Madame  appears  in  society  she  is  the  "  cynosure  of 
neighbouring  eyes."  Her  features,  her  complexion,  her  hair,  her 
dress,  and  her  jewellery  are  carefully  noted  and  criticised.  Perhaps 
she  has  brought  with  her,  from  the  capital  or  from  abroad,  some 
dresses  of  the  newest  fashion.  As  soon  as  this  is  discovered  she  at 
once  becomes  an  object  of  special  curiosity  to  the  ladies,  and  of 
envious  jealousy  to  those  who  regard  as  a  personal  grievance  the 
presence  of  a  toilette  finer  or  more  fashionable  than  their  own. 
Her  demeanour,  too,  is  very  carefully  observed.  If  she  is  friendly 
and  affable  in  manner,  she  is  patronised;  if  she  is  distant  and 
reserved,  she  is  condemned  as  proud  and  pretentious.  In  either 
case  she  is  pretty  sure  to  form  a  close  intimacy  with  some  one  of 
the  older  female  residents,  and  for  a  few  weeks  the  two  ladies  are 
inseparable,  till  some  incautious  word  or  act  disturbs  the  new-born 
friendship,  and  the  devoted  friends  become  bitter  enemies.  Volun- 
tarily or  involuntarily  the  husbands  get  mixed  up  in  the  quarrel. 
Highly  undesirable  qualities  are  discovered  in  the  characters  of  all 
parties  concerned,  and  are  made  the  subject  of  unfriendly  com- 
ment. Then  the  feud  subsides,  and  some  new  feud  of  a  similar 
kind  comes  to  occupy  the  public  attention.  Mrs,  A.  wonders  how 
her  friends  Mr.  and  Mrs.  B.  can  afford  to  lose  considerable  sums 
every  evening  at  cards,  and  suspects  that  they  are  getting  into 
debt  or  starving  themselves  and  their  children;  in  her  humble 
opinion  they  w^ould  do  well  to  give  fewer  supper-parties,  and  to 
refrain  from  poisoning  their  guests.  The  bosom  friend  to  whom 
this  is  related  retails  it  directly  or  indirectly  to  Mrs.  B.,  and  Mrs. 
B.  naturally  retaliates.  Here  is  a  new  quarrel,  which  for  some 
time  affords  material  for  conversation. 

When  there  is  no  quarrel,  there  is  sure  to  be  a  bit  of  scandal  afloat. 
Though  Russian  provincial  society  is  not  at  all  prudish,  and  leans 


158  EUSSIA 

rather  to  the  side  of  extreme  leniency,  it  cannot  entirely  overlook 
les  convenances.  Madame  C.  has  always  a  large  number  of  male 
admirers,  and  to  this  there  can  be  no  reasonable  objection  so  long 
as  her  husband  does  not  complain,  but  she  really  parades  her  pref- 
erence for  Mr.  X.  at  balls  and  parties  a  little  too  conspicuously. 
Then  there  is  Madame  D.,  with  the  big  dreamy  eyes.  How  can  she 
remain  in  the  place  after  her  husband  was  killed  in  a  duel  by  a 
brother  officer?  Ostensibly  the  cause  of  the  quarrel  was  a  trifling 
incident  at  the  card-table,  but  every  one  knows  that  in  reality  she 
was  the  cause  of  the  deadly  encounter.  And  so  on,  and  so  on.  In 
the  absence  of  graver  interests  society  naturally  bestows  inordinate 
attention  on  the  privai'*  affairs  of  its  members;  and  quarrelling, 
backbiting,  and  scandal-mongery  help  indolent  people  to  kill  the 
time  that  hangs  heavily  on  their  hands. 

Potent  as  these  instruments  are,  they  are  not  sufficient  to  kill  all 
the  leisure  hours.  In  the  forenoons  the  gentlemen  are  occupied 
with  their  official  duties,  whilst  the  ladies  go  out  shopping  or  pay 
visits,  and  devote  any  time  that  remains  to  their  household  duties 
and  their  children ;  but  the  day's  work  is  over  about  four  o'clock, 
and  the  long  evening  remains  to  be  filled  up.  The  siesta  may 
dispose  of  an  hour  or  an  hour  and  a  half,  but  about  seven  o'clock 
some  definite  occupation  has  to  be  found.  As  it  is  impossible 
to  devote  the  whole  evening  to  discussing  the  ordinary  news  of  the 
day,  recourse  is  almost  invariably  had  to  card-playing,  which  is 
indulged  in  to  an  extent  that  we  iiad  no  conception  of  in  England 
until  Bridge  was  imported.  Hour  after  hour  the  Russians  of  both 
sexes  will  sit  in  a  hot  room,  filled  with  a  constantly°renewed  cloud 
of  tobacco-smoke — in  the  production  of  which  most  of  the  ladies 
take  part — and  silently  play  •  Preference,"  "  Yarolash,"  or 
Bridge.  Those  who  for  some  reason  are  obliged  to  be  alone  can 
amuse  themselves  with  "  Patience,"  in  which  no  partner  is  required. 
In  the  other  games  the  stakes  are  commonly  very  small,  but  the 
sittings  are  often  continued  so  long  that  a  player  may  win  or  lose 
two  or  three  pounds  sterling.  It  is  no  unusual  thing  for  gentlemen 
to  play  for  eight  or  nine  hours  at  a  time.  At  the  weekly  club 
dinners,  before  coffee  had  been  served,  nearly  all  present  used  to 
rush  off  impatiently  to  the  card-room,  and  sit  there  placidly  from 
five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  till  one  or  two  o'clock  in  the  morning ! 
When  I  asked  my  friends  why  they  devoted  so  much  time  to  this 
unprofitable  occupation,  they  always  gave  me  pretty  much  the 
same  answer:  "What  are  we  to  do?  We  have  been  reading  or 
writing  official  papers  all  day,  and  in  the  evening  we  like  to  have  a 


LOED  NOVGOEOD  THE  GREAT       159 

little  relaxation.  When  we  come  together  we  have  very  little  to 
talk  about,  for  we  have  all  read  the  daily  papers  and  nothing  more. 
The  best  thing  we  can  do  is  to  sit  down  at  the  card-table,  where 
we  can  spend  our  time  pleasantly,  without  the  necessity  of  talking." 

In  addition  to  the  daily  papers,  some  people  read  the  monthly 
periodicals — big,  thick  volumes,  containing  several  serious  articles 
on  historical  and  social  subjects,  sections  of  one  or  two  novels, 
satirical  sketches,  and  a  long  review  of  home  and  foreign  politics 
on  the  model  of  those  in  the  Revue  des  Deux  Mondes.  Several  of 
these  periodicals  are  very  r.uly  conducted,  and  offer  to  their  readers 
a  large  amount  of  valuable  information;  but  I  have  noticed  that 
the  leaves  of  the  more  serious  part  often  remain  uncut.  The 
translation  of  a  sensation  novel  by  the  latest  French  or  English 
favourite  finds  many  more  readers  than  an  article  by  an  historian 
or  a  political  economist.  As  to  books,  they  seem  to  be  very  little 
read,  for  during  all  the  time  I  lived  in  Novgorod  I  never  discovered 
a  bookseller's  shop,  and  when  I  required  l^ooks  I  had  to  get  them 
sent  from  St.  Petersburg.  The  local  administration,  it  is  true, 
conceived  the  idea  of  forming  a  museum  and  circulating  library, 
but  in  my  time  the  project  was  never  realised.  Of  all  the  magnifi- 
cent projects  that  are  formed  in  Russia,  only  a  very  small  per- 
centage come  into  existence,  and  these  are  too  often  very  short- 
lived. The  Russians  have  learned  theoretically  what  are  the  wants 
of  the  most  advanced  civilisation,  and  are  ever  ready  to  rush  into 
the  grand  schemes  which  their  theoretical  knowledge  suggests ;  but 
very  few  of  them  really  and  permanently  feel  these  wants,  and  con- 
sequently the  institutions  artificially  formed  to  satisfy  them  very 
soon  languish  and  die.  In  the  provincial  towns  the  shops  for  the 
sale  of  gastronomic  delicacies  spring  up  and  flourish,  whilst  shops 
for  the  sale  of  intellectual  food  are  rarely  to  be  met  with. 

About  the  beginning  of  December  the  ordinary  monotony  of 
Novgorod  life  is  a  little  relieved  by  the  annual  Provincial  Assembly, 
which  sits  daily  for  two  or  three  weeks  and  discusses  the  economic 
wants  of  I'.ie  province.*  During  this  time  a  good  many  landed 
proprietors,  who  habitually  live  on  their  estates  or  in  St.  Peters- 
burg, collect  in  the  town,  and  enliven  a  little  the  ordinary  society. 
But  as  Christmas  approaches  the  deputies  disperse,  and  again  the 
town  becomes  enshrouded  in  that  "eternal  stillness"  (vctchnaya 
tisliind)  which  a  native  poet  has  declared  to  be  the  essential  charac- 
teristic of  Russian  provincial  life. 

*  Of  these  Assemblies  I  shall  have  more  to  say  when  I  come  to  describe 
the  local  self-goverumeut. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE    TOWNS    AND    THE    MERCANTILE    CLASSES 

General  Character  of  Russian  Towns — Scarcity  of  Towns  in  Russia — 
Why  the  Urban  Element  in  the  Population  is  so  Small — History  of 
Russian  Municipal  Institutions — Unsuccessful  Efforts  to  Create  a 
Tiers-6tat — Merchants,  Burghers,  and  Artisans — Town  Council — A 
Rich  Merchant — His  House — His  Love  of  Ostentation — His  Con- 
ception of  Aristocracy — OflBcial  Decorations — Ignorance  and  Dis-^. 
honesty  of  the  Commercial  Classes — Symptoms  of  Change. 

THOSE  who  wish  to  enjoy  the  illusions  produced  by  scene  paint- 
ing and  stage  decorations  should  never  go  behind  the  scenes. 
In  like  manner  he  who  wishes  to  preserve  the  delusion  that  Eussian 
provincial  towns  are  picturesque  should  never  enter  them,  but  con- 
tent himself  with  viewing  them  from  a  distance. 

However  imposing  they  may  look  when  seen  from  the  outside, 
they  will  be  found  on  closer  inspection,  with  very  few  exceptions, 
to  be  little  more  than  villages  in  disguise.  If  they  have  not  a  posi- 
tively rustic,  they  have  at  least  a  suburban,  appearance.  The 
streets  are  straight  and  wide,  and  are  either  miserably  paved 
or  not  paved  at  all.  TroUoirs  are  not  considered  indispensable. 
The  houses  are  built  of  wood  or  brick,  generally  one-storied, 
and  separated  from  each  other  by  spacious  yards.  Many  of  them 
do  not  condescend  to  turn  their  fagades  to  the  street.  The  general 
impression  produced  is  that  the  majority  of  the  burghers  have  come 
from  the  country,  and  have  brought  their  country-houses  with 
them.  There  are  few  or  no  shops  with  merchandise  tastefully 
arranged  in  the  window  to  tempt  the  passer-by.  If  you  wish  to 
make  purchases  you  must  go  to  the  Gostinny  Dvor*  or  Bazaar, 
which  consists  of  long,  symmetrical  rows  of  low-roofed,  dimly- 
lighted  stores,  with  a  colonnade  in  front.  This  is  the  place  where 
merchants  most  do  congregate,  but  it  presents  nothing  of  that 
bustle  and  activity  which  we  are  accustomed  to  associate  with  com- 
mercial life.    The  shopkeepers  stand  at  their  doors  or  loiter  about 

*  These  words  mean  literally  the  Guests'  Court  or  Yard.  The  Ghosti — 
a  word  which  is  etymologically  the  same  as  our  "  host "  and  "  guest " — 
were  originally  the  merchants  who  traded  with  other  towns  or  other 
countries. 

160 


THE    TOWNS    AND   THE    MERCANTILE    CLASSES     161 

in  the  immediate  vicinity  waiting  for  customers.  From  the  scarcity 
of  these  latter  I  should  say  that  when  sales  are  effected  the  profits 
must  be  enormous. 

In  the  other  parts  of  the  town  the  air  of  solitude  and  languor 
is  still  more  conspicuous.  In  the  great  square,  or  by  the  side 
of  the  promenade — if  the  town  is  fortunate  enough  to  have  one 
— cows  or  horses  may  be  seen  grazing  tranquilly,  without  being  at 
all  conscious  of  the  incongruity  of  their  position.  And,  indeed, 
it  would  be  strange  if  they  had  any  such  consciousness,  for  it  does 
not  exist  in  the  minds  cither  of  the  police  or  of  the  inhabitants. 
At  night  the  streets  may  be  liglited  merely  with  a  few  oil-lamps, 
which  do  little  more  than  render  the  darkness  visible,  so  that 
cautious  citizens  returning  home  late  often  provide  themselves  with 
lanterns.  As  late  as  the  sixties  the  learned  historian,  Pogodin, 
'  then  a  town-councillor  of  Moscow,  opposed  the  lighting  of  the  city 
with  gas  on  the  ground  that  those  who  chose  to  go  out  at  night 
should  carry  their  lamps  with  them.  The  objection  was  overruled, 
and  Moscow  is  now  fairly  well  lit,  but  the  provincial  towns  are  still 
far  from  being  on  the  same  level.  Some  retain  their  old  primitive 
arrangements,  while  others  enjoy  the  luxury  of  electric  lighting. 

The  scarcity  of  large  towns  in  Eussia  is  not  less  remarkable  than 
their  rustic  appearance.  According  to  the  last  census  (1897)  the 
number  of  towns,  officially  so-called,  is  1,321,  but  about  three-fifths 
of  them  have  under  5,000  inhabitants;  only  104  have  over  25,000, 
and  only  19  over  100,000.  These  figures  indicate  plainly  that  the 
urban  element  of  the  population  is  relatively  small,  and  it  is  declared 
by  the  official  statisticians  to  be  only  14  per  cent.,  as  against  72 
per  cent,  in  Great  Britain,  but  it  is  now  increasing  rapidly.  When 
the  first  edition  of  this  work  was  published,  in  1877,  European 
Eussia  in  the  narrower  sense  of  the  term — excluding  Finland,  the 
Baltic  Provinces,  Lithuania,  Poland,  and  the  Caucasus — had  only 
11  towns  with  a  population  of  over  50,000,  and  now  there  are 
34;  that  is  to  say,  the  number  of  such  towns  has  more  than 
trebled.  In  the  other  portions  of  the  country  a  similar  increase 
has  taken  place.  The  towns  which  have  become  important  indus- 
trial and  commercial  centres  have  naturally  grown  most  rapidly. 
For  example,  in  a  period  of  twelve  years  (1885-97)  the  popula- 
tions of  Lodz,  of  Ekaterinoslaf,  of  Baku,  of  Yaroslavl,  and  of 
Libau,  have  more  than  doubled.  In  the  five  largest  towns  of  the 
Empire — St.  Petersburg,  Moscow,  Warsaw,  Odessa  and  Lodz — the 
aggregate  population  rose  during  the  same  twelve  years  from 
2,423,000  to  3,590,000,  or  nearly  50  per  cent.    In  ten  other  towns. 


162  EUSSIA 

with  populations  varying  from  50,000  to  282,000,  the  aggregate 
rose  from  780,000  to  1,382,000,  or  about  77  per  cent. 

That  Eussia  should  have  taken  so  long  to  assimilate  herself  in 
this  respect  to  Western  Europe  is  to  be  explained  by  the  geo- 
graphical and  political  conditions.  Her  population  was  not 
hemmed  in  by  natural  or  artificial  frontiers  strong  enough  to 
restrain  their  expansive  tendencies.  To  the  north,  the  east,  and 
the  southeast  there  was  a  boundless  expanse  of  fertile,  unculti- 
vated land,  offering  a  tempting  field  for  emigration ;  and  the 
peasantry  have  ever  shown  themselves  ready  to  take  advantage  of 
their  opportunities.  Instead  of  improving  their  primitive  system 
■  of  agriculture,  which    requires    an    enormous    area    and    rapidly 

v/  exhausts  the  soil,  they  have  always  found  it  easier  and  more  profit- 
able to  emigrate  and  take  possession  of  the  virgin  land  beyond. 
Thus  the  territory — sometimes  with  the  aid  of,  and  sometimes  in 
spite  of,  the  Government — has  constantly  expanded,  and  has 
already  reached  the  Polar  Ocean,  the  Pacific,  and  the  northern  off- 
shoots of  the  Himalayas.  The  little  district  around  the  sources 
of  the  Dnieper  has  grown  into  a  mighty  empire,  comprising  one- 
seventh  of  the  land  surface  of  the  globe.  Prolific  as  the  Eussian 
race  is,  its  power  of  reproduction  could  not  keep  pace  with  its 
territorial  expansion,  and  consequently  the  country  is  still  very 
thinly  peopled.  According  to  the  latest  census  (1897)  in  the  whole 
empire  there  are  under  130  millions  of  inhabitants,  and  the  average 
density  of  population  is  only  about  fifteen  to  the  English  square 
mile.  Even  the  most  densely  populated  provinces,  including  Mos- 
cow with  its  988,610  inhabitants,  cannot  show  more  than  189  to 
-the  English  square  mile,  whereas  England  has  about  400.  A 
( (  people  that  has  such  an  abundance  of  land,  and  can  support  itself 
by  agriculture,  is  not  naturally  disposed  to  devote  itself  to  industry, 
or  to  congregate  in  large  cities. 

For  many  generations  there  were  other  powerful  influences  work- 
ing in  the  same  direction.  Of  these  the  most  important  was  serfage, 
which  was  not  abolished  till  1861.  That  institution,  and  the  admin- 
istrative system  of  which  it  formed  an  essential  part,  tended  to 
prevent  the  growth  of  the  towns  by  hemming  the  natural  move- 
ments  of  the  population.     Peasants,   for   example,    who   learned 

*"  trades,  and  who  ought  to  have  drifted  naturally  into  the  burgher 
class,  were  mostly  retained  by  the  master  on  his  estate,  where 
artisans  of  all  sorts  were  daily  wanted,  and  the  few  who  were  sent 
to  seek  work  in  the  towns  were  not  allowed  to  settle  there  per- 
manently. 


THE    TOWNS    AND    THE    MEECAXTILE    CLASSES     163 

Thus  the  insignificance  of  the  Eus.sian  towns  is  to  be  attributed 
mainly  to  two  causes.  The  abundance  of  land  tended  to  prevent 
the  development  of  industry,  and  the  little  industry  which  did 
exist  was  prevented  by  serfage  from  collecting  in  the  towns.  But 
this  explanation  is  evidently  incomplete.  The  same  causes  existed 
during  the  Middle  Ages  in  Central  Europe,  and  yet,  in  spite  of 
them,  flourishing  cities  grew  up  and  played  an  important  part  in 
the  social  and  political  history  of  Germany.  In  these  cities  col- 
lected traders  and  artisans,  forming  a  distinct  social  class,  distin- 
guished from  the  nobles  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  surrounding  peas- 
antry on  the  other,  by  peculiar  occupations,  peculiar  aims,  peculiar 
intellectual  physiognomy,  and  peculiar  moral  conceptions.  Why  did 
these  important  towns  and  this  burgher  class  not  likewise  come  into 
existence  in  llussia,  in  spite  of  the  two  preventive  causes  above 
mentioned  ? 

To  discuss  this  question  fully  it  would  be  necessary  to  enter  into 
certain  debated  points  of  mediaeval  history.  All  I  can  do  here  is 
to  indicate  what  seems  to  me  the  true  explanation. 

In  Central  Europe,  all  through  the  Middle  Ages,  a  perpetual 
struggle  went  on  between  the  various  political  factors  of  which 
society  was  composed,  and  the  important  towns  were  in  a  certain 
sense  the  products  of  this  struggle.  They  were  preserved  and  fos- 
tered by  the  mutual  rivalry  of  the  Sovereign,  the  Feudal  Nobility^ 
and  the  Church;  and  those  who  desired  to  live  by  trade  or  indus- 
try settled  in  them  in  order  to  enjoy  the  protection  and 
immunities  which  they  afforded.  In  Russia  there  was  never  any 
political  struggle  of  this  kind.  As  soon  as  the  Grand  Princes  of 
Moscow,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  threw  off  the  yoke  of  the  Tar- 
tars, and  made  themselves  Tsars  of  all  Eussia,  their  power  was  irre- 
sistible and  uncontested.  Complete  masters  of  the  situation,  they 
organised  the  country  as  they  thought  fit.  At  first  their  policy 
was  favourable  to  the  development  of  the  to^Tis.  Perceiving  that 
the  mercantile  and  industrial  classes  might  be  made  a  rich  source 
of  revenue,  they  separated  them  from  the  peasantry,  gave  them  the 
exclusive  right  of  trading,  prevented  the  other  classes  from  com- 
peting with  them,  and  freed  them  from  the  authority  of  the  landed 
proprietors.  Had  they  carried  out  this  policy  in  a  cautious, 
rational  way,  they  might  have  created  a  rich  burgher  class;  but 
they  acted  with  true  Oriental  short-sightedness,  and  defeated  their 
own  purpose  by  imposing  inordinately  heavy  taxes,  and  treating 
the  urban  population  as  their  serfs.  The  richer  merchants  were 
forced  to  serve  as  custom-house  officers — often  at  a  great  distance 


164  RUSSIA 

from  their  domiciles  * — and  artisans  were  yearly  summoned  to 
Moscow  to  do  work  for  the  Tsars  without  remuneration. 

Besides  this,  the  system  of  taxation  was  radically  defective,  and 
the  members  of  the  local  administration,  who  received  no  pay  and 
were  practically  free  from  control,  were  merciless  in  their  exactions. 
In  a  word,  the  Tsars  used  their  power  so  stupidly  and  so  recklessly 
that  the  industrial  and  trading  population,  instead  of  fleeing  to 
the  towns  to  secure  protection,  fled  from  them  to  escape  oppression. 
At  length  this  emigration  from  the  towns  assumed  such  dimensions 
that  it  was  found  necessary  to  prevent  it  by  administrative  and  leg- 
islative measures;  and  the  urban  population  was  legally  fixed  in 
the  towns  as  the  rural  population  was  fixed  to  the  soil.  Those 
who  fled  were  brought  back  as  runaways,  and  those  who  attempted 
flight  a  second  time  were  ordered  to  be  flogged  and  transported  to 
Siberia.! 

With  the  eighteenth  century  began  a  new  era  in  the  history 
of  the  towns  and  of  the  urban  population.  Peter  the  Great 
observed,  during  his  travels  in  Western  Europe,  that  national 
wealth  and  prosperity  reposed  chiefly  on  the  enterprising,  educated 
middle  classes,  and  he  attributed  the  poverty  of  his  own  country  to 
the  absence  of  this  burgher  element.  ]\Iight  not  such  a  class  be 
created  in  Russia?  Peter  unhesitatingly  assumed  that  it  might, 
and  set  himself  at  once  to  create  it  in  a  simple,  straightforward  way. 
Foreign  artisans  were  imported  into  his  dominions  and  foreign 
merchants  were  invited  to  trade  with  his  subjects;  young 
Russians  were  sent  abroad  to  learn  the  useful  arts;  efforts  were 
made  to  disseminate  practical  knowledge  by  the  translation  of 
foreign  books  and  the  foundation  of  schools ;  all  kinds  of  trade  were 
encouraged,  and  various  industrial  enterprises  were  organised.  At 
the  same  time  the  administration  of  the  towns  was  thoroughly  reor- 
ganised after  the  model  of  the  ancient  free-towns  of  Germany.  In 
place  of  the  old  organisation,  which  was  a  slightly  modifled  form  of 
the  rural  Commune,  they  received  German  municipal  institutions, 
with  burgomasters,  town  councils,  courts  of  justice,  guilds  for  the 
merchants,  trade  corporations  (tsehhi)  for  the  artisans,  and  an 
endless  list  of  instructions  regarding  the  development  of  trade  and 
industry,  the  building  of  hospitals,  sanitary  precautions,  the  found- 
ing of  schools,  the  dispensation  of  justice,  the  organisation  of  the 
police,  and  similar  matters. 

*  Merchants  from  Yaroslavl,  for  instance,  were  sent  to  Astrakhan  to 
collect  the  custom-dues. 

t  See  the  "  Ulozheuie "  {i.e.  the  laws  of  Alexis,  father  of  Peter  the 
Great),  chap.  xix.  §13. 


THE    TOWNS   AND    THE    MERCANTILE   CLASSES     165 

Catherine  11.  followed  in  the  same  track.  If  she  did  less  for 
trade  and  industry,  she  did  more  in  the  way  of  legislating  and 
writing  grandiloquent  manifestoes.  In  the  course  of  her  historical 
studies  she  had  learned,  as  she  proclaims  in  one  of  her  mani- 
festoes, that  "from  remotest  antiquity  we  everywhere  find  the 
memory  of  town-builders  elevated  to  the  same  level  as  the  memory 
of  legislators,  and  we  see  that  heroes,  famous  for  their  victories, 
hoped  by  town-building  to  give  immortality  to  their  names."  As 
the  securing  of  immortality  for  her  own  name  was  her  chief  aim 
in  life,  she  acted  in  accordance  with  historical  precedent,  and 
created  216  towns  in  the  short  space  of  twenty-three  years.  This 
seems  a  great  work,  but  it  did  not  satisfy  her  ambition.  She  was  not 
only  a  student  of  history,  but  was  at  the  same  time  a  warm  admirer 
of  the  fashionable  political  philosophy  of  her  time.  That  philosophy 
paid  much  attention  to  the  tiers-etat,  which  was  then  acquiring  in 
France  great  political  importance,  and  Catherine  thought  that  as 
she  had  created  a  Noblesse  on  the  French  model,  she  might  also 
create  a  bourgeoisie.  For  this  purpose  she  modified  the  municipal 
organisation  created  by  her  great  predecessor,  and  granted  to  all 
the  towns  an  Imperial  Charter.  This  charter  remained  without 
essential  modification  until  the  publication  of  the  new  Municipality 
Law  in  1870. 

The  efforts  of  the  Government  to  create  a  rich,  intelligent  tiers- 
Hat  were  not  attended  with  much  success.  Their  influence  was 
always  more  apparent  in  otficial  documents  than  in  real  life.  The 
great  mass  of  the  population  remained  serfs,  fixed  to  the  soil,  whilst 
the  nobles — that  is  to  say,  all  who  possessed  a  little  education — were 
required  for  the  military  and  civil  services.  Those  who  were  sent 
abroad  to  learn  the  useful  arts  learned  little,  and  made  little  use 
of  the  knowledge  which  they  acquired.  On  their  return  to  their 
native  country  they  very  soon  fell  victims  to  the  soporific  infiuence 
of  the  surrounding  social  atmosphere.  The  "  town-building  "  had 
as  little  practical  result.  It  was  an  easy  matter  to  create  any 
number  of  towns  in  the  official  sense  of  the  term.  To  transform 
a  village  into  a  town,  it  was  necessary  merely  to  prepare  an  izha, 
or  log-house,  for  the  district  court,  another  for  the  police-office,  a 
third  for  the  prison,  and  so  on.  On  an  appointed  day  the  Governor 
of  the  province  arrived  in  the  village,  collected  the  officials  appointed 
to  serve  in  the  newly-constructed  or  newly-arranged  log-houses, 
ordered  a  simple  religious  ceremony  to  be  performed  by  the  priest, 
caused  a  formal  act  to  be  drawn  up,  and  then  declared  the  town  to 
be  "  opened."    All  this  required  very  little  creative  effort ;  to  create 


166  EUSSIA 

a  spirit  of  commercial  and  industrial  enterprise  among  the  popula- 
tion was  a  more  difficult  matter  and  could  not  be  effected  by 
Imperial  ukaz. 

To  animate  the  newly-imported  municipal  institutions,  which 
had  no  root  in  the  traditions  and  habits  of  the  people,  was  a  task  of 
equal  difficulty.  In  the  West  these  institutions  had  been  slowly 
devised  in  the  course  of  centuries  to  meet  real,  keenly-felt,  practical 
wants.  In  Eussia  they  were  adopted  for  the  purpose  of  creating 
those  wants  which  were  not  yet  felt.  Let  the  reader  imagine  our 
Board  of  Trade  supplying  the  masters  of  fishing-smacks  with 
accurate  charts,  learned  treatises  on  navigation,  and  detailed 
instructions  for  the  proper  ventilation  of  ships'  cabins,  and  he  will 
have  some  idea  of  the  effect  which  Peter's  legislation  had  upon  the 
towns.  The  office-bearers,  elected  against  their  will,  were  hope- 
lessly bewildered  by  the  complicated  procedure,  and  were  incapable 
of  understanding  the  numerous  ukazes  which  prescribed  to  them 
their  multifarious  duties  and  threatened  the  most  merciless  punish- 
ments for  sins  of  omission  and  commission.  Soon,  however,  it 
was  discovered  that  the  threats  were  not  nearly  so  dreadful  as 
they  seemed;  and  accordingly  those  municipal  authorities  who 
were  to  protect  and  enlighten  the  burghers,  "  forgot  the  fear  of 
God  and  the  Tsar,"  and  extorted  so  unblushingly  that  it  was  found 
necessary  to  place  them  under  the  control  of  Government  officials. 

The  chief  practical  result  of  the  efforts  made  by  Peter  and 
Catherine  to  create  a  bourgeoisie  was  that  the  inhabitants  of  the 
towns  were  more  systematically  arranged  in  categories  for  the  pur- 
pose of  taxation,  and  that  the  taxes  were  increased.  All  those 
parts  of  the  new  administration  which  had  no  direct  relation  to  the 
fiscal  interests  of  the  Government  had  very  little  vitality  in  them. 
The  whole  system  had  been  arbitrarily  imposed  on  the  people,  and 
had  as  motive  only  the  Imperial  will.  Had  that  motive  power 
been  withdravm  and  the  burghers  left  to  regulate  their  own  munici- 
pal affairs,  the  system  would  immediately  have  collapsed.  Rath- 
haus,  burgomasters,  guilds,  aldermen,  and  all  the  other  lifeless 
shadows  which  had  been  called  into  existence  by  Imperial  ukaz 
would  instantly  have  vanished  into  space.  In  this  fact  we  have 
-one  of  the  characteristic  traits  of  Eussian  historical  development 
compared  with  that  of  Western  Europe.  In  the  West  monarchy 
had  to  struggle  with  municipal  institutions  to  prevent  them  from 
becoming  too  powerful ;  in  Eussia,  it  had  to  struggle  with  them  to 
.prevent  them  from  committing  suicide  or  dying  of  inanition. 

According  to  Catherine's  legislation,  which  remained  in  force 


THE    TOWNS   AND   THE    MERCANTILE    CLASSES     167 

until  1870,  and  still  exists  in  some  of  its  main  features,  the 
towns  were  divided  into  three  categories:  (1)  Government  towns 
{gubernskiye  gorodd) — that  is  to  say,  the  chief  towns  of  provinces, 
or  governments  (gahernii) — in  which  are  concentrated  the  various 
organs  of  provincial  administration;  (2)  district  to^vTis  (uyezdniye 
gorodd),  in  which  resides  the  administration  of  the  districts 
(uyezdi)  into  which  the  provinces  are  divided;  and  (3)  supernu- 
merary towns  (zashtatniye  gorodd),  which  have  no  particular  sig- 
nificance in  the  territorial  administration. 

In  all  these  the  municipal  organisation  is  the  same.  Leaving 
out  of  consideration  those  persons  who  happen  to  reside  in  the 
towns,  but  in  reality  belong  to  the  Noblesse,  the  clergy,  or  the  lower 
ranks  of  officials,  we  may  say  that  the  town  population  is  com- 
posed of  three  groups:  the  merchants  (kuptsi),  the  burghers  in  the 
narrower  sense  of  the  term  (meshtchanye) ,  and  the  artisans  {tsek' 
hoviye).  These  categories  are  not  hereditary  castes,  like  the  nobles, 
the  clergy,  and  the  peasantry.  A  noble  may  become  a  merchant,  or 
a  man  may  be  one  year  a  burgher,  the  next  year  an  artisan,  and  the 
third  year  a  merchant,  if  he  changes  his  occupation  and  pays  the 
necessary  dues.  But  the  categories  form,  for  the  time  being,  dis- 
tinct corporations,  each  possessing  a  peculiar  organisation  and 
peculiar  privileges  and  obligations. 

Of  these  three  groups  the  first  in  the  scale  of  dignity  is  that  of 
the  merchants.  It  is  chiefly  recruited  from  the  burghers  and  the 
peasantry.  Any  one  who  wishes  to  engage  in  commerce  inscribes 
himself  in  one  of  the  three  guilds,  according  to  the  amount  of  his 
capital  and  the  nature  of  the  operations  in  which  he  wishes  to 
embark,  and  as  soon  as  he  has  paid  the  required  dues  he  becomes 
officially  a  merchant.  As  soon  as  he  ceases  to  pay  these  dues  he 
ceases  to  be  a  merchant  in  the  legal  sense  of  the  term,  and  returns 
to  the  class  to  which  he  formerly  belonged.  There  are  some  fam- 
ilies whose  members  have  belonged  to  the  merchant  class  for  several 
generations,  and  the  law  speaks  about  a  certain  "  velvet-book " 
(hdrJchatnaya  Icniga)  in  which  their  names  should  be  inscribed,  but 
in  reality  they  do  not  form  a  distinct  category,  and  they  descend 
at  once  from  their  privileged  position  as  soon  as  they  cease  to  pay 
the  annual  guild  dues. 

The  artisans  form  the  connecting  link  between  the  town  popula- 
tion and  the  peasantry,  for  peasants  often  enrol  themselves  in  the 
trades-corporations,  or  tselchi,  without  severing  their  connection  with 
the  rural  Communes  to  which  they  belong.  Each  trade  or  handi- 
craft constitutes  a  tsel'h,  at  the  head  of  which  stands  an  elder  and 


168  EUSSIA 

two  assistants,  elected  by  the  members ;  and  all  the  tsekhi  together 
form  a  corporation  under  an  elected  head  {remeslenny  golovd) 
assisted  by  a  council  composed  of  the  elders  of  the  various  tsekhi. 
It  is  the  duty  of  this  council  and  its  president  to  regulate  all  matters 
connected  with  the  tseTcJii,  and  to  see  that  the  multifarious  regula- 
tions regarding  masters,  journeymen,  and  apprentices  are  duly 
observed. 

The  nondescript  class,  composed  of  those  who  are  inscribed  as 
permanent  inhabitants  of  the  towns,  but  who  do  not  belong  to  any 
guild  or  tsekh,  constitutes  what  is  called  the  burghers  in  the 
narrower  sense  of  the  term.  Like  the  other  two  categories,  they 
form  a  separate  corporation,  with  an  elder  and  an  administrative 
bureau. 

Some  idea  of  the  relative  numerical  strength  of  these  three  cate- 
gories may  be  obtained  from  the  following  figures.  Thirty  years 
ago  in  European  Eussia  the  merchant  class  (including  wives  and 
children)  numbered  about  466,000,  the  burghers  about  4,033,000, 
and  the  artisans  about  260,000.  The  numbers  according  to  the 
last  census  are  not  yet  available. 

In  1870  the  entire  municipal  administration  was  reorganised  on 
modern  West-European  principles,  and  the  Town  Council  (gorod- 
skdya  duma),  which  formed  under  the  previous  system  the  con- 
necting link  between  the  old-fashioned  corporations,  and  was  com- 
posed exclusively  of  members  of  these  bodies,  became  a  genuine 
representative  bod}'^  composed  of  householders,  irrespective  of  the 
social  class  to  which  they  might  belong.  A  noble,  provided  he  was 
a  house-proprietor,  could  become  Town  Councillor  or  Mayor,  and  in 
this  way  a  certain  amount  of  vitality  and  a  progressive  spirit  were 
infused  into  the  municipal  administration.  As  a  consequence  of 
this  change  the  schools,  hospitals,  and  other  benevolent  institutions 
were  much  improved,  the  streets  were  kept  cleaner  and  somewhat 
better  paved,  and  for  a  time  it  seemed  as  if  the  towns  in  Eussia 
might  gradually  rise  to  the  level  of  those  of  Western  Europe.  But 
the  charm  of  novelty,  which  so  often  works  wonders  in  Eussia,  soon 
wore  off.  After  a  few  years  of  strenuous  effort  the  best  citizens  no 
longer  came  forward  as  candidates,  and  the  office-bearers  selected  no 
longer  displayed  zeal  and  intelligence  in  the  discharge  of  their 
duties.  In  these  circumstances  the  Government  felt  called  upon 
again  to  intervene.  By  a  decree  dated  June  11,  1892,  it  intro- 
duced a  new  series  of  reforms,  by  which  the  municipal  self-govern- 
ment was  placed  more  under  the  direction  and  control  of  the  cen- 
tralised bureaucracy,  and  the  attendance  of  the  Town  Councillors  at 


THE    TOWNS    AXD    THE    MERCANTILE    CLASSES     169 

the  periodical  meetings  was  declared  to  be  obligatory,  recalcitrant 
members  being  threatened  with  reprimands  and  fines. 

This  last  fact  speaks  volumes  for  the  low  vitality  of  the  institu- 
tions and  the  prevalent  popular  apathy  with  regard  to  municipal 
affairs.  Nor  was  the  unsatisfactory  state  of  things  much  improved 
by  the  new  reforms;  on  the  contrary,  the  increased  interference  of 
the  regular  officials  tended  rather  to  weaken  the  vitality  of  the  urban 
self-government,  and  the  so-called  reform  was  pretty  generally  con- 
demned as  a  needlessly  reactionary  measure.  "We  have  here,  in 
fact,  a  case  of  what  has  often  occurred  in  the  administrative  history' 
of  the  Russian  Empire  since  the  time  of  Peter  the  Great,  and  to 
which  I  shall  again  have  occasion  to  refer.  The  central  authority, 
finding  itself  incompetent  to  do  all  that  is  required  of  it,  and  wish- 
ing to  make  a  display  of  liberalism,  accords  large  concessions  in 
the  direction  of  local  autonomy;  and  when  it  discovers  that  the 
new  institutions  do  not  accomplish  all  that  was  expected  of  them, 
and  are  not  quite  so  subservient  and  obsequious  as  is  considered 
desirable,  it  returns  in  a  certain  measure  to  the  old  principles  of 
centralised  bureaucracy.  c 

The  great  development  of  trade  and  industry  in  recent  years  has  c 
of  course  enriched  the  mercantile  classes,  and  has  introduced  into 
them  a  more  highly  educated  element,  drawn  chiefly  from  the  No- 
blesse, which  formerly  eschewed  such  occupations;  but  it  has  not 
yet  affected  very  deeply  the  mode  of  life  of  those  who  have  sprung 
from  the  old  merchant  families  and  the  peasantry.  When  a  mer-  (- 
chant,  contractor,  or  manufacturer  of  the  old  type  becomes  wealthy, 
he  builds  for  himself  a  fine  house,  or  buys  and  thoroughly  repairs 
the  house  of  some  ruined  noble,  and  spends  money  freely  on  par- 
quetry floors,  large  mirrors,  malachite  tables,  grand  pianos  by  the 
best  makers,  and  other  articles  of  furniture  made  of  the  most  costly 
materials.  Occasionally — especially  on  the  occasion  of  a  marriage 
or  a  death  in  the  family — he  will  give  magnificent  banquets,  and 
expend  enormous  sums  on  gigantic  sterlets,  choice  sturgeons,  foreign 
fruits,  champagne,  and  all  manner  of  costly  delicacies.  But  this 
lavish,  ostentatious  expenditure  does  not  affect  the  ordinary  current 
of  his  daily  life.  As  you  enter  those  gaudily  furnished  rooms  you 
can  perceive  at  a  glance  that  they  are  not  for  ordinary  use.  You 
notice  a  rigid  symmetry  and  an  indescribable  bareness  which  inevit- 
ably suggest  that  the  original  arrangements  of  the  upholsterer  have 
never  been  modified  or  supplemented.  The  truth  is  that  by  far  the 
greater  part  of  the  house  is  used  only  on  state  occasions.  The 
host  and  his  family  live  down-stairs  in  small,  dirty  rooms,  furnished 


170  EUSSIA 

in  a  very  different,  and  for  them  more  comfortable,  style.  At 
ordinary  times  the  fine  rooms  are  closed,  and  the  fine  furniture  care- 
fully covered. 

If  you  make  a  visite  de  poUtesse  after  an  entertainment,  you 
will  probably  have  some  difficulty  in  gaining  admission  by  the 
front  door.  When  you  have  knocked  or  rung  several  times,  some 
one  will  come  round  from  the  back  regions  and  ask  you  what 
you  want.  Then  follows  another  long  pause,  and  at  last  footsteps 
are  heard  approaching  from  within.  The  bolts  are  drawn,  the  door 
is  opened,  and  you  are  led  up  to  a  spacious  drawing-room.  At  the 
wall  opposite  the  windows  there  is  sure  to  be  a  sofa,  and  before  it 
an  oval  table.  At  each  end  of  the  table,  and  at  right  angles  to  the 
sofa,  there  will  be  a  row  of  three  arm-chairs.  The  other  chairs  will 
be  symmetrically  arranged  round  the  room.  In  a  few  minutes  the 
host  will  appear,  in  his  long  double-breasted  black  coat  and  well- 
polished  long  boots.  His  hair  is  parted  in  the  middle,  and  his 
beard  shows  no  trace  of  scissors  or  razor. 

After  the  customary  greetings  have  been  exchanged,  glasses  of 
tea,  with  slices  of  lemon  and  preserves,  or  perhaps  a  bottle  of  cham- 
pagne, are  brought  in  by  way  of  refreshments.  The  female  mem- 
bers of  the  family  you  must  not  expect  to  see,  unless  you  are  an 
intimate  friend;  for  the  merchants  still  retain  something  of  that 
female  seclusion  which  was  in  vogue  among  the  upper  classes 
before  the  time  of  Peter  the  Great.  The  host  himself  will  prob- 
ably be  an  intelligent,  but  totally  uneducated  and  decidedly  taciturn, 
man. 

About  the  weather  and  the  crops  he  may  talk  fluently  enough,  but 
he  will  not  show  much  inclination  to  go  beyond  these  topics.  You 
may,  perhaps,  desire  to  converse  with  him  on  the  subject  with 
which  he  is  best  acquainted — the  trade  in  which  he  is  himself 
engaged ;  but  if  you  make  the  attempt,  you  will  certainly  not  gain 
much  information,  and  you  may  possibly  meet  with  such  an  incident 
as  once  happened  to  my  travelling  companion,  a  Eussian  gentleman 
who  had  been  commissioned  by  two  learned  societies  to  collect  infor- 
mation regarding  the  grain  trade.  When  he  called  on  a  merchant 
who  had  promised  to  assist  him  in  his  investigation,  he  was  hospi- 
tably received;  but  when  he  began  to  speak  about  the  grain  trade 
of  the  district  the  merchant  suddenly  interrupted  him,  and  pro- 
posed to  tell  him  a  story.    The  story  was  as  follows : 

Once  on  a  time  a  rich  landed  proprietor  had  a  son,  who  was  a 
thoroughly  spoilt  child ;  and  one  day  the  boy  said  to  his  father  that 
he  wished  all  the  young  serfs  to  come  and  sing  before  the  door  of 


THE    TOWNS   AND   THE    MEKCANTILE    CLASSES     171 

the  house.  After  some  attempts  at  dissuasion  the  request  was 
granted,  and  the  young  people  assembled ;  but  as  soon  as  they  began 
to  sing,  the  boy  rushed  out  and  drove  them  away. 

When  the  merchant  had  told  this  apparently  pointless  story  at 
great  length,  and  with  much  circumstantial  detail,  he  paused  a 
little,  poured  some  tea  into  his  saucer,  drank  it  off,  and  then  in- 
quired, "  Now  what  do  you  think  was  the  reason  of  this  strange 
conduct  ?  " 

My  friend  replied  that  the  riddle  surpassed  his  powers  of  divina- 
tion. 

"  Well,"  said  the  merchant,  looking  hard  at  him,  with  a  knowing 
grin,  "  there  was  no  reason ;  and  all  the  boy  could  say  was,  '  Go 
away,  go  away !  I've  changed  my  mind ;  I've  changed  my  mind ' " 
(poshli  von;  otMotyel). 

There  was  no  possibility  of  mistaking  the  point  of  the  story.  My 
friend  took  the  hint  and  departed. 

The  Kussian  merchant's  love  of  ostentation  is  of  a  peculiar  kind — 
something  entirely  different  from  English  snobbery.  He  may  de- 
light in  gaudy  reception-rooms,  magnificent  dinners,  fast  trotters, 
costly  furs;  or  he  may  display  his  riches  by  princely  donations  to 
churches,  monasteries,  or  benevolent  institutions :  but  in  all  this  he 
never  affects  to  be  other  than  he  really  is.  He  habitually  wears  a 
costume  which  designates  plainly  his  social  position;  he  makes  no 
attempt  to  adopt  fine  manners  or  elegant  tastes ;  and  he  never  seeks 
to  gain  admission  to  what  is  called  in  Eussia  la  societe.  Having  no 
desire  to  seem  what  he  is  not,  he  has  a  plain,  unaffected  manner,  and 
sometimes  a  quiet  dignity  which  contrasts  favourably  with  the 
affected  manner  of  those  nobles  of  the  lower  ranks  who  make 
pretensions  to  being  highly  educated  and  strive  to  adopt  the  outward 
forms  of  French  culture.  At  his  great  dinners,  it  is  true,  the  mer- 
chant likes  to  see  among  his  guests  as  many  "  generals  " — that  is  to 
say,  official  personages — as  possible,  and  especially  those  who  happen 
to  have  a  grand  cordon;  but  he  never  dreams  of  thereby  establishing 
an  intimacy  with  these  personages,  or  of  being  invited  by  them  in 
return.  It  is  perfectly  understood  by  both  parties  that  nothing  of 
the  kind  is  meant.  The  invitation  is  given  and  accepted  from  quite 
different  motives.  The  merchant  has  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  at 
his  table  men  of  high  official  rank,  and  feels  that  the  consideration 
which  he  enjoys  among  people  of  his  own  class  is  thereby  aug- 
mented. If  he  succeeds  in  obtaining  the  presence  of  three  generals, 
he  obtains  a  victory  over  a  rival  who  cannot  obtain  more  than  two. 
The  general,  on  his  side,  gets  a  first-rate  dinner,  a  la  russe,  and 


173  RUSSIA 

acquires  an  undefined  right  to  request  subscriptions  for  public 
objects  or  benevolent  institutions. 

Of  course  this  undefined  right  is  commonly  nothing  more  than  a 
mere  tacit  understanding,  but  in  certain  cases  the  subject  is  ex- 
pressly mentioned.  I  know  of  one  case  in  which  a  regular  bargain 
was  made.  A  Moscow  magnate  was  invited  by  a  merchant  to  a 
dinner,  and  consented  to  go  in  full  uniform,  with  all  his  decorations, 
on  condition  that  the  merchant  should  subscribe  a  certain  sum  to  a 
benevolent  institution  in  which  he  was  particularly  interested.  It 
is  whispered  that  such  bargains  are  sometimes  made,  not  on  behalf 
of  benevolent  institutions,  but  simply  in  the  interest  of  the  gentle- 
man who  accepts  the  invitation.  I  cannot  believe  that  there  are 
many  official  personages  who  would  consent  to  let  themselves  out 
as  table  decorations,  but  that  it  may  happen  is  proved  by  the  follow- 
ing incident,  which  accidentally  came  to  my  knowledge.     A  rich 

merchant  of  the  town  of  T once  requested  the  Governor  of  the 

Province  to  honour  a  family  festivity  with  his  presence,  and  added 
that  he  would  consider  it  a  special  favour  if  the  "  Governoress  " 
would  enter  an  appearance.  To  this  latter  request  his  Excellency 
made  many  objections,  and  at  last  let  the  petitioner  understand 
that  her  Excellency  could  not  possibly  be  present,  because  she  had 
no  velvet  dress  that  could  bear  comparison  with  those  of  several 
merchants'  wives  in  the  town.  Two  days  after  the  interview  a 
piece  of  the  finest  velvet  that  could  be  procured  in  Moscow  was 
received  by  the  Governor  from  an  unknown  donor,  and  his  wife  was 
thus  enabled  to  be  present  at  the  festivity,  to  the  complete  satisfac- 
tion of  all  parties  concerned. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  the  merchants  recognise  no  aristoc- 
racy but  that  of  official  rank.  Many  merchants  would  willingly 
give  twenty  pounds  for  the  presence  of  an  "  actual  State  Council- 
lor'' who  perhaps  never  heard  of  his  grandfather,  but  who  can 
show  a  grand  cordon;  whilst  they  would  not  give  twenty  pence  for 
the  presence  of  an  undecorated  Prince  without  official  rank,  though 
he  might  be  able  to  trace  his  pedigree  up  to  the  half-mythical 
Rurik.  Of  the  latter  they  would  probably  say,  "Kto  ikh  znaet?" 
(Who  knows  what  sort  of  a  fellow  he  is  ?)  The  former,  on  the  con- 
trary, whoever  his  father  and  grandfather  may  have  been,  possesses 
unmistakable  marks  of  the  Tsar's  favour,  which,  in  the  merchant's 
opinion,  is  infinitely  more  important  than  any  rights  or  pretensions 
founded  on  hereditary  titles  or  long  pedigrees. 

Some  marks  of  Imperial  favour  the  old-fashioned  merchants 
strive  to  obtain  for  themselves.     They  do  not  dream  of  grand  cor- 


THE    TOWNS    AND   THE    MERCANTILE    CLASSES     173 

dons — that  is  far  ])Gyoncl  their  most  sanguine  expectations — but 
they  do  all  in  their  power  to  obtain  those  lesser  decorations  which 
are  granted  to  the  mercantile  class.  For  this  purpose  the  most 
common  expedient  is  a  liberal  subscription  to  some  benevolent  in- 
stitution, and  occasionally  a  regular  bargain  is  made.  I  know  of 
at  least  one  instance  where  the  kind  of  decoration  was  expressly 
stipulated.  The  affair  illustrates  so  well  the  commercial  character 
of  these  transactions  that  I  venture  to  state  the  facts  as  related  to 
me  by  the  official  chiefly  concerned.  A  merchant  subscribed  to  a 
society  which  enjoyed  the  patronage  of  a  Grand  Duchess  a  consider- 
able sum  of  money,  under  the  express  condition  that  he  should 
receive  in  return  a  St.  Vladimir  Cross.  Instead  of  the  desired 
decoration,  which  was  considered  too  much  for  the  sum  subscribed, 
a  cross  of  St.  Stanislas  was  granted ;  but  the  donor  was  dissatisfied 
with  the  latter  and  demanded  that  his  money  should  be  returned  to 
him.  The  demand  had  to  be  complied  with,  and,  as  an  Imperial 
gift  cannot  be  retracted,  the  merchant  had  his  Stanislas  Cross  for 
nothing. 

This  traffic  in  decorations  has  had  its  natural  result.  Like  paper 
money  issued  in  too  large  quantities,  the  decorations  have  fallen  in 
value.  The  gold  medals  which  were  formerly  much  coveted  and 
worn  with  pride  by  the  rich  merchants — suspended  by  a  ribbon 
round  the  neck — are  now  little  sought  after.  In  like  manner  the 
inordinate  respect  for  official  personages  has  considerably  dimin- 
ished. Fifty  years  ago  the  provincial  merchants  vied  with  each 
other  in  their  desire  to  entertain  any  great  dignitary  who  honoured 
their  town  with  a  visit,  but  now  they  seek  rather  to  avoid  this 
expensive  and  barren  honour.  "When  they  do  accept  the  honour, 
they  fulfil  the  duties  of  hospitality  in  a  most  liberal  spirit.  I  have 
sometimes,  when  living  as  an  honoured  guest  in  a  rich  merchant's 
house,  found  it  difficult  to  obtain  anything  simpler  than  sterlet, 
sturgeon,  and  champagne. 

The  two  great  blemishes  on  the  character  of  the  Eussian  mer- 
chants as  a  class  are,  according  to  general  opinion,  their  ignorance 
and  their  dishonesty.  As  to  the  former  of  these  there  cannot  pos- 
sibly be  any  difference  of  opinion.  Many  of  them  can  neither  read 
nor  write,  and  are  forced  to  keep  their  accounts  in  their  memory, 
or  by  means  of  ingenious  hieroglyphics,  intelligible  only  to  the 
inventor.  Others  can  decipher  the  calendar  and  the  lives  of  the 
saints,  can  sign  their  names  with  tolerable  facility,  and  can  make 
the  simpler  arithmetical  calculations  with  the  help  of  the  stcliety,  a 
little  calculating  instrument,  composed  of  wooden  balls  strung  on 


174  EUSSIA 

brass  wires,  which  resembles  the  "  abaca  "  of  the  old  Romans,  and 
is  universally  used  in  Eussia.  It  is  only  the  minority  who  under- 
stand the  mysteries  of  regular  book-keeping,  and  of  these  very  few 
can  make  any  pretensions  to  being  educated  men. 

All  this,  however,  is  rapidly  undergoing  a  radical  change.  Chil- 
dren are  now  much  better  educated  than  their  parents,  and  the  next 
generation  will  doubtless  make  further  progress,  so  that  the  old- 
fashioned  type  above  described  is  destined  to  disappear.  Already 
there  are  not  a  few  of  the  younger  generation — especially  among  the 
wealthy  manufacturers  of  Moscow — who  have  been  educated  abroad, 
who  may  be  described  as  tout  a  fait  civilises,  and  whose  mode  of 
life  differs  little  from  that  of  the  richer  nobles;  but  they  remain 
outside  fashionable  society,  and  constitute  a  "  set "  of  their  own. 

As  to  the  dishonesty  which  is  said  to  be  so  common  among  the 
Eussian  commercial  classes,  it  is  diflficult  to  form  an  accurate  judg- 
ment. That  an  enormous  amount  of  unfair  dealing  does  exist 
there  can  be  no  possible  doubt,  but  in  this  matter  a  foreigner  is 
likely  to  be  unduly  severe.  We  are  apt  to  apply  unflinchingly  our 
own  standard  of  commercial  morality,  and  to  forget  that  trade  in 
Eussia  is  only  emerging  from  that  primitive  condition  in  which 
fixed  prices  and  moderate  profits  are  entirely  unknown.  And  when 
we  happen  to  detect  positive  dishonesty,  it  seems  to  us  especially 
heinous,  because  the  trickery  employed  is  more  primitive  and  awk- 
ward than  that  to  which  we  are  accustomed.  Trickery  in  weighing 
and  measuring,  for  instance,  which  is  by  no  means  uncommon  in 
Eussia,  is  likely  to  make  us  more  indignant  than  those  ingenious 
methods  of  adulteration  which  are  prr.etised  nearer  home,  and  are 
regarded  by  many  as  almost  legitimate.  Besides  this,  foreigners 
who  go  to  Eussia  and  embark  in  speculations  without  possessing  any 
adequate  knowledge  of  the  character,  customs,  and  language  of  the 
people  positively  invite  spoliation,  and  ought  to  blame  themselves 
rather  than  the  people  who  profit  by  their  ignorance. 

All  this,  and  much  more  of  the  same  kind,  may  be  fairly  urged 
in  mitigation  of  the  severe  judgments  which  foreign  mer- 
chants commonly  pass  on  Eussian  commercial  morality,  but  these 
judgments  cannot  be  reversed  by  such  argumentation.  The  dis- 
honesty and  rascality  which  exist  among  the  merchants  are  fully 
recognised  by  the  Eussians  themselves.  In  all  moral  affairs  the 
lower  classes  in  Eussia  are  very  lenient  in  their  judgments,  and  are 
strongly  disposed,  like  the  Americans,  to  admire  what  is  called  in 
Transatlantic  phraseology  "  a  smart  man,"  though  the  smartness  is 
known  to  contain  a  large  admixture  of  dishonesty;  and  yet  the 


THE    TOWXS    AND   THE    MERCANTILE    CLASSES     175 

vox  populi  in  Eussia  emphatically  declares  that  the  merchants  as 
a  class  are  lmscrup^^lous  and  dishonest.  There  is  a  rude  popular 
play  in  which  the  Devil,  as  principal  dramatis  persona,  succeeds  in 
cheating  all  manner  and  conditions  of  men,  but  is  finally  over- 
reached by  a  genuine  Russian  merchant.  When  this  play  is  acted 
in  the  Carnival  Theatre  in  St.  Petersburg  the  audience  invariably 
agrees  with  the  moral  of  the  plot. 

If  this  play  were  acted  in  the  southern  towns  near  the  coast  of  the 
Black  Sea  it  would  be  necessary  to  modify  it  considerably,  for  here, 
in  company  with  Jews,  Greeks,  and  Armenians,  the  Russian  mer- 
chants seem  honest  by  comparison.  As  to  Greeks  and  Armenians, 
I  know  not  which  of  the  two  nationalities  deserves  the  palm,  but  it 
seems  that  both  are  surpassed  by  the  Children  of  Israel.  "  How 
these  Jews  do  business,"  I  have  heard  a  Russian  merchant  of  this 
region  exclaim,  "  1  cannot  understand.  They  buy  up  wheat  in  the 
villages  at  eleven  roubles  per  tclietvert,  transport  it  to  the  coast  at 
their  own  expense,  and  sell  it  to  the  exporters  at  ten  roubles !  And 
yet  they  contrive  to  make  a  profit!  It  is  said  that  the  Russian 
trader  is  cunning,  but  here  '  our  brother '  [i.  e.,  the  Russian]  can  do 
nothing."  The  truth  of  this  statement  I  have  had  abundant  oppor- 
tunities of  confirming  by  personal  investigations  on  the  spot. 

If  I  might  express  a  general  opinion  regarding  Russian  com- 
mercial morality,  I  should  say  that  trade  in  Russia  is  carried  on  very 
much  on  the  same  principle  as  horse-dealing  in  England.  A  man 
who  wishes  to  buy  or  sell  must  trust  to  his  own  knowledge  and 
acuteness,  and  if  he  gets  the  worst  of  a  bargain  or  lets  himself  be 
deceived,  he  has  himself  to  blame.  Commercial  Englishmen  on 
arriving  in  Russia  rarely  understand  this,  and  w^hen  they  know  it 
theoretically  they  are  too  often  unable,  from  their  ignorance  of  the 
language,  the  laws,  and  the  customs  of  the  people,  to  turn  their 
theoretical  knowledge  to  account.  They  indulge,  therefore,  at  first 
in  endless  invectives  against  the  prevailing  dishonesty;  but  gradu- 
ally, when  they  have  paid  what  Germans  call  Lelirgeld,  they  accom- 
modate themselves  to  circumstances,  take  large  profits  to  counter- 
balance bad  debts,  and  generally  succeed — if  they  have  sufficient 
energy,  mother-wit,  and  capital — in  making  a  very  handsome  in- 
come. 

The  old  race  of  British  merchants,  however,  is  rapidly  dying  out, 
and  I  greatly  fear  that  the  rising  generation  will  not  be  equally 
successful.  Times  have  changed.  It  is  no  longer  possible  to  amass 
large  fortunes  in  the  old  easy-going  fashion.  Every  year  the  condi- 
tions alter,  and  the  competition  increases.     In  order  to  foresee. 


176  EUSSIA 

understand,  and  take  advantage  of  the  changes,  one  must  have  far 
more  knowledge  of  the  country  than  the  men  of  the  old  school  pos- 
sessed, and  it  seems  to  me  that  the  young  generation  have  still  less 
of  that  knowledge  than  their  predecessors.  Unless  some  change 
takes  place  in  this  respect,  the  German  merchants,  who  have  gen- 
erally a  much  better  commercial  education  and  are  much  better 
acquainted  with  their  adopted  country,  will  ultimately,  I  believe, 
expel  their  British  rivals.  Already  many  branches  of  commerce 
formerly  carried  on  by  Englishmen  have  passed  into  their  hands. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  unsatisfactory  organisation  of 
the  Eussian  commercial  world  is  the  result  of  any  radical  peculiarity 
of  the  Eussian  character.  All  new  countries  have  to  pass  through 
a  similar  state  of  things,  and  in  Eussia  there  are  already  pre- 
monitory symptoms  of  a  change  for  the  better.  For  the  present, 
it  is  true,  the  extensive  construction  of  railways  and  the  rapid 
development  of  banks  and  limited  liability  companies  have  opened 
up  a  new  and  wide  field  for  all  kinds  of  commercial  swindling ;  but, 
on  the  other  hand,  there  are  now  in  every  large  town  a  certain 
number  of  merchants  who  carry  on  business  in  the  West-European 
manner,  and  have  learnt  by  experience  that  honesty  is  the  best 
policy.  The  success  which  many  of  these  have  obtained  will  doubt- 
less cause  their  example  to  be  followed.  The  old  spirit  of  caste  and 
routine  which  has  long  animated  the  merchant  class  is  rapidly  dis- 
appearing, and  not  a  few  nobles  are  now  exchanging  country  life 
and  the  service  of  the  State  for  industrial  and  commercial  enter- 
prises. In  this  way  is  being  formed  the  nucleus  of  that  wealthy, 
enlightened  bourgeoisie  which  Catherine  endeavoured  to  create  by 
legislation;  but  many  years  must  elapse  before  this  class  acquires 
sufficient  social  and  political  significance  to  deserve  the  title  of  a 
tiers-etat. 


CHAPTER   XIII 

THE  PASTORAL  TRIBES  OF  THE  STEPPE 

A  Journey  to  the  Steppe  Region  of  the  Southeast— The  Volga— Town 
and  Province  of  Samara— 'Farther  Eastward — Appearance  of  the 
Villages — Characteristic  Incident — Peasant  Mendacity — Explana- 
tion of  the  Phenomenon — I  Awake  in  Asia — A  Bashkir  Aoul — D'uier 
d  la  Tartare — Kumyss — A  Bashkir  Troubadour — Honest  Mehemet 
Zian — Actual  Economic  Condition  of  the  Bashkirs  Throws  Light 
on  a  Well-known  Philosophical  Theory— Why  a  Pastoral  Race 
Adopts  Agriculture — The  Genuine  Steppe — The  Kirghiz — Letter 
from  Genghis  Khan— The  Kalmyks— NogaT  Tartars— Struggle 
between  Nomadic  Hordes  and  Agricultural  Colonists. 

WHEN  I  had  spent  a  couple  of  years  or  more  in  the  Northern 
and  North-Central  provinces — the  land  of  forests  and  of  agri- 
culture conducted  on  the  three-field  system,  with  here  and  there  a 
town  of  respectable  antiquity — I  determined  to  visit  for  purposes 
of  comparison  and  contrast  the  Southeastern  region,  which  pos- 
sesses no  forests  nor  ancient  towns,  and  corresponds  to  the  Far 
West  of  the  United  States  of  America.  My  point  of  departure  was 
Yaroslavl,  a  town  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Volga  to  the  north- 
east of  Moscow — and  thence  I  sailed  down  the  river  during  three 
days  on  a  large  comfortable  steamer  to  Samara,  the  chief  town  of 
the  province  or  "government"  of  the  name.  Here  I  left  the 
steamer  and  prepared  to  make  a  journey  into  the  eastern  hin- 
terland. 

Samara  is  a  new  town,  a  child  of  the  last  century.  At  the  time 
of  my  first  visit,  now  thirty  years  ago,  it  recalled  by  its  unfinished 
appearance  the  new  towns  of  America.  Many  of  the  houses  were  of 
wood.  The  streets  were  still  in  such  a  primitive  condition  that  after 
rain  they  were  almost  impassable  from  mud,  and  in  dry,  gusty 
weather  they  generated  thick  clouds  of  blinding,  suffocating  dust. 
Before  I  had  been  many  days  in  the  place  I  witnessed  a  dust-hurri- 
cane, during  which  it  was  impossible  at  certain  moments  to  see 
from  my  window  the  houses  on  the  other  side  of  the  street.  Amidst 
such  primitive  surroundings  the  colossal  new  church  seemed  a  little 
out  of  keeping,  and  it  occurred  to  my  practical  British  mind  that 
some  of  the  money  expended  on  its  construction  might  have  been 
more  profitably  employed.    But  the  Kussians  have  their  own  ideas 

177 


178  EUSSIA 

of  the  fitness  of  things.  Religious  after  their  own  fashion,  they 
subscribe  money  liberally  for  ecclesiastical  purposes — especially  for 
the  building  and  decoration  of  their  churches.  Besides  this,  the 
Government  considers  that  every  chief  town  of  a  province  should 
possess  a  cathedral. 

In  its  early  days  Samara  was  one  of  the  outposts  of  Eussian 
colonisation,  and  had  often  to  take  precautions  against  the  raids 
of  the  nomadic  tribes  living  in  the  vicinity;  but  the  agricultural 
frontier  has  since  been  pushed  far  forward  to  the  east  and  south, 
and  the  province  was  until  lately,  despite  occasional  droughts,  one 
of  the  most  productive  in  the  Empire.  The  town  is  the  chief  mar- 
ket of  this  region,  and  therein  lies  its  importance.  The  grain  is 
brought  by  the  peasants  from  great  distances,  and  stored  in  large 
granaries  by  the  merchants,  who  send  it  to  Moscow  or  St.  Peters- 
burg. In  former  days  this  was  a  very  tedious  operation.  The  boats 
containing  the  grain  were  towed  by  horses  or  stout  peasants  up  the 
rivers  and  through  the  canals  for  hundreds  of  miles.  Then  came 
the  period  of  "cdbestans" — unwieldly  machines  propelled  by 
means  of  anchors  and  windlasses.  Now  these  primitive  methods 
of  transport  have  disappeared.  The  grain  is  either  despatched  by 
rail  or  put  into  gigantic  barges,  which  are  towed  up  the  river  by 
powerful  tug-steamers  to  some  point  connected  with  the  great 
network  of  railways. 

When  the  traveller  has  visited  the  Cathedral  and  the  granaries 
he  has  seen  all  the  lions — ^not  very  formidable  lions,  truly — of 
the  place.  He  may  then  inspect  the  kumyss  establishments, 
pleasantly  situated  near  the  town.  He  will  find  there  a  consider- 
able number  of  patients — mostly  consumptive — who  drink  enorm.ous 
quantities  of  fermented  mare's-milk,  and  who  declare  that  they 
receive  great  benefit  from  this  modern  health-restorer. 

What  interested  me  more  than  the  lions  of  the  town  or  the 
suburban  kumyss  establishments  were  the  oflBces  of  the  local  ad- 
ministration, where  I  found  in  the  archives  much  statistical  and 
other  information  of  the  kind  I  was  in  search  of,  regarding  the 
economic  condition  of  the  province  generally,  and  of  the  emanci- 
pated peasantry  in  particular.  Having  filled  my  note-book  with 
material  of  this  sort,  I  proceeded  to  verify  and  complete  it  by  visit- 
ing some  characteristic  villages  and  questioning  the  inliabitants. 
For  the  student  of  Eussian  affairs  who  wishes  to  arrive  at  real,  as 
distinguished  from  official,  truth,  this  is  not  an  altogether  super- 
fluous operation. 

When  I  had  thus  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  sedentary  agricul- 


THE    TASTORAL   TEIBES    OF   THE    STEPPE        179 

tural  population  in  several  districts  I  journeyed  eastwards  with  the 
intention  of  visiting  the  Bashkirs,  a  Tartar  tribe  which  still  pre- 
served— so  at  least  I  was  assured — its  old  nomadic  habits.  My 
reasons  for  undertaking  this  journey  were  twofold.  In  the  first 
place  I  was  desirous  of  seeing  with  my  own  eyes  some  remnants  of 
those  terrible  nomadic  tribes  which  had  at  one  time  conquered 
Russia  and  long  threatened  to  overrun  Europe — those  Tartar 
hordes  which  gained,  by  their  irresistible  force  and  relentless 
cruelty,  the  reputation  of  being  "  the  scourge  of  God."  Besides 
this,  I  had  long  wished  to  study  the  conditions  of  pastoral  life, 
and  congratulated  myself  on  having  found  a  convenient  opportunity 
of  doing  so. 

As  I  proceeded  eastwards  I  noticed  a  change  in  the  appearance 
of  the  villages.  The  ordinary  wooden  houses,  with  their  high 
sloping  roofs,  gradually  gave  place  to  fiat-roofed  huts,  built  of  a 
peculiar  kind  of  unburnt  bricks,  composed  of  mud  and  straw.  I 
noticed,  too,  that  the  population  became  less  and  less  dense,  and 
the  amount  of  fallow  land  proportionately  greater.  The  peasants 
were  evidently  richer  than  those  near  the  Volga,  but  they  com- 
plained— as  the  Russian  peasant  always  does — that  they  had  not 
land  enough.  In  answer  to  my  inquiries  why  they  did  not  use  the 
thousands  of  acres  that  were  lying  fallow  around  them,  they  ex- 
plained that  they  had  already  raised  crops  on  that  land  for  several 
successive  years,  and  that  consequently  they  must  now  allow  it  to 
"  rest." 

In  one  of  the  villages  through  which  I  passed  I  met  with  a  very 
characteristic  little  incident.  The  village  was  called  Samovolnaya 
Ivanof ka — that  is  to  say,  "  Ivanofka  the  Self-willed  "  or  "  the  Non- 
authorised."  Whilst  our  horses  were  being  changed  my  travelling 
companion,  in  the  course  of  conversation  with  a  group  of  peasants, 
inquired  about  the  origin  of  this  extraordinary  name,  and  discovered 
a  curious  bit  of  local  history.  The  founders  of  the  village  had 
settled  on  the  land  without  the  permission  of  the  absentee  owner, 
and  obstinately  resisted  all  attempts  at  eviction.  Again  and  again 
troops  had  been  sent  to  drive  them  away,  but  as  soon  as  the  troops 
retired  these  "  self-willed  "  people  returned  and  resumed  possession, 
till  at  last  the  proprietor,  who  lived  in  St.  Petersburg  or  some  other 
distant  place,  became  weary  of  the  contest  and  allowed  them  to 
remain.  The  various  incidents  were  related  with  much  circum- 
stantial detail,  so  that  the  narration  lasted  perhaps  half  an  hour. 
All  this  time  I  listened  attentively,  and  when  the  story  was  finished 
I  took  out  my  note-book  in  order  to  jot  down  the  facts,  and  asked  in 


180  EUSSIA 

what  year  the  affair  had  happened.  No  answer  was  given  to  my 
question.  The  peasants  merely  looked  at  each  other  in  a  significant 
way  and  kept  silence.  Thinking  that  my  question  had  not  been 
understood,  I  asked  it  a  second  time,  repeating  a  part  of  what  had 
been  related.  To  my  astonishment  and  utter  discomfiture  they  all 
declared  that  they  had  never  related  anything  of  the  sort!  In 
despair  I  appealed  to  my  friend,  and  asked  him  whether  my  ears  had 
deceived  me — whether  I  was  labouring  under  some  strange  hal- 
lucination. Without  giving  me  any  reply  he  simply  smiled  and 
turned  away. 

WTien  we  had  left  the  village  and  were  driving  along  in  our 
tarantass  the  mystery  was  satisfactorily  cleared  up.  My  friend 
explained  to  me  that  I  had  not  at  all  misunderstood  what  had  been 
related,  but  that  my  abrupt  question  and  the  sight  of  my  note-book 
had  suddenly  aroused  the  peasants'  suspicions.  "  THey  evidently 
suspected,"  he  continued,  "  that  you  were  a  tcliinovnih,  and  that  you 
wished  to  use  to  their  detriment  the  knowledge  you  had  acquired. 
They  thought  it  safer,  therefore,  at  once  to  deny  it  all.  You  don't 
yet  understand  the  Eussian  muzhik !  " 

In  this  last  remark  I  was  obliged  to  concur,  but  since  that  time 
I  have  come  to  know  the  muzhik  better,  and  an  incident  of  the  kind 
would  now  no  longer  surprise  me.  From  a  long  series  of  observa- 
tions I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  great  majority  of  the 
Eussian  peasants,  when  dealing  with  the  authorities,  consider  the 
most  patent  and  barefaced  falsehoods  as  a  fair  means  of  self-defence. 
Thus,  for  example,  when  a  muzhik  is  implicated  in  a  criminal  affair, 
and  a  preliminary  investigation  is  being  made,  he  probably  begins 
by  constructing  an  elaborate  story  to  explain  the  facts  and  exculpate 
himself.  The  story  may  be  a  tissue  of  self-evident  falsehoods  from 
beginning  to  end,  but  he  defends  it  valiantly  as  long  as  possible. 
When  he  perceives  that  the  position  which  he  has  taken  up  is  utterly 
untenable,  he  declares  openly  that  all  he  has  said  is  false,  and  that 
he  wishes  to  make  a  new  declaration.  This  second  declaration  may 
have  the  same  fate  as  the  former  one,  and  then  he  proposes  a  third. 
Thus  groping  his  way,  he  tries  various  stories  till  he  finds  one  that 
seems  proof  against  all  objections.  In  the  fact  of  his  thus  telling 
lies  there  is  of  course  nothing  remarkable,  for  criminals  in  all  parts 
of  the  world  have  a  tendency  to  deviate  from  the  truth  when  they 
fall  into  the  hands  of  justice.  The  peculiarity  is  that  he  retracts 
his  statements  with  the  composed  air  of  a  chess-player  who  requests 
his  opponent  to  let  him  take  back  an  inadvertent  move.  Under  the 
old  system  of  procedure,  which  was  abolished  in  the  sixties,  clever 


THE    PASTOEAL    TRIBES    OF    THE    STEPPE        181 

criminals  often  contrived  by  means  of  this  simple  device  to  have 
their  trial  post])one(l  for  many  years. 

Such  incidents  naturally  astonish  a  foreigner,  and  he  is  apt,  in 
consequence,  to  pass  a  very  severe  judgment  on  the  Russian  peas- 
antry in  general.  The  reader  may  remember  Karl  Karl'itch's  re- 
marks on  the  subject.  These  remarks  I  have  heard  repeated  in 
various  forms  by  Germans  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  there 
must  be  a  certain  amount  of  truth  in  them,  for  even  an  eminent 
Slavophil  once  publicly  admitted  that  the  peasant  is  prone  to  per- 
jury.* It  is  necessary,  however,  as  it  seems  to  me,  to  draw  a  dis- 
tinction. In  the  ordinary  intercourse  of  peasants  among  them- 
selves, or  with  people  in  whom  they  have  confidence,  I  do  not  believe 
that  the  habit  of  lying  is  abnormally  developed.  It  is  only  when 
the  muzhik  comes  in  contact  with  authorities  that  he  shows  himself 
an  expert  fabricator  of  falsehoods.  In  this  there  is  nothing  that 
need  surprise  us.  For  ages  the  peasantry  were  exposed  to  the 
arbitrary  power  and  ruthless  exactions  of  those  who  were  placed  over 
them;  and  as  the  law  gave  them  no  means  of  legally  protecting 
themselves,  their  only  means  of  self-defence  lay  in  cunning  and 
deceit. 

We  have  here,  I  believe,  the  true  explanation  of  that  "  Oriental 
mendacity  "  about  which  Eastern  travellers  have  written  so  much. 
It  is  simply  the  result  of  a  lawless  state  of  society.  Suppose  a 
truth-loving  Englishman  falls  into  the  hands  of  brigands  or  savages. 
Will  he  not,  if  he  have  merely  an  ordinary  moral  character,  consider 
himself  justified  in  inventing  a  few  falsehoods  in  order  to  effect  his 
escape?  If  so,  we  have  no  right  to  condemn  very  severely  the 
hereditary  mendacity  of  those  races  which  have  lived  for  many 
generations  in  a  position  analogous  to  that  of  the  supposed  English- 
man among  brigands.  When  legitimate  interests  cannot  be  pro- 
tected by  truthfulness  and  honesty,  prudent  people  always  learn  to 
employ  means  which  experience  has  proved  to  be  more  effectual.  In 
a  country  where  the  law  does  not  afford  protection,  the  strong  man 
defends  himself  by  his  strength,  the  weak  by  cunning  and  duplicity. 
This  fully  explains  the  fact  that  in  Turkey  the  Christians  are  less 
truthful  than  the  Mahometans. 

But  we  have  wandered  a  long  way  from  the  road  to  Bashkiria. 
Let  us  therefore  return  at  once. 

Of  all  the  journeys  which  I  made  in  Russia  this  was  one  of  the 
most  agreeable.  The  weather  was  bright  and  warm,  without  being 
unpleasantly  hot;  the  roads  were  tolerably  smooth;  the  tarantass, 
*  Kireyefski,  in  the  Riisskaya  Beseda. 


182  KUSSIA 

which  had  been  hired  for  the  whole  Journey,  was  nearly  as  com- 
fortable as  a  tarantass  can  be;  good  milk,  eggs,  and  white  bread 
could  be  obtained  in  abundance;  there  was  not  much  difficulty  in 
procuring  horses  in  the  villages  through  which  we  passed,  and  the 
owners  of  them  were  not  very  extortionate  in  their  demands.  But 
what  most  contributed  to  my  comfort  was  that  I  was  accompanied 
by  an  agreeable,  intelligent  young  Russian,  who  kindly  undertook 
to  make  all  the  necessary  arrangements,  and  I  was  thereby  freed 
from  those  anno-yances  and  worries  which  are  always  encountered 
in  primitive  countries  where  travelling  is  not  yet  a  recognised 
institution.  To  him  I  left  the  entire  control  of  our  movements, 
passively  acquiescing  in  everything,  and  asking  no  questions  as  to 
w^hat  was  coming.  Taking  advantage  of  my  passivity,  he  prepared 
for  me  one  evening  a  pleasant  little  surprise. 

About  sunset  we  had  left  a  village  called  Morsha,  and  shortly 
afterwards,  feeling  drowsy,  and  being  warned  by  my  companion 
that  we  should  have  a  long,  uninteresting  drive,  I  had  lain  down 
in  the  tarantass  and  gone  to  sleep.  On  awaking  I  found  that  the 
tarantass  had  stopped,  and  that  the  stars  were  shining  brightly 
overhead.  A  big  dog  was  barking  furiously  close  at  hand,  and  I 
heard  the  voice  of  the  yamstchik  informing  us  that  we  had  arrived. 
I  at  once  sat  up  and  looked  about  me,  expecting  to  see  a  village 
of  some  kind,  but  instead  of  that  I  perceived  a  wide  open  space, 
and  at  a  short  distance  a  group  of  haystacks.  Close  to  the  taran- 
tass stood  two  figures  in  long  cloaks,  armed  with  big  sticks,  and 
speaking  to  each  other  in  an  unknown  tongue.  My  first  idea  was 
that  we  had  been  somehow  led  into  a  trap,  so  I  drew  my  revolver 
in  order  to  be  ready  for  all  emergencies.  My  companion  was  still 
snoring  loudly  by  my  side,  and  stoutly  resisted  all  my  efforts  to 
awaken  him. 

"  What's  this?  "  I  said,  in  a  gruff,  angry  voice,  to  the  yamstchik. 
"  Where  have  you  taken  us  to  ?  " 
"  To  where  I  was  ordered,  master !  " 

For  the  purpose  of  getting  a  more  satisfactory  explanation  I 
took  to  shaking  my  sleepy  companion,  but  before  he  had  returned 
to  consciousness  the  moon  shone  out  brightly  from  behind  a  thick 
bank  of  clouds,  and  cleared  up  the  mystery.  The  supposed  hay- 
stacks turned  out  to  be  tents.  The  two  figures  with  long  sticks, 
whom  I  had  suspected  of  being  brigands,  were  peaceable  shep- 
herds, dressed  in  the  ordinary  Oriental  klialdt,  and  tending  their 
sheep,  which  were  grazing  close  by.  Instead  of  being  in  an  empty 
hay-field,  as  I  had  imagined,  we  had  before  us  a  regular  Tartar 


THE    PASTORAL    TEIBES    OF    THE    STEPPE        183 

aoul,  such  as  I  had  often  read  about.  For  a  moment  I  felt  aston- 
ished and  bewildered.  It  seemed  to  me  that  I  had  fallen  asleep 
in  Europe  and  woke  up  in  Asia ! 

In  a  few  minutes  we  were  comfortably  installed  in  one  of  the 
tents,  a  circular,  cupola-shaped  erection,  of  about  twelve  feet  in 
diameter,  composed  of  a  frame-work  of  light  wooden  rods  covered 
with  thick  felt.  It  contained  no  furniture,  except  a  goodly  quan- 
tity of  carpets  and  pillows,  which  had  been  formed  into  a  bed  for 
our  accommodation.  Our  amiable  host,  who  was  evidently  some- 
what astonished  at  our  unexpected  visit,  but  refrained  from  asking 
questions,  soon  bade  us  good-night  and  retired.  We  were  not, 
however,  left  alone.  A  large  number  of  black  beetles  remained 
and  gave  us  a  welcome  in  their  own  peculiar  fashion.  Whether 
they  were  provided  with  wings,  or  made  up  for  the  want  of  flying 
appliances  by  crawling  up  the  sides  of  the  tent  and  dropping  down 
on  any  object  they  wished  to  reach,  I  did  not  discover,  but  certain 
it  is  that  they  somehow  reached  our  heads — even  when  we  were 
standing  upright — and  clung  to  our  hair  with  wonderful  tenacity. 
Why  they  should  show  such  a  marked  preference  for  human  hair 
we  could  not  conjecture,  till  it  occurred  to  us  that  the  natives 
habitually  shaved  their  heads,  and  that  these  beetles  must  natur- 
ally consider  a  hair-covered  cranium  a  curious  novelty  deserving 
of  careful  examination.  Like  all  children  of  nature  they  were 
decidedly  indiscreet  and  troublesome  in  their  curiosity,  but  when 
the  light  was  extinguished  they  took  the  hint  and  departed. 

When  we  awoke  next  morning  it  was  broad  daylight,  and  we 
found  a  crowd  of  natives  in  front  of  the  tent.  Our  arrival  was 
evidently  regarded  as  an  important  event,  and  all  the  inhabitants 
of  the  aoul  were  anxious  to  make  our  acquaintance.  First  our  host 
came  forward.  He  was  a  short,  slimly-built  man,  of  middle  age, 
with  a  grave,  severe  expression,  indicating  an  unsociable  disposi- 
tion. We  afterwards  learned  that  he  was  an  al-hun* — that  is  to 
say,  a  minor  officer  of  the  ]\Iahometan  ecclesiastical  administra- 
tion, and  at  the  same  time  a  small  trader  in  silken  and  woollen 
stuffs.  With  him  came  the  mullah,  or  priest,  a  portly  old  gentle- 
man with  an  open,  honest  face  of  the  European  type,  and  a  fine 
grey  beard.  The  other  important  members  of  the  little  commu- 
nity followed.  They  were  all  swarthy  in  colour,  and  had  the  small 
eyes  and  prominent  cheek-bones  which  are  characteristic  of  the 

*  I  presume  this  is  the  same  word  as  akhund.  well  known  on  the 
Northwest  frontier  of  India,  where  it  was  applied  specially  to  the 
late  ruler  of  Svat. 


18^  EUSSIA 

Tartar  races,  but  they  had  little  of  that  flatness  of  eouiitenance  and 
peculiar  ugliness  which  distinguish  the  pure  Mongol.  All  of  them, 
■svith  the  exception  of  the  mullah,  spoke  a  little  Russian,  and  used 
it  to  assure  us  that  we  were  welcome.  The  children  remained 
respectfully  in  the  background,  and  the  women,  with  faces  veiled, 
eyed  us  furtively  from  the  doors  of  the  tents. 

The  aoul  consisted  of  about  twenty  tents,  all  constructed  on  the 
same  model,  and  scattered  about  in  sporadic  fashion,  without  the 
least  regard  to  symmetry.  Close  by  was  a  watercourse,  which 
appears  on  some  maps  as  a  river,  under  the  name  of  Karalyk,  but 
which  was  at  that  time  merely  a  succession  of  pools  containing  a 
dark-coloured  liquid.  As  we  more  than  suspected  that  these  pools 
supplied  the  inhabitants  with  water  for  culinary  purposes,  the 
sight  was  not  calculated  to  whet  our  appetites.  We  turned  away 
therefore  hurriedly,  and  for  want  of  something  better  to  do  we 
watched  the  preparations  for  dinner.  These  were  decidedly  primi- 
tive. A  sheep  was  brought  near  the  door  of  our  tent,  and  there 
killed,  skinned,  cut  up  into  pieces,  and  put  into  an  immense  pot, 
under  which  a  fire  had  been  kindled. 

The  dinner  itself  was  not  less  primitive  than  the  manner  of  pre- 
paring it.  The  table  consisted  of  a  large  napkin  spread  in  the 
middle  of  the  tent,  and  the  chairs  were  represented  by  cushions, 
on  which  we  sat  cross-legged.  There  were  no  plates,  knives,  forks, 
spoons,  or  chopsticks.  Guests  were  expected  all  to  eat  out  of  a 
common  wooden  bowl,  and  to  use  the  instruments  with  which 
Nature  had  provided  them.  The  service  was  performed  by  the 
host  and  his  son.  The  fare  was  copious,  but  not  varied — consist- 
ing entirely  of  boiled  mutton,  without  bread  or  other  substitute, 
and  a  little  salted  horse-flesh  throvra  in  as  an  entree. 

To  eat  out  of  the  same  dish  with  half-a-dozen  Mahometans  who 
accept  their  Prophet's  injunction  about  ablutions  in  a  highly  figur- 
ative sense,  and  who  are  totally  unacquainted  with  the  use  of 
forks  and  spoons,  is  not  an  agreeable  operation,  even  if  one  is  not 
much  troubled  with  religious  prejudices;  but  with  these  Bashkirs 
something  worse  than  this  has  to  be  encountered,  for  their  favour- 
ite method  of  expressing  their  esteem  and  affection  for  one  with 
whom  they  are  eating  consists  in  putting  bits  of  mutton,  and  some- 
times even  handfuls  of  hashed  meat,  into  his  mouth!  When  I 
discovered  this  unexpected  peculiarity  in  Bashkir  manners  and 
customs,  I  almost  regretted  that  I  had  made  a  favourable  impres- 
sion upon  my  new  acquaintances. 

When  the  sheep  had  been  devoured,  partly  by  the  company  in 


THE    PASTORAL   TRIBES    OF   THE    STEPPE        185 

the  tent  and  partly  by  a  nondescript  company  outside — for  the 
whole  aoiil  took  part  in  the  festivities — Jcumyss  was  served  in  un- 
limited quantities.  This  beverage,  as  I  have  already  explained,  is 
mare's  milk  fermented;  but  what  here  passed  under  the  name  was 
very  different  from  the  Jcumyss  I  had  tasted  in  the  etahlissements 
of  Samara.  There  it  was  a  pleasant  effervescing  drink,  with  only 
the  slightest  tinge  of  acidity;  here  it  was  a  "  still"  liquid,  strongly 
resembling  very  thin  and  very  sour  butter-milk.  My  Russian 
friend  made  a  wry  face  on  first  tasting  it,  and  I  felt  inclined 
at  first  to  do  likewise,  but  noticing  that  his  grimaces  made  an  un- 
favourable impression  on  the  audience,  I  restrained  my  facial 
muscles,  and  looked  as  if  I  liked  it.  Very  soon  I  really  came  to 
like  it,  and  learned  to  "  drink  fair  "  with  those  who  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  it  from  their  childhood.  By  this  feat  I  rose  considerably 
in  the  estimation  of  the  natives;  for  if  one  does  not  drink  kumyss 
one  cannot  be  sociable  in  the  Bashkir  sense  of  the  term,  and  by 
acquiring  the  habit  one  adopts  an  essential  principle  of  Bashkir 
nationality.  I  should  certainly  have  preferred  having  a  cup  of  it 
to  myself,  but  I  thought  it  well  to  conform  to  the  habits  of  the 
country,  and  to  accept  the  big  wooden  bowl  when  it  was  passed 
round.  In  return  my  friends  made  an  important  concession  in 
my  favour:  they  allowed  me  to  smoke  as  I  pleased,  though  they 
considered  that,  as  the  Prophet  had  refrained  from  tobacco,  ordi- 
nary mortals  should  do  the  same. 

Whilst  the  "  loving-cup "  was  going  round  I  distributed  some 
small  presents  which  I  had  brought  for  the  purpose,  and  then  pro- 
ceeded to  explain  the  object  of  my  visit.  In  the  distant  country 
from  which  I  came — far  away  to  the  westward — I  had  heard  of 
the  Bashkirs  as  a  people  possessing  many  strange  customs,  but 
very  kind  and  hospitable  to  strangers.  Of  their  kindness  and 
hospitality  I  had  already  learned  something  by  experience,  and  I 
hoped  they  would  allow  me  to  learn  something  of  their  mode  of 
life,  their  customs,  their  songs,  their  history,  and  their  religion, 
in  all  of  which  I  assured  them  my  distant  countrymen  took  a  lively 
interest. 

This  little  after-dinner  speech  was  perhaps  not  quite  in  accord- 
ance with  Bashkir  etiquette,  but  it  made  a  favourable  impression. 
There  was  a  decided  murmur  of  approbation,  and  those  who  un- 
derstood Russian  translated  my  w^ords  to  their  less  accomplished 
brethren.  A  short  consultation  ensued,  and  then  there  was  a  gen- 
eral shout  of  "  Abdullah !  Abdullah ! "  which  was  taken  up  and 
repeated  by  those  standing  outside. 


186  EUSSIA 

In  a  few  minutes  Abdullah  appeared,  with  a  big,  half-picked 
bone  in  his  hand,  and  the  lower  part  of  his  face  besmeared  with 
grease.  He  was  a  short,  thin  man,  with  a  dark,  sallow  complex- 
ion, and  a  look  of  premature  old  age;  but  the  suppressed  smile 
that  played  about  his  mouth  and  a  tremulous  movement  of  his 
right  eye-lid  showed  plainly  that  he  had  not  yet  forgotten  the 
fun  and  frolic  of  youth.  His  dress  was  of  richer  and  more  gaudy 
material,  but  at  the  same  time  more  tawdry  and  tattered,  than  that 
of  the  others.  Altogether  he  looked  like  an  artiste  in  distressed 
circumstances,  and  such  he  really  was.  At  a  word  and  a  sign  from 
the  host  he  laid  aside  his  bone  and  drew  from  under  his  green  silk 
Maldt  a  small  wind-instrument  resembling  a  flute  or  flageolet. 
On  this  he  played  a  number  of  native  airs.  The  first  melodies 
which  he  played  reminded  me  of  a  Highland  pibroch — at  one 
moment  low,  solemn,  and  plaintive,  then  gradually  rising  into  a 
soul-stirring,  martial  strain,  and  again  descending  to  a  plaintive 
wail.  The  amount  of  expression  which  he  put  into  his  simple 
instrument  was  truly  marvellous.  Then,  passing  suddenly  from 
grave  to  gay,  he  played  a  series  of  light,  merry  airs,  and  some  of 
the  younger  onlookers  got  up  and  performed  a  dance  as  boisterous 
and  ungraceful  as  an  Irish  jig. 

This  Abdullah  turned  out  to  be  for  me  a  most  valuable  ac- 
quaintance. He  was  a  kind  of  Bashkir  troubadour,  well  acquainted 
not  only  with  the  music,  but  also  with  the  traditions,  the  history, 
the  superstitions,  and  the  folk-lore  of  his  people.  By  the  al-hun 
and  the  mullah  he  was  regarded  as  a  frivolous,  worthless  fellow, 
who  had  no  regular,  respectable  means  of  gaining  a  livelihood, 
but  among  the  men  of  less  rigid  principles  he  was  a  general  favour- 
ite. As  he  spoke  Eussian  fluently  I  could  converse  with  him  freely 
without  the  aid  of  an  interpreter,  and  he  willingly  placed  his  store 
of  knowledge  at  my  disposal.  When  in  the  company  of  the  aJcJiun 
he  was  always  solemn  and  taciturn,  but  as  soon  as  he  was  relieved 
of  that  dignitary's  presence  he  became  lively  and  communicative. 

Another  of  my  new  acquaintances  was  equally  useful  to  me  in 
another  way.  This  was  Mehemet  Zian,  who  was  not  so  intelligent 
as  Abdullah,  but  much  more  sympathetic.  In  his  open,  honest 
face,  and  kindly,  unaffected  manner  there  was  something  so  irre- 
sistibly attractive  that  before  I  had  known  him  twenty-four  hours 
a  sort  of  friendship  had  sprung  up  between  us.  He  was  a  tall, 
muscular,  broad-shouldered  man,  with  features  that  suggested  a 
mixture  of  European  blood.  Though  already  past  middle  age,  he 
was  still  wiry  and  active — so  active  that  he  could,  when  on  horse- 


THE    PASTORAL    TRIBES    OF    THE    STEPPE        187 

back,  pick  a  stone  off  the  ground  without  dismounting.  He  could, 
however,  no  longer  perform  this  feat  at  full  gallop,  as  he  had  been 
wont  to  do  in  his  youth.  His  geographical  knowledge  was  ex- 
tremely limited  and  inaccurate — his  mind  being  in  this  respect  like 
those  old  Russian  maps  in  which  the  nations  of  the  earth  and  a 
good  many  peoples  who  had  never  more  than  a  mythical  existence 
are  jumbled  together  in  hopeless  confusion — but  his  geographical 
curiosity  was  insatiable.  My  travelling-map — the  first  thing  of 
the  kind  he  had  ever  seen — interested  him  deeply.  When  he  found 
that  by  simply  examining  it  and  glancing  at  my  compass  I  could 
tell  him  the  direction  and  distance  of  places  he  knew,  his  face  was 
like  that  of  a  child  who  sees  for  the  first  time  a  conjuror's  perform- 
ance; and  when  I  explained  the  trick  to  him,  and  taught  him  to 
calculate  the  distance  to  Bokhara — the  sacred  city  of  the  Mussul- 
mans of  that  region — his  delight  was  unbounded.  Gradually  I 
perceived  that  to  possess  such  a  map  had  become  the  great  object 
of  his  ambition.  Unfortunately  I  could  not  at  once  gratify  him 
as  I  should  have  wished,  because  I  had  a  long  journey  before  me 
and  I  had  no  other  map  of  the  region,  but  I  promised  to  find  ways 
and  means  of  sending  him  one,  and  I  kept  my  word  by  means  of 
a  native  of  the  Karalyk  district  whom  I  discovered  in  Samara.  I 
did  not  add  a  compass  because  I  could  not  find  one  in  the  town, 
and  it  would  have  been  of  little  use  to  him:  like  a  true  child  of 
nature  he  always  knew  the  cardinal  points  by  the  sun  or  the  stars. 
Some  years  later  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  learning  that  the  map 
had  reached  its  destination  safely,  through  no  less  a  personage 
than  Count  Tolstoy.  One  evening  at  the  home  of  a  friend  in 
Moscow  I  was  presented  to  the  great  novelist,  and  as  soon  as  he 
heard  my  name  he  said :  "  Oh  !  I  know  you  already,  and  I  know  your 
friend  Mehemet  Zian.  When  I  passed  a  night  this  summer  in  his 
aoul  he  showed  me  a  map  with  your  signature  on  the  margin,  and 
taught  me  how  to  calculate  the  distance  to  Bokhara ! " 

If  Mehemet  knew  little  of  foreign  countries  he  was  thoroughly 
well  acquainted  with  his  own,  and  repaid  me  most  liberally  for  my 
elementary  lessons  in  geography.  With  him  I  visited  the  neigh- 
bouring aouls.  In  all  of  them  he  had  numerous  acquaintances, 
and  everywhere  we  were  received  with  the  greatest  hospitality, 
except  on  one  occasion  when  we  paid  a  visit  of  ceremony  to  a 
famous  robber  who  was  the  terror  of  the  whole  neighbourhood. 
Certainly  he  was  one  of  the  most  brutalised  specimens  of  humanity 
I  have  ever  encountered.  He  made  no  attempt  to  be  amiable,  and 
I  felt  inclined  to  leave  his  tent  at  once;  but  I  saw  that  my  friend 


188  EUSSIA 

wanted  to  conciliate  him,  so  I  restrained  my  feelings  and  eventu- 
ally established  tolerably  good  relations  with  him.  As  a  rule  I 
avoided  festivities,  partly  because  I  knew  that  my  hosts  were 
mostly  poor  and  would  not  accept  pa}Tnent  for  the  slaughtered 
sheep,  and  partly  because  I  had  reason  to  apprehend  that  they 
would  express  to  me  their  esteem  and  affection  more  BashTcirico; 
but  in  kumyss-drinking,  the  ordinary  occupation  of  these  people 
when  they  have  nothing  to  do,  I  had  to  indulge  to  a  most  inordinate 
extent.  On  these  expeditions  Abdullah  generally  accompanied 
us,  and  rendered  valuable  service  as  interpreter  and  troubadour. 
Mehemet  could  express  himself  in  Eussian,  but  his  vocabulary 
failed  him  as  soon  as  the  conversation  ran  above  very  ordinary 
topics;  Abdullah,  on  the  contrary,  was  a  first-rate  interpreter,  and 
under  the  influence  of  his  musical  pipe  and  lively  talkativeness  new 
acquaintances  became  sociable  and  communicative.  Poor  Abdul- 
lah! He  was  a  kind  of  universal  genius;  but  his  faded,  tattered 
l-lialdt  showed  only  too  plainly  that  in  Bashkiria,  as  in  more  civil- 
ised countries,  universal  genius  and  the  artistic  temperament  lead 
to  poverty  rather  than  to  wealth. 

I  have  no  intention  of  troubling  the  reader  with  the  miscella- 
neous facts  which,  with  the  assistance  of  these  two  friends,  I  suc- 
ceeded in  collecting — indeed,  I  could  not  if  I  would,  for  the  notes 
I  then  made  were  afterwards  lost — but  I  wish  to  say  a  few  words 
about  the  actual  economic  condition  of  the  Bashkirs.  They  are  at 
present  passing  from  pastoral  to  agricultural  life;  and  it  is  not  a 
little  interesting  to  note  the  causes  which  induce  them  to  make 
this  change,  and  the  way  in  which  it  is  made. 

Philosophers  have  long  held  a  theory  of  social  development  ac- 
cording to  which  men  were  at  first  hunters,  then  shepherds,  and 
lastly  agriculturists.  How  far  this  theory  is  in  accordance  with 
reality  we  need  not  for  the  present  inquire,  but  we  may  examine  an 
important  part  of  it  and  ask  ourselves  the  question.  Why  did  pas- 
toral tribes  adopt  agriculture?  The  common  explanation  is  that 
they  changed  their  mode  of  life  in  consequence  of  some  ill-defined, 
fortuitous  circumstances.  A  great  legislator  arose  amongst  them 
and  taught  them  to  till  the  soil,  or  they  came  in  contact  with  an 
agricultural  race  and  adopted  the  customs  of  their  neighbours. 
Such  explanations  must  appear  unsatisfactory  to  any  one  who  has 
lived  with  a  pastoral  people.  Pastoral  life  is  so  incomparably  more 
agreeable  than  the  hard  lot  of  the  agriculturist,  and  so  much  more 
in  accordance  with  the  natural  indolence  of  human  nature,  that 
no  great  legislator,  though  he  had  the  wisdom  of  a  Solon  and  the 


THE    PASTORAL   TRIBES    OF    THE    STEPPE        189 

eloquence  of  a  Demosthenes,  could  possibly  induce  his  fellow-coun- 
trymen to  pass  voluntarily  from  the  one  to  the  other.  Of  all  the 
ordinary  means  of  gaining  a  livelihood — with  the  exception  per- 
haps of  mining — agriculture  is  the  most  laborious,  and  is  never 
voluntarily  adopted  by  men  who  have  not  been  accustomed  to  it 
from  their  childhood.  The  life  of  a  pastoral  race,  on  the  contrary, 
is  a  perennial  holiday,  and  I  can  imagine  nothing  except  the  pros- 
pect of  starvation  which  could  induce  men  who  live  by  their  flocks 
and  herds  to  make  the  transition  to  agricultural  life. 

The  prospect  of  starvation  is,  in  fact,  the  cause  of  the  transition 
— probably  in  all  cases,  and  certainly  in  the  case  of  the  Bashkirs. 
So  long  as  they  had  abundance  of  pasturage  they  never  thought  of 
tilling  the  soil.  Their  flocks  and  herds  supplied  them  with  all 
that  they  required,  and  enabled  them  to  lead  a  tranquil,  indolent 
existence.  No  great  legislator  arose  among  them  to  teach  them 
the  use  of  the  plough  and  the  sickle,  and  when  they  saw  the  Rus- 
sian peasants  on  their  borders  laboriously  ploughing  and  reaping, 
they  looked  on  them  with  compassion,  and  never  thought  of  fol- 
lowing their  example.  But  an  impersonal  legislator  came  to  them 
— a  very  severe  and  tyrannical  legislator,  who  would  not  brook  dis- 
obedience— I  mean  Economic  Necessity.  By  the  encroachments 
of  the  Ural  Cossacks  on  the  east,  and  by  the  ever-advancing  wave 
of  Russian  colonisation  from  the  north  and  west,  their  territory 
had  been  greatly  diminished.  With  diminution  of  the  pasturage 
came  diminution  of  the  live  stock,  their  sole  means  of  subsistence. 
In  spite  of  their  passively  conservative  spirit  they  had  to  look 
about  for  some  new  means  of  obtaining  food  and  clothing — some 
new  mode  of  life  requiring  less  extensive  territorial  possessions. 
It  was  only  then  that  they  began  to  think  of  imitating  their  neigh- 
bours. They  saw  that  the  neighbouring  Russian  peasant  lived 
comfortably  on  thirty  or  forty  acres  of  land,  whilst  they  possessed 
a  hundred  and  fifty  acres  per  male,  and  were  in  danger  of  star- 
vation. 

The  conclusion  to  be  drawn  from  this  was  self-evident — they 
ought  at  once  to  begin  ploughing  and  sowing.  But  there  was  a 
very  serious  obstacle  to  the  putting  of  this  principle  in  practice. 
Agriculture  certainly  requires  less  land  than  sheep-farming,  but 
it  requires  very  much  more  labour,  and  to  hard  work  the  Bashkirs 
were  not  accustomed.  They  could  bear  hardships  and  fatigues 
in  the  shape  of  long  journeys  on  horseback,  but  the  severe,  monoto- 
nous labour  of  the  plough  and  the  sickle  was  not  to  their  taste. 
At  first,  therefore,  they  adopted  a  compromise.    They  had  a  por- 


190  EUSSIA 

tion  of  their  land  tilled  by  Eussian  peasants,  and  ceded  to  these  a 
part  of  the  produce  in  return  for  the  labour  expended;  in  other 
words,  they  assumed  the  position  of  landed  proprietors,  and  farmed 
part  of  their  land  on  the  metayage  system. 

The  process  of  transition  had  reached  this  point  in  several  aouls 
which  I  visited.  My  friend  Mehemet  Zian  showed  me  at  some 
distance  from  the  tents  his  plot  of  arable  land,  and  introduced  me 
to  the  peasant  who  tilled  it — a  Little-Eussian,  who  assured  me 
that  the  arrangement  satisfied  all  parties.  The  process  of  transi- 
tion cannot,  however,  stop  here.  The  compromise  is  merely  a  tem- 
porary expedient.  Virgin  soil  gives  very  abundant  harvests,  suffi- 
cient to  support  both  the  labourer  and  the  indolent  proprietor,  but 
after  a  few  years  the  soil  becomes  exhausted  and  gives  only  a  very 
moderate  revenue.  A  proprietor,  therefore,  must  sooner  or  later 
dispense  with  the  labourers  who  take  half  of  the  produce  as  their 
recompense,  and  must  himself  put  his  hand  to  the  plough. 

Thus  we  see  the  Bashkirs  are,  properly  speaking,  no  longer  a 
purely  pastoral,  nomadic  people.  The  discovery  of  this  fact 
caused  me  some  little  disappointment,  and  in  the  hope  of  finding 
a  tribe  in  a  more  primitive  condition  I  visited  the  Kirghiz  of  the 
Inner  Horde,  who  occupy  the  country  to  the  southward,  in  the 
direction  of  the  Caspian.  Here  for  the  first  time  I  saw  the  genuine 
Steppe  in  the  full  sense  of  the  term — a  country  level  as  the  sea, 
with  not  a  hillock  or  even  a  gentle  undulation  to  break  the  straight 
line  of  the  horizon,  and  not  a  patch  of  cultivation,  a  tree,  a  bush, 
or  even  a  stone,  to  diversify  the  monotonous  expanse. 

Traversing  such  a  region  is,  I  need  scarcely  say,  very  weary  work 
— all  the  more  as  there  are  no  milestones  or  other  landmarks  to 
show  the  progress  you  are  making.  Still,  it  is  not  so  overwhelm- 
ingly wearisome  as  might  be  supposed.  In  the  morning  you  may 
watch  the  vast  lakes,  with  their  rugged  promontories  and  well- 
wooded  banks,  which  the  mirage  creates  for  your  amusement. 
Then  during  the  course  of  the  day  there  are  always  one  or  two  tri- 
fling incidents  which  arouse  you  for  a  little  from  your  somnolence. 
Now  you  descry  a  couple  of  horsemen  on  the  distant  horizon,  and 
watch  them  as  they  approach;  and  when  they  come  alongside  you 
may  have  a  talk  with  them  if  you  know  the  language  or  have  an  in- 
terpreter; or  you  may  amuse  yourself  with  a  little  pantomime,  if 
articulate  speech  is  impossible.  Now  you  encounter  a  long  train 
of  camels  marching  along  with  solemn,  stately  step,  and  speculate 
as  to  the  contents  of  the  big  packages  with  which  they  are  laden. 
Now  you  encounter  the  carcass  of  a  horse  that  has  fallen  by  the 


THE    PASTORAL   TRIBES    OF   THE    STEPPE        191 

wayside,  and  watch  the  dogs  and  the  steppe  eagles  fighting  over 
their  prey;  and  if  you  are  murderously  inclined  you  may  take  a 
shot  with  your  revolver  at  these  great  birds,  for  they  are  ignorantly 
brave,  and  will  sometimes  allow  you  to  approach  within  twenty  or 
thirty  yards.  At  last  you  perceive — most  pleasant  sight  of  all — 
a  group  of  haystack-shaped  tents  in  the  distance;  and  you  hurry 
on  to  enjoy  the  grateful  shade,  and  quench  your  thirst  with  "  deep, 
deep  draughts  "  of  refreshing  kumyss. 

During  my  journey  through  the  Kirghiz  country  I  was  accom- 
panied by  a  Russian  gentleman,  who  had  provided  himself  with  a 
circular  letter  from  the  hereditary  chieftain  of  the  Horde,  a  per- 
sonage who  rejoiced  in  the  imposing  name  of  Genghis  Ivhan,*  and 
claimed  to  be  a  descendant  of  the  great  Mongol  conqueror.  This 
document  assured  us  a  good  reception  in  the  aoids  through  which 
we  passed.  Every  Elirghis  who  saw  it  treated  it  with  profound 
respect,  and  professed  to  put  all  his  goods  and  chattels  at  our  serv- 
ice. But  in  spite  of  this  powerful  recommendation  we  met  with 
none  of  the  friendly  cordiality  and  communicativeness  which  I 
had  found  among  the  Bashkirs.  A  tent  with  an  unlimited  quan- 
tity of  cushions  was  always  set  apart  for  our  accommodation;  the 
sheep  were  killed  and  boiled  for  our  dinner,  and  the  pails  of 
kumyss  were  regularly  brought  for  our  refreshment;  but  all  this 
was  evidently  done  as  a  matter  of  duty  and  not  as  a  spontaneous 
expression  of  hospitality.  When  we  determined  once  or  twice  to 
prolong  our  visit  beyond  the  term  originally  announced,  I  could 
perceive  that  our  host  was  not  at  all  delighted  by  the  change  of 
our  plans.  The  only  consolation  we  had  was  that  those  who  enter- 
tained us  made  no  scruples  about  accepting  payment  for  the  food 
and  shelter  supplied. 

From  all  this  I  have  no  intention  of  drawing  the  conclusion  that 
the  Kirghiz  are,  as  a  people,  inhospitable  or  unfriendly  to  stran- 
gers. My  experience  of  them  is  too  limited  to  warrant  any  such 
inference.  The  letter  of  Genghis  Khan  insured  us  all  the  accom- 
modation we  required,  but  it  at  the  same  time  gave  us  a  certain 
official  character  not  at  all  favourable  to  the  establishment  of 
friendly  relations.  Those  with  whom  we  came  in  contact  regarded 
us  as  Russian  officials,  and  suspected  us  of  having  some  secret 
designs.  As  I  endeavoured  to  discover  the  number  of  their  cattle, 
and  to  form  an  approximate  estimate  of  their  annual  revenue, 
they  naturally  feared — having  no  conception  of  disinterested  scien- 

*  I  have  adopted  the  ordinary  English  spelling  of  this  name.  The 
Kirghiz  and  the  Russians  pronounce  it  "  Tchinghiz." 


192  EUSSIA 

tific  curiosity — that  these  data  were  being  collected  for  the  purpose 
of  increasing  the  taxes,  or  with  some  similar  intention  of  a  sinister 
kind.  Very  soon  I  perceived  clearly  that  any  information  we 
might  here  collect  regarding  the  economic  conditions  of  pastoral 
life  would  not  be  of  much  value,  and  I  postponed  my  proposed 
studies  to  a  more  convenient  season. 

The  Kirghiz  are,  ethnographically  speaking,  closely  allied  to  the 
Bashkirs,  but  differ  from  them  both  in  physiognomy  and  language. 
Their  features  approach  much  nearer  the  pure  Mongol  type,  and 
their  language  is  a  distinct  dialect,  which  a  Bashkir  or  a  Tartar 
of  Kazan  has  some  difficulty  in  understanding.  They  are  pro- 
fessedly Mahometans,  but  their  Mahometanism  is  not  of  a  rigid 
kind,  as  may  be  seen  by  the  fact  that  their  women  do  not  veil  their 
faces  even  in  the  presence  of  Ghiaours — a  laxness  of  which  the 
Ghiaour  will  certainly  not  approve  if  he  happen  to  be  sensitive  to 
female  beauty  and  ugliness.  Their  mode  of  life  differs  from  that 
of  the  Bashkirs,  but  they  have  proportionately  more  land  and  are 
consequently  still  able  to  lead  a  purely  pastoral  life.  Near  their 
western  frontier,  it  is  true,  they  annually  let  patches  of  land  to  the 
Russian  peasants  for  the  purpose  of  raising  crops;  but  these  en- 
croachments can  never  advance  very  far,  for  the  greater  part  of 
their  territory  is  unsuited  to  agriculture,  on  account  of  a  large 
admixture  of  salt  in  the  soil.  This  fact  will  have  an  important 
influence  on  their  future.  Unlike  the  Bashkirs,  who  possess  good 
arable  land,  and  are  consequently  on  the  road  to  become  agricul- 
turists, they  will  in  all  probability  continue  to  live  exclusively  by 
their  flocks  and  herds. 

To  the  southwest  of  the  Lower  Volga,  in  the  flat  region  lying 
to  the  north  of  the  Caucasus,  we  find  another  pastoral  tribe,  the 
Kalmyks,  differing  widely  from  the  two  former  in  language,  in 
physiognomy,  and  in  religion.  Their  language,  a  dialect  of  the 
Mongolian,  has  no  close  affinity  with  any  other  language  in  this 
part  of  the  world.  In  respect  of  religion  they  are  likewise  isolated, 
for  they  are  Buddhists,  and  have  consequently  no  co-religionists 
nearer  than  Mongolia  or  Thibet.  But  it  is  their  physiognomy  that 
most  strikingly  distinguishes  them  from  the  surrounding  peoples, 
and  stamps  them  as  Mongols  of  the  purest  water.  There  is  some- 
thing almost  infra-human  in  their  ugliness.  They  show  in  an  exag- 
gerated degree  all  those  repulsive  traits  which  we  see  toned  down 
and  refined  in  the  face  of  an  average  Chinaman;  and  it  is  difficult, 
when  we  meet  them  for  the  first  time,  to  believe  that  a  human  soul 
lurks  behind  their  expressionless,  flattened  faces  and  small,  dull. 


THE    PASTOEAL   TEIBES    OF   THE   STEPPE        193 

obliquely  set  eyes.  If  the  Tartar  and  Turkish  races  are  really  de- 
scended from  ancestors  of  that  type,  then  we  must  assume  that 
they  have  received  in  the  course  of  time  a  large  admixture  of  Aryan 
or  Semitic  blood. 

But  \vc  must  not  bo  too  hard  on  tlie  poor  Kalmyks,  or  judge  of 
their  character  by  their  unprepossessing  appearance.  They  are  by 
no  means  so  unhuman  as  they  look.  Men  who  have  lived  among 
them  have  assured  me  that  they  are  decidedly  intelligent,  espe- 
cially in  all  matters  relating  to  cattle,  and  that  they  are — though 
somewhat  addicted  to  cattle-lifting  and  other  primitive  customs 
not  tolerated  in  the- more  advanced  stages  of  civilisation — by  no 
means  wanting  in  some  of  the  better  qualities  of  human  nature. 

Formerly  there  was  a  fourth  pastoral  tribe  in  this  region — the 
Xogai  Tartars.  They  occupied  the  plains  to  the  north  of  the  Sea 
of  Azof,  but  they  are  no  longer  to  be  found  there.  Shortly  after 
the  Crimean  war  they  emigrated  to  Turkey,  and  their  lands  are 
now  occupied  by  Eussian,  German,  Bulgarian,  and  Montenegrin 
colonists. 

Among  the  pastoral  tribes  of  this  region  the  Kalmyks  are  recent 
intruders.  They  first  appeared  in  the  seventeenth  century,  and 
were  long  formidable  on  account  of  their  great  numbers  and  com- 
pact organisation;  but  in  1771  the  majority  of  them  suddenly 
struck  their  tents  and  retreated  to  their  old  home  in  the  north  of 
the  Celestial  Empire.  Those  who  remained  were  easily  pacified, 
and  have  long  since  lost,  under  the  influence  of  unbroken  peace 
and  a  strong  Eussian  administration,  their  old  warlike  spirit. 
Their  latest  military  exploits  were  performed  during  the  last  years 
of  the  Napoleonic  wars,  and  were  not  of  a  very  serious  kind;  a 
troop  of  them  accompanied  the  Eussian  army,  and  astonished  West- 
ern Europe  by  their  uncouth  features,  their  strange  costume,  and 
their  primitive  accoutrements,  among  which  their  curious  bows 
and  arrows  figured  conspicuously. 

The  other  pastoral  tribes  which  I  have  mentioned — Bashkirs, 
Kirghiz,  and  Noga'i  Tartars — are  the  last  remnants  of  the  famous 
marauders  who  from  time  immemorial  down  to  a  comparatively 
recent  period  held  the  vast  plains  of  Southern  Eussia.  The  long 
struggle  between  them  and  the  agricultural  colonists  from  the 
northwest,  closely  resembling  the  long  struggle  between  the  Ecd- 
skins  and  the  white  settlers  on  the  prairies  of  North  America, 
forms  an  important  page  of  Eussian  history. 

For  centuries  the  warlike  nomads  stoutly  resisted  all  encroach- 
ments on  their  pasture-grounds,  and  considered  cattle-lifting,  kid- 


194  EUSSIA 

napping,  and  pillage  as  a  legitimate  and  honorable  occupation. 
"  Their  raids/'  says  an  old  Byzantine  writer,  "  are  as  flashes  of 
lightning,  and  their  retreat  is  at  once  heavy  and  light — heavy 
from  booty  and  light  from  the  swiftness  of  their  movements.  For 
them  a  peaceful  life  is  a  misfortune,  and  a  convenient  opportunity 
for  war  is  the  height  of  felicity.  Worst  of  all,  they  are  more  nu- 
merous than  bees  in  spring,  their  numbers  are  uncountable." 
"  Having  no  fixed  place  of  abode,"  says  another  Byzantine  author- 
ity, "they  seek  to  conquer  all  lands  and  colonise  none.  They  are 
flying  people,  and  therefore  cannot  be  caught.  As  they  have  neither 
towns  nor  villages,  they  must  be  hunted  like  wild  beasts,  and  can 
be  fitly  compared  only  to  griffins,  which  beneficent  Nature  has 
banished  to  uninhabited  regions."  As  a  Persian  distich,  quoted 
by  Vambery,  has  it — 

"  They  came,  conquered,  burned, 
Pillaged,  murdered,  and  went." 

Their  raids  are  thus  described  by  an  old  Eussian  chronicler: 
"  They  burn  the  villages,  the  farmyards,  and  the  churches.  The 
land  is  turned  by  them  into  a  desert,  and  the  overgrown  fields  be- 
come the  lair  of  wild  beasts.  Many  people  are  led  away  into 
slavery;  others  are  tortured  and  killed,  or  die  from  hunger  and 
thirst.  Sad,  weary,  stiff  from  cold,  with  faces  wan  from  woe,  bare- 
foot or  naked,  and  torn  by  the  thistles,  the  Eussian  prisoners 
trudge  along  through  an  unknown  country,  and,  weeping,  say  to 
one  another,  *  I  am  from  such  a  town,  and  I  from  such  a  village.' " 
And  in  harmony  with  the  monastic  chroniclers  we  hear  the  name- 
less Slavonic  Ossian  wailing  for  the  fallen  sons  of  Eus :  "  In  the 
Eussian  land  is  rarely  heard  the  voice  of  the  husbandman,  but 
often  the  cry  of  the  vultures,  fighting  with  each  other  over  the 
bodies  of  the  slain ;  and  the  ravens  scream  as  they  fly  to  the  spoil." 
In  spite  of  the  stubborn  resistance  of  the  nomads  the  wave  of 
colonisation  moved  steadily  onwards  until  the  first  years  of  the 
thirteenth  century,  when  it  was  suddenly  checked  and  thrown  back. 
A  great  Mongolian  horde  from  Eastern  Asia,  far  more  numerous 
and  better  organized  than  the  local  nomadic  tribes,  overran  the 
whole  country,  and  for  more  than  two  centuries  Eussia  was  in 
a  certain  sense  ruled  by  Mongol  Khans.  As  I  wish  to  speak  at 
some  length  of  this  Mongol  domination,  I  shall  devote  to  it  a 
separate  chapter. 


CHAPTER   XIV 

THE    MONGOL    DOMINATION 

The  Conquest — Genghis  Khan  and  his  People — Creation  and  Rapid  Dis- 
integration of  the  Mongol  Empire — The  Golden  Horde — The  Heal 
Character  of  the  Mongol  Domination — Religious  Toleration — Mon- 
gol System  of  Government — Grand  Princes — The  Princes  of  Moscow 
— Influence  of  the  Mongol  Domination — Practical  Importance  of  the 
Suhject. 

'T'HE  Tartar  invasion,  with  its  direct  and  indirect  consequences, 
■■■  is  a  subject  which  has  more  than  a  mere  antiquarian  interest. 
To  the  influence  of  the  Mongols  are  commonly  attributed  many 
peculiarities  in  the  actual  condition  and  national  character  of  the 
Russians  of  the  present  day,  and  some  writers  would  even  have  us 
believe  that  the  men  whom  we  call  Russians  are  simply  Tartars 
half  disguised  by  a  thin  varnish  of  European  civilisation.  It  may 
be  well,  therefore,  to  inquire  what  the  Tartar  or  Mongol  domina- 
tion really  was,  and  how  far  it  affected  the  historical  development 
and  national  character  of  the  Russian  people. 

The  story  of  the  conquest  may  be  briefly  told.  In  1224  the 
chieftains  of  the  Poloftsi — one  of  those  pastoral  tribes  which 
roamed  on  the  Steppe  and  habitually  carried  on  a  predatory  war- 
fare with  the  Russians  of  the  south — sent  deputies  to  Mistislaf  the 
Brave,  Prince  of  Galicia,  to  inform  him  that  their  country  had 
been  invaded  from  the  southeast  by  strong,  cruel  enemies  called 
Tartars* — strange-looking  men  with  brown  faces,  eyes  small  and 
wide  apart,  thick  lips,  broad  shoulders,  and  black  hair.  "  To- 
day," said  the  deputies,  "  they  have  seized  our  country,  and  to- 
morrow they  will  seize  j'ours  if  you  do  not  help  us." 

Mistislaf  had  probably  no  objection  to  the  Poloftsi  being  anni- 
hilated by  some  tribe  stronger  and  fiercer  than  themselves,  for 
they  gave  him  a  great  deal  of  trouble  by  their  frequent  raids ;  but 
he  perceived  the  force  of  the  argument  about  his  own  turn  coming 
next,  and  thought  it  wise  to  assist  his  usually  hostile  neighbours. 
For  the  purpose  of  warding  off  the  danger  he  called  together  the 

*  The  word  is  properly  "  Tatar,"  and  the  Russians  write  and  pro- 
nounce it  in  this  way,  but  I  have  preferred  to  retain  the  better  known 
form. 

195 


196  RUSSIA 

neighbouring  Princes,  and  nrged  them  to  join  him  in  an  expedi- 
tion against  the  new  enemy.  The  expedition  was  undertaken,  and 
ended  in  disaster.  On  the  Kalka,  a  small  river  falling  into  the 
Sea  of  Azof,  the  Eussian  host  met  the  invaders,  and  was  com- 
pletely routed.  The  country  was  thereby  opened  to  the  victors,  but 
they  did  not  follow  up  their  advantage.  After  advancing  for  some 
distance  they  suddenly  wheeled  round  and  disappeared. 

Thus  ended  unexpectedly  the  first  visit  of  these  unwelcome 
strangers.  Thirteen  years  afterwards  they  returned,  and  were  not 
so  easily  got  rid  of.  An  enormous  horde  crossed  the  Eiver  Ural 
and  advanced  into  the  heart  of  the  country,  pillaging,  burning, 
devastating,  and  murdering.  ISTowhere  did  they  meet  with  serious 
resistance.  The  Princes  made  no  attempt  to  combine  against  the 
common  enemy.  Nearly  all  the  principal  towns  were  laid  in  ashes, 
and  the  inhabitants  were  killed  or  carried  off  as  slaves.  Having 
conquered  Eussia,  they  advanced  westward,  and  threw  all  Europe 
into  alarm.  The  panic  reached  even  England,  and  interrupted,  it 
is  said,  for  a  time  the  herring  fishing  on  the  coast.  Western 
Europe,  however,  escaped  their  ravages.  After  visiting  Poland, 
Hungary,  Bulgaria,  Servia,  and  Dalmatia,  they  retreated  to  the 
Lower  Volga,  and  the  Eussian  Princes  were  summoned  thither  to 
do  homage  to  the  victorious  Khan. 

At  first  the  Eussians  had  only  very  vague  notions  as  to  who  this 
terrible  enemy  was.  The  old  chronicler  remarks  briefiy :  "  For 
our  sins  unknown  peoples  have  appeared.  No  one  knows  who  they 
are  or  whence  they  have  come,  or  to  what  race  and  faith  they  be- 
long. They  are  commonly  called  Tartars,  but  some  call  them 
Tauermen,  and  others  Petchenegs.  Who  they  really  are  is  known 
only  to  God,  and  perhaps  to  wise  men  deeply  read  in  books."  Some 
of  these  "  wise  men  deeply  read  in  books  "  supposed  them  to  be 
the  idolatrous  Moabites  who  had  in  Old  Testament  times  harassed 
God's  chosen  people,  whilst  others  thought  that  they  must  be  the 
descendants  of  the  men  whom  Gideon  had  driven  out,  of  whom 
a  revered  saint  had  prophesied  that  they  would  come  in  the  latter 
days  and  conquer  the  whole  earth,  from  the  East  even  unto  the 
Euphrates,  and  from  the  Tigris  even  unto  the  Black  Sea. 

We  are  now  happily  in  a  position  to  dispense  with  such  vague 
ethnographical  speculations.  From  the  accounts  of  several  Euro- 
pean travellers  who  visited  Tartary  about  that  time,  and  from  the 
writings  of  various  Oriental  historians,  we  know  a  great  deal  about 
these  barbarians  who  conquered  Eussia  and  frightened  the  Western 
nations. 


THE    MONGOL   DOMINATION  197 

The  vast  region  lying  to  the  east  of  Russia,  from  the  basin  of  the 
Volga  to  the  shores  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  was  inhaljited  then,  as  it 
is  still,  by  numerous  Tartar  and  Mongol  tribes.  These  two  terms 
are  often  regarded  as  identical  and  interchangeable,  but  they  ought, 
I  think,  to  be  distinguished.  From  the  ethnographic,  the  linguistic, 
and  the  religious  point  of  view  they  differ  widely  from  each  other. 
The  Kazan  Tartars,  the  Baslikirs,  the  Kirghiz,  in  a  word,  all  the 
tribes  in  the  country  stretching  latitudinally  from  the  Volga  to 
Kashgar,  and  longitudinally  from  the  Persian  frontier,  the  Hindu 
Kush  and  the  Northern  Himalaya,  to  a  line  drawn  cast  and  west 
through  the  middle  of  Siberia,  belong  to  the  Tartar  group ;  whereas 
those  further  eastward,  occupying  Mongolia  and  Manchuria,  are 
Mongol  in  the  stricter  sense  of  the  term. 

A  very  little  experience  enables  the  traveller  to  distinguish 
between  the  two.  Both  of  them  have  the  well-known  character- 
istics of  the  Northern  Asiatic — the  broad  flat  face,  yellow  skin, 
small,  obliquely  set  eyes,  high  cheekbones,  thin,  straggling  beard; 
but  these  traits  are  more  strongly  marked,  more  exaggerated,  if  we 
may  use  such  an  expression,  in  the  Mongol  than  in  the  Tartar. 
Thus  the  Mongol  is,  according  to  our  conceptions,  by  far  the 
uglier  of  the  two,  and  the  man  of  Tartar  race,  when  seen  beside 
him,  appears  almost  European  by  comparison.  The  distinction 
is  confirmed  by  a  study  of  their  languages.  All  the  Tartar  lan- 
guages are  closely  allied,  so  that  a  person  of  average  linguistic 
talent  who  has  mastered  one  of  them,  whether  it  be  the  rude 
Turki  of  Central  Asia  or  the  highly  polished  Turkish  of  Stambul, 
can  easily  acquire  any  of  the  others;  whereas  even  an  extensive 
acquaintance  with  the  Tartar  dialects  will  be  of  no  practical  use 
to  him  in  learning  a  language  of  the  Mongol  group.  In  their 
religions  likewise  the  two  races  differ.  The  Mongols  are  as  a  rule 
Shamanists  or  Buddhists,  while  the  Tartars  are  Mahometans.  Some 
of  the  Mongol  invaders,  it  is  true,  adopted  Mahometanism  from  the 
conquered  Tartar  tribes,  and  by  this  change  of  religion,  which  led 
naturally  to  intermarriage,  their  descendants  became  gradually 
blended  with  the  older  population;  but  the  broad  line  of  distinc- 
tion was  not  permanently  effaced. 

It  is  often  supposed,  even  by  people  who  profess  to  be  acquainted 
with  Eussian  history,  that  Mongols  and  Tartars  alike  first  came 
westward  to  the  frontiers  of  Europe  with  Genghis  Klian.  This  is 
true  of  the  Mongols,  but  so  far  as  the  Tartars  are  concerned  it  is  an 
entire  mistake.  From  time  immemorial  the  Tartar  tribes  roamed 
over  these  territories.     Like  the  Russians,  they  were  conquered  by 


198  EUSSIA 

the  Mongol  invaders  and  had  long  to  pay  tribute,  and  when  the 
Mongol  empire  crumbled  to  pieces  by  internal  dissensions  and 
finally  disappeared  before  the  victorious  advance  of  the  Eussians, 
the  Tartars  reappeared  from  the  confusion  without  having  lost, 
notwithstanding  an  intermixture  doubtless  of  Mongol  blood,  their 
old  racial  characteristics,  their  old  dialects,  and  their  old  tribal 
organisation. 

The  germ  of  the  vast  horde  which  swept  over  Asia  and  advanced 
into  the  centre  of  Europe  was  a  small  pastoral  tribe  of  Mongols 
living  in  the  hilly  country  to  the  north  of  China,  near  the  sources 
of  the  Amur.  This  tribe  was  neither  more  warlike  nor  more 
formidable  than  its  neighbours  till  near  the  close  of  the  twelfth 
century,  when  there  appeared  in  it  a  man  who  is  described  as  "a 
mighty  hunter  before  the  Lord."  Of  him  and  his  people  we  have 
a  brief  description  by  a  Chinese  author  of  the  time :  "  A  man  of 
gigantic  stature,  with  broad  forehead  and  long  beard,  and  remark- 
able for  his  bravery.  As  to  his  people,  their  faces  are  broad,  flat, 
and  four-cornered,  with  prominent  cheek-bones;  their  eyes  have 
no  upper  eyelashes;  they  have  very  little  hair  in  their  beards  and 
moustaches;  their  exterior  is  very  repulsive."  This  man  of  gigan- 
tic stature  was  no  other  than  Genghis  Khan.  He  began  by  subdu- 
ing and  incorporating  into  his  army  the  surrounding  tribes,  con- 
quered with  their  assistance  a  great  part  of  Northern  China,  and 
then,  leaving  one  of  his  generals  to  complete  the  conquest  of  the 
Celestial  Empire,  he  led  his  army  westward  with  the  ambitious 
design  of  conquering  the  whole  world.  "  As  there  is  but  one  God 
in  heaven,"  he  was  wont  to  say,  "  so  there  should  be  but  one  ruler 
on  earth  " ;  and  this  one  universal  ruler  he  himself  aspired  to  be. 

A  European  army  necessarily  diminishes  in  force  and  its  exist- 
ence becomes  more  and  more  imperilled  as  it  advances  from  its 
base  of  operations  into  a  foreign  and  hostile  country.  Not  so  a 
horde  like  that  of  Genghis  Khan  in  a  country  such  as  that  which 
it  had  to  traverse.  It  needed  no  base  of  operations,  for  it  took 
with  it  its  flocks,  its  tents,  and  all  its  worldly  goods.  Properly 
speaking,  it  was  not  an  army  at  all,  but  rather  a  people  in  move- 
ment. The  grassy  Steppes  fed  the  flocks,  and  the  flocks  fed  the 
warriors ;  and  with  such  a  simple  commissariat  system  there  was  no 
necessity  for  keeping  up  communications  with  the  point  of  depar- 
ture. Instead  of  diminishing  in  numbers,  the  horde  constantly 
increased  as  it  moved  forwards.  The  nomadic  tribes  which  it  en- 
countered on  its  way,  composed  of  men  who  found  a  home  wher- 
ever they  found  pasture  and  drinking-water,  required  little  per- 


THE    MONGOL   DOMINATION  199 

6uasion  to  make  them  join  the  onward  movement.  By  means  of 
this  terrible  instrument  of  conquest  Genghis  succeeded  in  creating 
a  colossal  Empire,  stretching  from  the  Carpathians  to  the  eastern 
shores  of  Asia,  and  from  the  Arctic  Ocean  to  the  Himalayas. 

Genghis  was  no  mere  ruthless  destroyer ;  he  was  at  the  same  time 
one  of  the  greatest  administrators  the  world  has  ever  seen.  But 
his  administrative  genius  could  not  work  miracles.  His  vast  Em- 
pire, founded  on  conquest  and  composed  of  the  most  heterogeneous 
elements,  had  no  principle  of  organic  life  in  it,  and  could  not  pos- 
sibly be  long-lived.  It  had  been  created  by  him,  and  it  perished 
with  him.  For  some  time  after  his  death  the  dignity  of  Grand 
Khan  was  held  by  some  one  of  his  descendants,  and  the  centralised 
administration  was  nominally  preserved;  but  the  local  rulers  rap- 
idly emancipated  themselves  from  the  central  authority,  and  within 
half  a  century  after  the  death  of  its  founder  the  great  Mongol  Em- 
pire was  little  more  than  "  a  geographical  expression." 

With  the  dismemberment  of  the  short-lived  Empire  the  danger 
for  Eastern  Europe  was  by  no  means  at  an  end.  The  independent 
hordes  were  scarcely  less  formidable  than  the  Empire  itself.  A 
grandson  of  Genghis  formed  on  the  Russian  frontier  a  new  State, 
commonly  known  as  Kiptchak,  or  the  Golden  Horde,  and  built  a 
capital  called  Serai",  on  one  of  the  arms  of  the  Lower  Volga.  This 
capital,  which  has  since  so  completely  disappeared  that  there  is 
some  doubt  as  to  its  site,  is  described  by  Ibn  Batuta,  who  visited  it 
in  the  fifteenth  century,  as  a  very  great,  populous,  and  beautiful 
city,  possessing  many  mosques,  fine  market-places,  and  broad 
streets,  in  which  were  to  be  seen  merchants  from  Babylon,  Egypt, 
Syria,  and  other  countries.  Here  lived  the  Khans  of  the  Golden 
Horde,  who  kept  Russia  in  subjection  for  two  centuries. 

In  conquering  Russia  the  Mongols  had  no  wish  to  possess  them- 
selves of  the  soil,  or  to  take  into  their  own  hands  the  local  adminis- 
tration. What  they  wanted  was  not  land,  of  which  they  had  enough 
and  to  spare,  but  movable  property  which  they  might  enjoy  without 
giving  up  their  pastoral,  nomadic  life.  They  applied,  therefore,  to 
Russia  the  same  method  of  extracting  supplies  as  they  had  used  in 
other  countries.  As  soon  as  their  authority  had  been  formally  ac- 
knowledged they  sent  officials  into  the  country  to  number  the 
inhabitants  and  to  collect  an  amount  of  tribute  proportionate  to 
the  population.  This  was  a  severe  burden  for  the  people,  not 
only  on  account  of  the  sum  demanded,  but  also  on  account  of  the 
manner  in  which  it  was  raised.  The  exactions  and  cruelty  of  the 
tax-gatherers  led  to  local  insurrections,  and  the  insurrections  were 


200  EUSSIA 

of  course  always  severely  punished.  But  there  was  never  any  gen- 
eral military  occupation  of  the  country  or  any  wholesale  confisca- 
tions of  land,  and  the  existing  political  organisation  was  left  undis- 
turbed. The  modern  method  of  dealing  with  annexed  provinces 
was  totally  unknown  to  the  Mongols.  The  Khans  never  thought  of 
attempting  to  denationalise  their  Kussian  subjects.  They  de- 
manded simply  an  oath  of  allegiance  from  the  Princes  *  and  a  cer- 
tain sum  of  tribute  from  the  people.  The  vanquished  were  allowed 
to  retain  their  land,  their  religion,  their  language,  their  courts  of 
justice,  and  all  their  other  institutions. 

The  nature  of  the  Mongol  domination  is  well  illustrated  by  the 
policy  which  the  conquerors  adopted  towards  the  Eussian  Church. 
For  more  than  half  a  century  after  the  conquest  the  religion  of 
the  Tartars  was  a  mixture  of  Buddhism  and  Paganism,  with  traces 
of  Sabffiism  or  fire-worship.  During  this  period  Christianity  was 
more  than  simply  tolerated.  The  Grand  Khan  Kuyuk  caused  a 
Christian  chapel  to  be  erected  near  his  domicile,  and  one  of  his 
successors,  Khubila'i,  was  in  the  habit  of  publicly  taking  part  in  the 
Easter  festivals.  In  1361  the  Khan  of  the  Golden  Horde  allowed 
the  Eussians  to  found  a  bishopric  in  his  capital,  and  several  mem- 
bers of  his  family  adopted  Christianity.  One  of  them  even  founded 
a  monastery,  and  became  a  saint  of  the  Eussian  Church!  The 
Orthodox  clergy  were  exempted  from  the  poll-tax,  and  in  the  char- 
ters granted  to  them  it  was  expressly  declared  that  if  any  one  com- 
mitted blasphemy  against  the  faith  of  the  Eussians  he  should  be 
put  to  death.  Some  time  afterwards  the  Golden  Horde  was  con- 
verted to  Islam,  but  the  Khans  did  not  on  that  account  change 
their  policy.  They  continued  to  favour  the  clergy,  and  their  pro- 
tection was  long  remembered.  Many  generations  later,  when  the 
property  of  the  Church  was  threatened  by  the  autocratic  power, 
refractory  ecclesiastics  contrasted  the  policy  of  the  Orthodox  Sov- 
ereign with  that  of  the  "  godless  Tartars,"  much  to  the  advantage 
of  the  latter. 

At  first  there  was  and  could  be  very  little  mutual  confidence  be- 
tween the  conquerors  and  the  conquered.  The  Princes  anxiously 
looked  for  an  opportunity  of  throwing  off  the  galling  yoke,  and  the 
people  chafed  under  the  exactions  and  cruelty  of  the  tribute-col- 
lectors, whilst  the  Khans  took  precautions  to  prevent  insurrection, 
and  threatened  to  devastate  the  country  if  their  authority  was  not 
respected.    But  in  the  course  of  time  this  mutual  distrust  and  hos- 

*  During  the  Mongol  domination  Russia  was  composed  of  a  large 
number  of  independent  principalities. 


THE    MOXGOL   DOMINATION  201 

tility  greatly  lessened.  When  the  Princes  found  by  experience  that 
all  attempts  at  resistance  were  fruitless,  they  became  reconciled  to 
their  new  position,  and  instead  of  seeking  to  throw  off  the  Khan's 
authority,  they  tried  to  gain  his  favour,  in  the  hope  of  forwarding 
their  personal  interests.  For  this  purpose  they  paid  frequent  visits 
to  the  Tartar  Suzerain,  made  rich  presents  to  his  wives  and  cour- 
tiers, received  from  him  charters  confirming  their  authority,  and 
sometimes  even  married  members  of  his  family.  Some  of  them 
used  the  favour  thus  acquired  for  extending  their  possessions  at 
the  expense  of  neighbouring  Princes  of  their  own  race,  and  did 
not  hesitate  to  call  in  Tartar  hordes  to  their  assistance.  The 
Khans,  in  their  turn,  placed  greater  confidence  in  their  vassals,  en- 
trusted them  with  the  task  of  collecting  the  tribute,  recalled  their 
own  officials  who  were  a  constant  eyesore  to  the  people,  and  ab- 
stained from  all  interference  in  the  internal  affairs  of  the  princi- 
palities so  long  as  the  tribute  was  regularly  paid.  The  Princes 
acted,  in  short,  as  the  Khan's  lieutenants,  and  became  to  a  certain 
extent  Tartarised.  Some  of  them  carried  this  policy  so  far  that 
they  were  reproached  by  the  people  with  "loving  beyond  measure 
the  Tartars  and  their  language,  and  with  giving  them  too  freely 
land,  and  gold,  and  goods  of  every  kind." 

Had  the  Khans  of  the  Golden  Horde  been  prudent,  far-seeing 
statesmen,  they  might  have  long  retained  their  supremacy  over 
Kussia.  In  reality  they  showed  themselves  miserably  deficient  in 
political  talent.  Seeking  merely  to  extract  from  the  country  as 
much  tribute  as  possible,  they  overlooked  all  higher  considerations, 
and  by  this  culpable  shortsightedness  prepared  their  own  political 
ruin.  Instead  of  keeping  all  the  Russian  Princes  on  the  same  level 
and  thereby  rendering  them  all  equally  feeble,  they  were  constantly 
bribed  or  cajoled  into  giving  to  one  or  more  of  their  vassals  a  pre- 
eminence over  the  others.  At  first  this  pre-eminence  consisted  in 
little  more  than  the  empty  title  of  Grand  Prince;  but  the  vassals 
thus  favoured  soon  transformed  the  barren  distinction  into  a  gen- 
uine power  by  arrogating  to  themselves  the  exclusive  right  of  hold- 
ing direct  communications  with  the  Horde,  and  compelling  the 
minor  Princes  to  deliver  to  them  the  Mongol  tribute.  If  any  of 
the  lesser  Princes  refused  to  acknowledge  this  intermediate- author- 
ity, the  Grand  Prince  could  easily  crush  them  by  representing  them 
at  the  Horde  as  rebels.  Such  an  accusation  would  cause  the  ac- 
cused to  be  summoned  before  the  Supreme  Tribunal,  where  the 
procedure  was  extremely  summary  and  the  Grand  Prince  had 
always  the  means  of  obtaining  a  decision  in  his  own  favour. 


203  EUSSIA 

Of  the  Princes  who  strove  in  this  way  to  increase  their  influence, 
the  most  successful  were  the  Grand  Princes  of  Moscow.  They  were 
not  a  chivalrous  race,  or  one  with  which  the  severe  moralist  can 
s}Tnpathise,  but  they  were  largely  endowed  with  cunning,  tact,  and 
perseverance,  and  were  little  hampered  by  conscientious  scruples. 
Having  early  discovered  that  the  liberal  distribution  of  money  at 
the  Tartar  court  was  the  surest  means  of  gaining  favour,  they  lived 
parsimoniously  at  home  and  spent  their  savings  at  the  Horde.  To 
secure  the  continuance  of  the  favour  thus  acquired,  they  were  ready 
to  form  matrimonial  alliances  with  the  Khan's  family,  and  to  act 
zealously  as  his  lieutenants.  When  Novgorod,  the  haughty,  turbu- 
lent republic,  refused  to  pay  the  yearly  tribute,  they  quelled  the 
insurrection  and  punished  the  leaders;  and  when  the  inhabitants 
of  Tver  rose  against  the  Tartars  and  compelled  their  Prince  to 
make  common  cause  with  them,  the  wily  Muscovite  hastened  to 
the  Tartar  court  and  received  from  the  Khan  the  revolted  princi- 
pality, with  50,000  Tartars  to  support  his  authority. 

Thus  those  cunning  Moscow  Princes  "  loved  the  Tartars  beyond 
measure  "  so  long  as  the  Khan  was  irresistibly  powerful,  but  as  his 
power  waned  they  stood  forth  as  his  rivals.  When  the  Golden 
Horde,  like  the  great  Empire  of  which  it  had  once  formed  a  part, 
fell  to  pieces  in  the  fifteenth  century,  these  ambitious  Princes  read 
the  signs  of  the  times,  and  put  themselves  at  the  head  of  the  libera- 
tion movement,  which  was  at  first  unsuccessful,  but  ultimately 
freed  the  country  from  the  hated  yoke. 

From  this  brief  sketch  of  the  Mongol  domination  the  reader  will 
readily  understand  that  it  did  not  leave  any  deep,  lasting  impres- 
sion on  the  people.  The  invaders  never  settled  in  Kussia  proper, 
and  never  amalgamated  with  the  native  population.  So  long  as 
they  retained  their  semi-pagan,  semi-Buddhistic  religion,  a  certain 
number  of  their  notables  became  Christians  and  were  absorbed  by 
the  Eussian  Noblesse;  but  as  soon  as  the  Horde  adopted  Islam 
this  movement  was  arrested.  There  was  no  blending  of  the  two 
races  such  as  has  taken  place — and  is  still  taking  place — between 
the  Eussian  peasantry  and  the  Finnish  tribes  of  the  North.  The 
Eussians  remained  Christians,  and  the  Tartars  remained  Mahome- 
tans; and  this  difference  of  religion  raised  an  impassable  barrier 
between  the  two  nationalities. 

It  must,  however,  be  admitted  that  the  Tartar  domination, 
though  it  had  little  influence  on  the  life  and  habits  of  the  people, 
had  a  considerable  influence  on  the  political  development  of  the 
nation.     At  the  time  of  the  conquest  Eussia  was  composed  of  a 


THE    MONGOL   DOMINATION  203 

large  number  of  independent  principalities,  all  governed  by  de- 
scendants of  Rurik,  As  these  principalities  were  not  geographical 
or  ethnographical  units,  but  mere  artificial,  arbitrarily  defined  dis- 
tricts, which  were  regularly  subdivided  or  combined  according  to 
the  hereditary  rights  of  the  Princes,  it  is  highly  probable  that  they 
would  in  any  case  have  been  sooner  or  later  united  under  one 
sceptre ;  but  it  is  quite  certain  that  the  policy  of  the  Khans  helped 
to  accelerate  this  unification  and  to  create  the  autocratic  power 
which  has  since  been  wielded  by  the  Tsars.  If  the  principalities 
had  been  united  without  foreign  interference  we  should  probably 
have  found  in  the  united  State  some  form  of  political  organisation 
corresponding  to  that  which  existed  in  the  component  parts — some 
mixed  form  of  government,  in  which  the  political  power  would 
have  been  more  or  less  equally  divided  between  the  Tsar  and  the 
people.  The  Tartar  rule  interrupted  this  normal  development  by 
extinguishing  all  free  political  life.  The  first  Tsars  of  Muscovy 
were  the  political  descendants,  not  of  the  old  independent  Princes, 
but  of  the  Mongol  Klians.  It  may  be  said,  therefore,  that  the  auto- 
cratic power,  which  has  been  during  the  last  four  centuries  out  of 
all  comparison  the  most  important  factor  in  Russian  history,  was 
in  a  certain  sense  created  by  the  Mongol  domination. 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE    COSSACKS 

Lawlessness  on  the  Steppe — Slave-markets  of  the  Crimea — The  Military 
Coi'don  and  the  Free  'Cossacks — The  Zaporovian  Commonwealth 
Compared  with  Sparta  and  with  the  Mediaeval  Military  Orders — 
The  Cossacks  of  the  Don,  of  the  Volga,  and  of  the  Ural — Border 
Warfare — The  Modern  Cossacks — Land  Tenure  among  the  Cossacks 
of  the  Don — The  Transition  from  Pastoral  to  Agriculture  Life — 
"  Universal  Law  "  of  Social  Development — Communal  versus  Pri- 
vate Property — Flogging  as  a  Means  of  Land-registration, 

NO  sooner  had  the  Grand  Princes  of  Moscow  thrown  off  the 
Mongol  yoke  and  become  independent  Tsars  of  Muscovy  than 
they  began  that  eastward  territorial  expansion  which  has  been  going 
on  steadily  ever  since,  and  which  culminated  in  the  occupation  of 
Talienwan  and  Port  Arthur.  Ivan  the  Terrible  conquered  the 
Khanates  of  Kazan  and  Astrakhan  (1552-54)  and  reduced  to  nomi- 
nal subjection  the  Bashkir  and  Kirghiz  tribes  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
Volga,  but  he  did  not  thereby  establish  law  and  order  on  the 
Steppe.  The  lawless  tribes  retained  their  old  pastoral  mode  of  life 
and  predatory  habits,  and  harassed  the  Eussian  agricultural  popu- 
lation of  the  outlying  provinces  in  the  same  way  as  the  Eed  Indians 
in  America  used  to  harass  the  white  colonists  of  the  Far  West.  A 
large  section  of  the  Horde,  inhabiting  the  Crimea  and  the  Steppe 
to  the  north  of  the  Black  Sea,  escaped  annexation  by  submitting  to 
the  Ottoman  Turks  and  becoming  tributaries  of  the  Sultan. 

The  Turks  were  at  that  time  a  formidable  power,  with  which  the 
Tsars  of  Muscovy  were  too  weak  to  cope  successfully,  and  the  Khan 
of  the  Crimea  could  always,  when  hard  pressed  by  his  northern 
neighbours,  obtain  assistance  from  Constantinople.  This  potentate 
exercised  a  nominal  authority  over  the  pastoral  tribes  which  roamed 
on  the  Steppe  between  the  Crimea  and  the  Russian  frontier,  but  he 
had  neither  the  power  nor  the  desire  to  control  their  aggressive 
tendencies.  Their  raids  in  Russian  and  Polish  territory  ensured, 
among  other  advantages,  a  regular  and  plentiful  supply  of  slaves, 
which  formed  the  chief  article  of  export  from  Kaffa — the  modern 
Theodosia — and  from  the  other  seaports  of  the  coast. 

204 


THE    COSSACKS  205 

Of  this  slave  trade,  which  flourished  down  to  1783,  when  the 
Crimea  was  finally  conquered  and  annexed  hy  Eussia,  we  have  a 
graphic  account  by  an  eye-witness,  a  Lithuanian  traveller  of  the 
sixteenth  century.  "  Ships  from  Asia,"  he  says,  "  bring  arms, 
clothes,  and  horses  to  the  Crimean  Tartars,  and  start  on  the  home- 
ward voyage  laden  with  slaves.  It  is  for  this  kind  of  merchandise 
alone  that  the  Crimean  markets  are  remarkable.  Slaves  may  be 
always  had  for  sale  as  a  pledge  or  as  a  present,  and  every  one  rich 
enough  to  have  a  horse  deals  in  them.  If  a  man  wishes  to  buy 
clothes,  arms,  or  horses,  and  does  not  happen  to  have  at  the  mo- 
ment any  slaves,  he  takes  on  credit  the  articles  required,  and 
makes  a  formal  promise  to  deliver  at  a  certain  time  a  certain  num- 
ber of  people  of  our  blood — being  convinced  that  he  can  get  by 
that  time  the  requisite  number.  And  these  promises  are  always 
accurately  fulfilled,  as  if  those  who  made  them  had  always  a  supply 
of  our  people  in  their  courtyards.  A  Jewish  money-changer,  sit- 
ting at  the  gate  of  Tauris  and  seeing  constantly  the  countless  mul- 
titude of  our  countrymen  led  in  as  captives,  asked  us  whether 
there  still  remained  any  people  in  our  land,  and  whence  came  such 
a  multitude  of  them.  The  stronger  of  these  captives,  branded  on 
the  forehead  and  cheeks  and  manacled  or  fettered,  are  tortured  by 
severe  labour  all  day,  and  are  shut  up  in  dark  cells  at  night.  They 
are  kept  alive  by  small  quantities  of  food,  composed  chiefly  of  the 
flesh  of  animals  that  have  died — putrid,  covered  with  maggots, 
disgusting  even  to  dogs.  Women,  who  are  more  tender,  are  treated 
in  a  different  fashion;  some  of  them  who  can  sing  and  play  are 
employed  to  amuse  the  guests  at  festivals. 

"  When  the  slaves  are  led  out  for  sale  they  walk  to  the  market- 
place in  single  file,  like  storks  on  the  wing,  in  whole  dozens,  chained 
together  by  the  neck,  and  are  there  sold  by  auction.  The  auctioneer 
shouts  loudly  that  they  are  'the  newest  arrivals,  simple,  and  not 
cunning,  lately  captured  from  the  people  of  the  kingdom  (Poland), 
and  not  from  Muscovy ' ;  for  the  Muscovite  race,  being  crafty  and 
deceitful,  does  not  bring  a  good  price.  This  kind  of  merchandise  is 
appraised  with  great  accuracy  in  the  Crimea,  and  is  bought  by 
foreign  merchants  at  a  high  price,  in  order  to  be  sold  at  a  still  higher 
rate  to  blacker  nations,  such  as  Saracens,  Persians,  Indians,  Arabs, 
Syrians,  and  Assyrians.  When  a  purchase  is  made  the  teeth  are 
examined,  to  see  that  they  are  neither  few  nor  discoloured.  At  the 
same  time  the  more  hidden  parts  of  the  body  are  carefully  in- 
spected, and  if  a  mole,  excrescence,  wound,  or  other  latent  defect 
is  discovered,  the  bargain  is  rescinded.    But  notwithstanding  these 


206  RUSSIA 

investigations  the  cunning  slave-dealers  and  brokers  succeed  in 
cheating  the  buyers;  for  when  they  have  valuable  boys  and  girls, 
they  do  not  at  once  produce  them,  but  first  fatten  them,  clothe  them 
in  silk,  and  put  powder  and  rouge  on  their  cheeks,  so  as  to  sell 
them  at  a  better  price.  Sometimes  beautiful  and  perfect  maidens 
of  our  nation  bring  their  weight  in  gold.  This  takes  place  in  all 
the  towns  of  the  peninsula,  but  especially  in  Kaffa."* 

To  protect  the  agricultural  population  of  the  Steppe  against  the 
raids  of  these  thieving,  cattle-lifting,  kidnapping  neighbours,  the 
Tsars  of  Muscovy  and  the  Kings  of  Poland  built  forts,  constructed 
palisades,  dug  trenches,  and  kept  up  a  regular  military  cordon. 
The  troops  composing  this  cordon  were  called  Cossacks;  but  these 
were  not  the  "  Free  Cossacks  "  best  known  to  history  and  romance. 
These  latter  lived  beyond  the  frontier  on  the  debatable  land  which 
lay  between  the  two  hostile  races,  and  there  they  formed  self-gov- 
erning military  communities.  Each  one  of  the  rivers  flowing 
southwards — the  Dnieper,  the  Don,  the  Volga,  and  the  Yaik  or 
Ural — was  held  by  a  community  of  these  Free  Cossacks,  and  no 
one,  whether  Christian  or  Tartar,  was  allowed  to  pass  through  their 
territory  without  their  permission. 

Officially  the  Free  Cossacks  were  Russians,  for  they  professed 
to  be  champions  of  Orthodox  Christianity,  and — with  the  excep- 
tion of  those  of  the  Dnieper — loyal  subjects  of  the  Tsar;  but  in 
reality  they  were  something  different.  Though  they  were  Rus- 
sian hj  origin,  language,  and  sympathy,  the  habit  of  kidnapping 
Tartar  women  introduced  among  them  a  certain  admixture  of 
Tartar  blood.  Though  self-constituted  champions  of  Christianity 
and  haters  of  Islam,  they  troubled  themselves  very  little  with 
religion,  and  did  not  submit  to  the  ecclesiastical  authorities.  As 
to  their  religious  status,  it  cannot  be  easily  defined.  Whilst  pro- 
fessing allegiance  and  devotion  to  the  Tsar,  they  did  not  think  it 
necessary  to  obey  him,  except  in  so  far  as  his  orders  suited  their  own 
convenience.  And  the  Tsar,  it  must  be  confessed,  acted  towards 
them  in  a  similar  fashion.  When  he  found  it  convenient  he  called 
them  his  faithful  subjects ;  and  when  complaints  were  made  to  him 
about  their  raids  in  Turkish  territory,  he  declared  that  they  were 
not  his  subjects,  but  runaways  and  brigands,  and  that  the  Sultan 
might  punish  them  as  he  saw  fit.  At  the  same  time,  the  so-called 
runaways  and  brigands  regularly  received  supplies  and  ammunition 
from  Moscow,  as  is  amply  proved  by  recently-published  documents. 

*  Miclialonis  Litvani,  "  De  moribus  Tartarorum  Fragmina,"  X., 
Basilife,  1615. 


THE    COSSACKS  207 

Down  to  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century  the  Cossacks  of  the 
Dnieper  stood  in  a  similar  relation  to  the  Polish  kings ;  but  at  that 
time  they  threw  off  their  allegiance  to  Poland,  and  became  subjects 
of  the  Tsars  of  Muscovy. 

Of  these  semi-independent  military  communities,  which  formed 
a  continuous  barrier  along  the  southern  and  southeastern  frontier, 
the  most  celebrated  were  the  Zaporovians  *  of  the  Dnieper,  and  the 
Cossacks  of  the  Don. 

The  Zaporovian  Commonwealth  has  been  compared  sometimes  to 
ancient  Sparta,  and  sometimes  to  the  mediseval  Military  Orders,  but 
it  had  in  reality  quite  a  different  character.  In  Sparta  the  nobles 
kept  in  subjection  a  large  population  of  slaves,  and  were  themselves 
constantly  under  the  severe  discipline  of  the  magistrates.  These 
Cossacks  of  the  Dnieper,  on  the  contrary,  lived  by  fishing,  hunting, 
and  marauding,  and  knew  nothing  of  discipline,  except  in  time  of 
war.  Amongst  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  ^etch — so  the  fortified 
camp  was  called — there  reigned  the  most  perfect  equality.  The 
common  saying,  "Bear  patiently,  Cossack;  you  will  one  day  be 
Ataman!''  was  often  realised;  for  every  year  the  office-bearers  laid 
down  the  insignia  of  office  in  presence  of  the  general  assembly,  and 
after  thanking  the  brotherhood  for  the  honour  they  had  enjoyed, 
retired  to  their  former  position  of  common  Cossack.  At  the  elec- 
tion which  followed  this  ceremony  any  member  could  be  chosen 
chief  of  his  I'uren,  or  company,  and  any  chief  of  a  Jcuren  could  be 
chosen  Ataman. 

The  comparison  of  these  bold  Borderers  with  the  medieeval 
Military  Orders  is  scarcely  less  forced.  They  call  themselves, 
indeed,  Lijtsars — a  corruption  of  the  Eussian  word  Eitsar,  which 
is  in  its  turn  a  corruption  of  the  German  Bitter — talked  of 
knightly  honour  (lytsarskaya  tchesf),  and  sometimes  proclaimed 
themselves  the  champions  of  Greek  Orthodoxy  against  the  Roman 
Catholicism  of  theToles  and  the  Mahometanism  of  the  Tartars; 
but  religion  occupied  in  their  minds  a  very  secondary  place.  Their 
great  object  in  life  was  the  acquisition  of  l)ooty.  To  attain  this 
object  they  lived  in  intermittent  warfare  with  the  Tartars,  lifted 
their  cattle,  pillaged  their  aoids,  swept  the  Black  Sea  in  flotillas  of 
small  boats,  and  occasionally  sacked  important  coast  towns,  such  as 
Yarna  and  Sinope.  When  Tartar  booty  could  not  be  easily  ob- 
tained, they  turned  their  attention  to  the  Slavonic  populations ;  and 

*  Tlie  name  "  Zaporovians,"  by  which  they  are  known  in  the  West, 
is  a  corruption  of  the  Itussiau  word  Zaporozhtsi,  which  means  "  Those 
who  live  beyond  the  rapids." 


208  EUSSIA 

when  hard  pressed  by  Christian  potentates,  they  did  not  hesitate 
to  put  themselves  under  the  protection  of  the  Sultan, 

The  Cossacks  of  the  Don,  of  the  Volga,  and  of  the  Ural  had  a 
somewhat  different  organisation.  They  had  no  fortified  camp  like 
the  Setcli,  but  lived  in  villages,  and  assembled  as  necessity  de- 
manded. As  they  were  completely  beyond  the  sphere  of  Polish 
influence,  they  knew  nothing  about  "  knightly  honour  "  and  similar 
conceptions  of  Western  chivalry;  they  even  adopted  many  Tartar 
customs,  and  loved  in  time  of  peace  to  strut  about  in  gorgeous 
Tartar  costumes.  Besides  this,  they  were  nearly  all  emigrants  from 
Great  Eussia,  and  mostly  Old  Eitualists  or  Sectarians,  whilst  the 
Zaporovians  were  Little  Eussians  and  Orthodox. 

These  military  communities  rendered  valuable  service  to  Eussia. 
The  best  means  of  protecting  the  southern  frontier  was  to  have  as 
allies  a  large  body  of  men  leading  the  same  kind  of  life  and  capable 
of  carrying  on  the  same  kind  of  warfare  as  the  nomadic  marauders ; 
and  such  a  body  of  men  were  the  Free  Cossacks.  The  sentiment  of 
self-preservation  and  the  desire  of  booty  kept  them  constantly  on  the 
alert.  By  sending  out  small  parties  in  all  directions,  by  "  procur- 
ing tongues  " — that  is  to  say,  by  kidnapping  and  torturing  strag- 
gling Tartars  with  a  view  to  extracting  information  from  them — 
and  by  keeping  spies  in  the  enemy's  territory,  they  were  generally 
apprised  beforehand  of  any  intended  incursion.  "WTien  danger 
threatened,  the  ordinary  precautions  were  redoubled.  Day  and 
night  patrols  kept  watch  at  the  points  where  the  enemy  was  ex- 
pected, and  as  soon  as  sure  signs  of  his  approach  were  discovered  a 
pile  of  tarred  barrels  prepared  for  the  purpose  was  fired  to  give  the 
alarm.  Eapidly  the  signal  was  repeated  at  one  point  of  observation 
after  another,  and  by  this  primitive  system  of  telegraphy  in  the 
course  of  a  few  hours  the  whole  district  was  up  in  arms.  If  the 
invaders  were  not  too  numerous,  they  were  at  once  attacked  and 
driven  back.  If  they  could  not  be  successfully  resisted,  they  were 
allowed  to  pass;  but  a  troop  of  Cossacks  was  sent  to  pillage  their 
aouls  in  their  absence,  whilst  another  and  larger  force  was  col- 
lected, in  order  to  intercept  them  when  they  were  returning  home 
laden  with  booty.  Thus  many  a  nameless  battle  was  fought  on 
the  trackless  Steppe,  and  many  brave  men  fell  unhonoured  and 
unsung : 

"  Illacrymabiles 
Urgentur  ignotique  longa 
^iOcte,  carent  quia  vate  sacro." 

Notwithstanding  these  valuable  services,  the  Cossack  communi- 


THE    COSSACKS  209 

ties  were  a  constant  source  of  diplomatic  difficulties  and  political 
dangers.  As  they  paid  very  little  attention  to  the  orders  of  the 
Government,  they  supplied  the  Sultan  with  any  number  of  casi 
hcUi,  and  were  often  ready  to  turn  their  arms  against  the  power 
to  which  they  professed  allegiance.  During  "  the  troublous  times," 
for  example,  when  the  national  existence  was  endangered  by  civil 
strife  and  foreign  invasion,  they  overran  the  country,  robbing,  pil- 
laging, and  burning  as  they  were  wont  to  do  in  the  Tartar  aouls. 
At  a  later  period  the  Don  Cossacks  twice  raised  formidaljle  insur- 
rections— first  under  Stenka  Eazin  (1G70),  and  secondly  under 
Pugatchef  (1773) — and  during  the  war  between  Peter  the  Great 
and  Charles  XII.  of  Sweden  the  Zaporovians  took  the  side  of  the 
Swedish  king. 

The  Government  naturally  strove  to  put  an  end  to  this  danger, 
and  ultimately  succeeded.  All  the  Cossacks  were  deprived  of  their 
independence,  but  the  fate  of  the  various  communities  was  different. 
Those  of  the  Volga  were  transfered  to  the  Terek,  where  they  had 
abundant  occupation  in  guarding  the  frontier  against  the  incursions 
of  the  Eastern  Caucasian  tribes.  The  Zaporovians  held  tenaciously 
to  their  "  Dnieper  liberties,"  and  resisted  all  interference,  till  they 
were  forcibly  disbanded  in  the  time  of  Catherine  II.  The  majority 
of  them  fled  to  Turkey,  where  some  of  their  descendants  are  still 
to  be  found,  and  the  remainder  were  settled  on  the  Kuban,  where 
they  could  lead  their  old  life  by  carrying  on  an  irregular  warfare 
with  the  tribes  of  the  Western  Caucasus.  Since  the  capture  of 
Shamyl  and  the  pacification  of  the  Caucasus,  this  Cossack  popula- 
tion of  the  Kuban  and  the  Terek,  extending  in  an  unbroken  line 
from  the  Sea  of  Azof  to  the  Caspian,  have  been  able  to  turn  their 
attention  to  peaceful  pursuits,  and  now  raise  large  quantities  of 
wheat  for  exportation;  but  they  still  retain  their  martial  bearing, 
and  some  of  them  regret  the  good  old  times  when  a  brush  with  the 
Circassians  was  an  ordinary  occurrence  and  the  work  of  tilling  the 
soil  was  often  diversified  with  a  more  exciting  kind  of  occupation. 

The  Cossacks  of  the  Ural  and  the  Don  have  been  allowed  to 
remain  in  their  old  homes,  but  they  have  been  deprived  of  their  inde- 
pendence and  self-government,  and  their  social  organisation  has 
been  completely  changed.  The  boisterous  popular  assemblies  which 
formerly  decided  all  public  afi^airs  have  been  abolished,  and  the 
custom  of  choosing  the  Atamdn  and  other  oifice-bearers  by  popular 
election  has  been  replaced  by  a  system  of  regular  promotion,  accord- 
ing to  rules  elaborated  in  St.  Petersburg.  The  officers  and  their 
families  now  compose  a  kind  of  hereditary  aristocracy  which  has 


210  EUSSIA 

succeeded  in  appropriating,  by  means  of  Imperial  grants,  a  large 
portion  of  the  land  which  was  formerly  common  property.  As  the 
Empire  expanded  in  Asia  the  system  of  protecting  the  parties  by 
Cossack  colonists  was  extended  eastwards,  so  now  there  is  a  belt  of 
Cossack  territory  stretching  almost  without  interruption  from  the 
banks  of  the  Don  to  the  coast  of  the  Pacific.  It  is  divided  into 
eleven  sections,  in  each  of  which  is  settled  a  Cossack  corps  with  a 
separate  administration. 

When  universal  military  service  was  introduced,  in  1873,  the 
Cossacks  were  brought  under  the  new  law,  but  in  order  to  preserve 
their  military  traditions  and  habits  they  were  allowed  to  retain, 
with  certain  modifications,  their  old  organisation,  rights,  and  priv- 
ileges. In  return  for  a  large  amount  of  fertile  land  and  exemp- 
tion from  direct  taxation,  they  have  to  equip  themselves  at  their 
own  expense,  and  serve  for  twenty  years,  of  which  three  are  spent 
in  preparatory  training,  twelve  in  the  active  army,  and  five  in  the 
reserve.  This  system  gives  to  the  army  a  contingent  of  about 
330,000  men — divided  into  890  squadrons  and  108  infantry  com- 
panies— with  236  guns. 

The  Cossacks  in  active  service  are  to  be  met  with  in  all  parts  of 
the  Empire,  from  the  Prussian  to  the  Chinese  frontier.  In  the 
Asiatic  Provinces  their  services  are  invaluable.  Capable  of  endur- 
ing an  incredible  amount  of  fatigue  and  all  manner  of  privations, 
they  can  live  and  thrive  in  conditions  which  would  soon  disable 
regular  troops.  The  capacity  of  self-adaptation,  which  is  charac- 
teristic of  the  Eussian  people  generally,  is  possessed  by  them  in  the 
highest  degree.  When  placed  on  some  distant  Asiatic  frontier  they 
can  at  once  transform  themselves  into  squatters — building  their 
own  houses,  raising  crops  of  grain,  and  living  as  colonists  without 
neglecting  their  military  duties. 

I  have  sometimes  heard  it  asserted  by  military  men  that  the 
Cossack  organisation  is  an  antiquated  institution,  and  that  the 
soldiers  which  it  produces,  however  useful  they  may  be  in  Central 
Asia,  would  be  of  little  service  in  regular  European  warfare. 
Whether  this  view,  which  received  some  confirmation  in  the  Eusso- 
Turkish  War  of  1877-78,  is  true  or  false  I  cannot  pretend  to  say, 
for  it  is  a  subject  on  which  a  civilian  has  no  right  to  speak ;  but  I 
may  remark  that  the  Cossacks  themselves  are  not  by  any  means 
of  that  opinion.  They  regard  themselves  as  the  most  valuable 
troops  which  the  Tsar  possesses,  believing  themselves  capable  of 
performing  anything  within  the  bounds  of  human  possibility,  and 
a  good  deal  that  lies  beyond  that  limit.     More  than  once  Don  Cos- 


THE    COSSACKS  211 

sacks  have  assured  me  that  if  the  Tsar  had  allowed  them  to  fit 
out  a  flotilla  of  small  boats  during  the  Crimean  War  they  would 
have  captured  the  British  fleet,  as  their  ancestors  used  to  capture 
Turkish  galleys  on  the  Black  Sea ! 

In  old  times,  throughout  the  whole  territory  of  the  Don  Cossacks, 
agriculture  was  prohibited  on  pain  of  death.  It  is  generally  sup- 
posed that  this  measure  was  adopted  with  a  view  to  preserve  the 
martial  spirit  of  the  inhabitants,  but  it  may  be  explained  other- 
wise. The  great  majority  of  the  Cossacks,  averse  to  all  regular, 
laborious  occupations,  wished  to  live  by  fishing,  hunting,  cattle- 
breeding,  and  marauding,  but  there  was  always  amongst  them  a 
considerable  number  of  immigrants — runaway  serfs  from  the  inte- 
rior— who  had  been  accustomed  to  live  by  agriculture.  These  latter 
wished  to  raise  crops  on  the  fertile  virgin  soil,  and  if  they  had  been 
allowed  to  do  so  they  would  to  some  extent  have  spoiled  the 
pastures.  We  have  here,  I  believe,  the  true  reason  for  the  above- 
mentioned  prohibition,  and  this  view  is  strongly  confirmed  by 
analogous  facts  which  I  have  observed  in  another  locality.  In  the 
Kirghiz  territory  the  poorer  inhabitants  of  the  aouls  near  the  fron- 
tier, having  few  or  no  cattle,  wish  to  let  part  of  the  common  land 
to  the  neighbouring  Russian  peasantry  for  agricultural  purposes; 
but  the  richer  inhabitants,  who  possess  flocks  and  herds,  strenuously 
oppose  this  movement,  and  would  doubtless  prohibit  it  under  pain 
of  death  if  they  had  the  power,  because  all  agricultural  encroach- 
ments diminish  the  pasture-land. 

Whatever  was  the  real  reason  of  the  prohibition,  practical  neces- 
sity proved  in  the  long  run  too  strong  for  the  anti-agriculturists. 
As  the  population  augmented  and  the  opportunities  for  marauding 
decreased,  the  majority  had  to  overcome  their  repugnance  to  hus- 
bandry; and  soon  large  patches  of  ploughed  land  or  waving  grain 
were  to  be  seen  in  the  vicinity  of  the  stanitsas,  as  the  Cossack 
villages  are  termed.  At  first  there  was  no  attempt  to  regulate  this 
new  use  of  the  ager  puhlicus.  Each  Cossack  who  wished  to  raise 
a  crop  ploughed  and  sowed  wherever  he  thought  fit,  and  retained 
as  long  as  he  chose  the  land  thus  appropriated;  and  when  the  soil 
began  to  show  signs  of  exhaustion  he  abandoned  his  plot  and 
ploughed  elsewhere.  But  this  unregulated  use  of  the  Communal 
property  could  not  long  continue.  As  the  number  of  agriculturists 
increased,  quarrels  frequently  arose,  and  sometimes  terminated  in 
bloodshed.  Still  worse  evils  appeared  when  markets  were  created 
in  the  vicinity,  and  it  became  possible  to  sell  the  grain  for  exporta- 
tion.   In  some  stanitsas  the  richer  families  appropriated  enormous 


212  EUSSIA 

quantities  of  the  common  land  by  using  several  teams  of  oxen,  or 
by  hiring  peasants  in  the  nearest  villages  to  come  and  plough  for 
them;  and  instead  of  abandoning  the  land  after  raising  two  or 
three  crops  they  retained  possession  of  it,  and  came  to  regard  it 
as  their  private  property.  Thus  the  whole  of  the  arable  land, 
or  at  least  the  best  part  of  it,  became  actually,  if  not  legally,  the 
private  property  of  a  few  families,  whilst  the  less  energetic  or  less 
fortunate  inhabitants  of  the  stanitsa  had  only  parcels  of  compara- 
tively barren  soil,  or  had  no  land  whatever,  and  became  mere 
agricultural  labourers. 

After  a  time  this  injustice  was  remedied.  The  landless  members 
justly  complained  that  they  had  to  bear  the  same  burdens  as  those 
Avho  possessed  the  land,  and  that  therefore  they  ought  to  enjoy  the 
same  privileges.  The  old  spirit  of  equality  was  still  strong  amongst 
them,  and  they  ultimately  succeeded  in  asserting  their  rights.  In 
accordance  with  their  demands  the  appropriated  land  was  con- 
fiscated by  the  Commune,  and  the  system  of  periodical  redistri- 
butions was  introduced.  By  this  system  each  adult  male  possesses 
a  share  of  the  land. 

These  facts  tend  to  throw  light  on  some  of  the  dark  questions  of 
social  development  in  its  early  stages. 

So  long  as  a  village  community  leads  a  purely  pastoral  life,  and 
possesses  an  abundance  of  land,  there  is  no  reason  why  the  individ- 
uals or  the  families  of  which  it  is  composed  should  divide  the 
land  into  private  lots,  and  there  are  very  potent  reasons  why  they 
should  not  adopt  such  a  course.  To  give  the  division  of  the  land 
any  practical  significance,  it  would  be  necessary  to  raise  fences  of 
some  kind,  and  these  fences,  requiring  for  their  construction  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  labour,  would  prove  merely  a  useless  encumbrance, 
for  it  is  much  more  convenient  that  all  the  sheep  and  cattle  should 
graze  together.  If  there  is  a  scarcity  of  pasture,  and  consequently 
a  conflict  of  interest  among  the  families,  the  enjoyment  of  the  com- 
mon land  will  be  regulated  not  by  raising  fences,  but  by  simply 
limiting  the  number  of  sheep  and  cattle  which  each  family  is 
entitled  to  put  upon  the  pasturage,  as  is  done  in  many  Kussian  vil- 
lages at  the  present  day.  "^lien  any  one  desires  to  keep  more  sheep 
and  cattle  than  the  maximum  to  which  he  is  entitled,  he  pays  to 
the  others  a  certain  compensation.  Thus,  we  see,  in  pastoral  life 
the  dividing  of  the  common  land  is  unnecessary  and  inexpedient, 
and  consequently  private  property  in  land  is  not  likely  to  come  into 
existence. 

With  the  introduction  of  agriculture  appears  a  tendency  to  divide 


THE    COSSACKS  213 

the  land  among  the  families  composing  the  communit}',  for  each 
family  living  by  husbandry  requires  a  definite  portion  of  the  soil. 
If  the  land  suitable  for  agricultural  purposes  be  plentiful,  each 
head  of  a  family  may  be  allowed  to  take  possession  of  as  much  of 
it  as  he  requires,  as  was  formerly  done  in  the  Cossack  stanitsas;  if, 
on  the  contrary,  the  area  of  ara])lc  land  is  small,  as  is  the  case  in 
some  Bashkir  aouls,  there  will  probably  be  a  regular  allotment  of  it 
among  the  families. 

With  the  tendency  to  divide  the  land  into  definite  portions  arises 
a  conflict  between  the  principle  of  communal  and  the  principle  of 
private  property.  Those  who  obtain  definite  portions  of  the  soil 
are  in  general  likely  to  keep  them  and  transmit  them  to  their 
descendants.  In  a  country,  however,  like  the  Steppe — and  it  is 
only  of  such  countries  that  I  am  at  present  speaking — the  nature  of 
the  soil  and  the  system  of  agriculture  militate  against  this  conver- 
sion of  simple  possession  into  a  right  of  property.  A  plot  of  land  is 
commonly  cultivated  for  only  three  or  four  years  in  succession. 
It  is  then  abandoned  for  at  least  double  that  period,  and  the  culti- 
vators remove  to  some  other  portion  of  the  communal  territory. 
After  a  time,  it  is  true,  they  return  to  the  old  portion,  which  has 
been  in  the  meantime  lying  fallow ;  but  as  the  soil  is  tolerably  equal 
in  quality,  the  families  or  individuals  have  no  reason  to  desire  the 
precise  plots  which  they  formerly  possessed.  Under  such  circum- 
stances the  principle  of  private  property  in  the  land  is  not  likely 
to  strike  root;  each  family  insists  on  possessing  a  certain  quantity 
rather  than  a  certain  plot  of  land,  and  contents  itself  with  a  right 
of  usufruct,  whilst  the  right  of  property  remains  in  the  hands  of 
the  Commune;  and  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  difference 
between  usufruct  and  property  here  is  of  great  practical  importance, 
for  so  long  as  the  Commune  retains  the  right  of  property  it  may 
re-allot  the  land  in  any  way  it  thinks  fit. 

As  the  population  increases  and  land  becomes  less  plentiful,  the 
primitive  method  of  agriculture  above  alluded  to  gives  place  to  a 
less  primitive  method,  commonly  known  as  "  the  three-field  system," 
according  to  which  the  cultivators  do  not  migrate  periodically  from 
one  part  of  the  communal  territory  to  another,  but  till  always  the 
same  fields,  and  are  obliged  to  manure  the  plots  which  they  occupy. 
The  principle  of  communal  property  rarely  survives  this  change, 
for  by  long  possession  the  families  acquire  a  prescriptive  right  to 
the  portions  which  they  cultivate,  and  those  who  manure  their  land 
well  naturally  object  to  exchange  it  for  land  which  has  been  held 
by  indolent,   improvident  neighbours.     In   Russia,  however,   this 


214  RUSSIA 

change  has  not  destroyed  the  principle  of  communal  property. 
Though  the  three-field  system  has  been  in  use  for  many  generations 
in  the  central  provinces,  the  communal  principle,  with  its  periodical 
re-allotment  of  the  land,  still  remains  intact. 

For  the  student  of  sociology  the  past  history  and  actual  condition 
of  the  Don  Cossacks  present  many  other  features  equally  interest- 
ing and  instructive.  He  may  there  see,  for  instance,  how  an  aristoc- 
racy can  be  created  by  military  promotion,  and  how  serfage  may 
originate  and  become  a  recognised  institution  without  any  legisla- 
tive enactment.  If  he  takes  an  interest  in  peculiar  manifestations 
of  religious  thought  and  feeling,  he  will  find  a  rich  field  of  investi- 
gation in  the  countless  religious  sects;  and  if  he  is  a  collector  of 
quaint  old  customs,  he  will  not  lack  occupation. 

One  curious  custom,  which  has  very  recently  died  out,  I  may  here 
mention  by  way  of  illustration.  As  the  Cossacks  knew  very  little 
about  land-surveying,  and  still  less  about  land-registration,  the 
precise  boundary  between  two  contiguous  yurts — as  the  com- 
munal land  of  a  stanitsa  was  called — was  often  a  matter  of  uncer- 
tainty and  a  fruitful  source  of  disputes.  When  the  boundary  was 
once  determined,  the  following  method  of  registering  it  was 
employed.  All  the  boys  of  the  two  stanitsas  were  collected  and 
driven  in  a  body  like  sheep  to  the  intervening  frontier.  The  whole 
population  then  walked  along  the  frontier  that  had  been  agreed 
upon,  and  at  each  landmark  a  number  of  boys  were  soundly  whipped 
and  allowed  to  run  home !  This  was  done  in  the  hope  that  the  vic- 
tims would  remember,  as  long  as  they  lived,  the  spot  where  they 
had  received  their  unmerited  castigation.*  The  device,  I  have  been 
assured,  was  generally  very  effective,  but  it  was  not  always  quite 
successful.  Whether  from  the  castigation  not  being  sufficiently 
severe,  or  from  some  other  defect  in  the  method,  it  sometimes 
happened  that  disputes  afterwards  arose,  and  the  whipped  boys, 
now  grown  up  to  manhood,  gave  conflicting  testimony.  When 
such  a  case  occurred  the  following  expedient  was  adopted.  One  of 
the  oldest  inhabitants  was  chosen  as  arbiter,  and  made  to  swear 
on  the  Scriptures  that  he  would  act  honestly  to  the  best  of  his 
knowledge ;  then  taking  an  Icon  in  his  hand,  he  walked  along  what 
he  believed  to  be  the  old  frontier.  Whether  he  made  mistakes  or 
not,  his  decision  was  accepted  by  both  parties  and  regarded  as  final. 
This  custom  existed  in  some  stanitsas  down  to  the  year  1850,  when 
the  boundaries  were  clearly  determined  by  Government  officials. 

*A  custom  of  this  kind,  I  am  told,  existed  not  very  long  ago  in 
England  and  is  still  spoken  of  as  "  the  beating  of  the  bounds." 


CHAPTER    XVI 

FOREIGN    COLONISTS    ON    THE    STEPPE 

The  Steppe — Variety  of  Races,  Languages,  and  Relfgions— The  German 
Colonists — In  What  Sense  the  Russians  are  an  Imitative  People — 
The  Mennonites — Climate  and  Arboriculture — Bulgarian  Colonists — 
Tartar-Speaking  Greeks— Jewish  Agriculturists— Russification— A 
Circassian  Scotchman— Numerical  Strength  of  the  Foreign  Element. 

T  N  European  Russia  the  struggle  between  agriculture  and  nomadic 
*  barbarism  is  now  a  thing  of  the  past,  and  the  fertile  Steppe, 
which  was  for  centuries  a  battle-ground  of  the  Aryan  and  Turanian 
races,  has  been  incorporated  into  the  dominions  of  the  Tsar.  The 
nomadic  tribes  have  been  partly  driven  out  and  partly  pacified  and 
parked  in  "  reserves,"  and  the  territory  which  they  so  long  and  so 
stubbornly  defended  is  now  studded  with  peaceful  villages  and 
tilled  by  laborious  agriculturists. 

In  traversing  this  region  the  ordinary  tourist  will  find  little  to 
interest  him.  He  will  see  nothing  which  he  can  possibly  dignifv 
by  the  name  of  scenery,  and  he  may  journey  on  for  many  days  with- 
out having  any  occasion  to  make  an  entry  in  his  note-book.  If 
he  should  happen,  however,  to  be  an  ethnologist  and  linguist,  he 
may  find  occupation,  for  he  will  here  meet  with  fragments  of  many 
different  races  and  a  variety  of  foreign  tongues. 

This  ethnological  variety  is  the  result  of  a  policy  inaugurated  by 
Catherine  II.  So  long  as  the  southern  frontier  was  pushed  forward 
slowly,  the  acquired  territory  was  regularly  filled  up  by  Russian 
peasants  from  the  central  provinces  who  were  anxious  to  obtain 
more  land  and  more  liberty  than  they  enjoyed  in  their  native  vil- 
lages ;  but  during  "  the  glorious  age  of  Catherine  "  the  frontier  was 
pushed  forward  so  rapidly  that  the  old  method  of  spontaneous 
emigration  no  longer  sufficed  to  people  the  annexed  territory.  The 
Empress  had  recourse,  therefore,  to  organised  emigration  from 
foreign  countries.  Her  diplomatic  representatives  in  "Western 
Europe  tried  to  induce  artisans  and  peasants  to  emigrate  to  Rus- 
sia, and  special  agents  were  sent  to  various  countries  to  supplement 
the  efforts  of  the  diplomatists.  Thousands  accepted  the  invitation, 
and  were  for  the  most  part  settled  on  the  land  which  had  been 
recently  the  pasture-ground  of  the  nomadic  hordes. 

215 


216  EUSSIA 

This  policy  was  adopted  by  succeeding  sovereigns,  and  the  conse- 
quence of  it  has  been  that  Southern  Russia  now  contains  a  variety 
of  races  such  as  is  to  be  found,  perhaps,  nowhere  else  in  Europe. 
The  official  statistics  of  New  Russia  alone — that  is  to  say,  the  pro- 
vinces of  Ekaterinoslaf,  Tauride,  Kherson,  and  Bessarabia — enu- 
merate the  following  nationalities:  Great  Russians,  Little  Rus- 
sians, Poles,  Servians,  Montenegrins,  Bulgarians,  Moldavians,  Ger- 
mans, English,  Swedes,  Swiss,  French,  Italians,  Greeks,  Arme- 
nians, Tartars,  Mordwa,  Jews,  and  Gypsies.  The  religions  are 
almost  equally  numerous.  The  statistics  speak  of  Greek  Orthodox, 
Roman  Catholics,  Gregorians,  Lutherans,  Calvinists,  Anglicans, 
Mennonites,  Separatists,  Pietists,  Karaim  Jews,  Talmudists, 
Mahometans,  and  numerous  Russian  sects,  such  as  the  Molo- 
kanye  and  the  Skoptsi  or  Eunuchs.  America  herself  could  scarcely 
show  a  more  motley  list  in  her  statistics  of  population. 

It  is  but  fair  to  state  that  the  above  list,  though  literally  correct, 
does  not  give  a  true  idea  of  the  actual  population.  The  great  body 
of  the  inhabitants  are  Russian  and  Orthodox,  whilst  several  of  the 
nationalities  named  arc  represented  by  a  small  number  of  souls — 
some  of  them,  such  as  the  French,  being  found  exclusively  in  the 
towns.  Still,  the  variety  even  in  the  rural  population  is  very  great. 
Once,  in  the  space  of  three  days,  and  using  only  the  most  primitive 
means  of  conveyance,  I  visited  colonies  of  Greeks,  Germans,  Ser- 
vians, Bulgarians,  Montenegrins,  and  Jews. 

Of  all  the  foreign  colonists  the  Germans  are  by  far  the  most 
numerous.  The  object  of  the  Government  in  inviting  them  to 
settle  in  the  country  was  that  they  should  till  the  unoccupied  land 
and  thereby  increase  the  national  wealth,  and  that  they  should  at 
the  same  time  exercise  a  civilising  influence  on  the  Russian  peas- 
antry in  their  vicinity.  In  this  latter  respect  they  have  totally 
failed  to  fulfil  their  mission.  A  Russian  village,  situated  in  the 
midst  of  German  colonies,  shows  generally,  so  far  as  I  could  observe, 
no  signs  of  German  influence.  Each  nationality  lives  more 
majorum,  and  holds  as  little  communication  as  possible  with  the 
other.  The  muzhik  observes  carefully — for  he  is  very  curious — ■ 
the  mode  of  life  of  his  more  advanced  neighbours,  but  he  never 
thinks  of  adopting  it.  He  looks  upon  Germans  almost  as  beings 
of  a  different  world — as  a  wonderfully  cunning  and  ingenious 
people,  who  have  been  endowed  by  Providence  with  peculiar  quali- 
ties not  possessed  by  ordinary  Orthodox  humanity.  To  him  it 
seems  in  the  nature  of  things  that  Germans  should  live  in  large, 
clean,  well-built  houses,  in  the  same  way  as  it  is  in  the  nature  of 


rOEEIGX    COLOXISTS    OX   THE    STEPPE        217 

things  that  birds  should  build  nests;  and  as  it  has  probably  never 
occurred  to  a  human  being  to  build  a  nest  for  himself  and  his 
family,  so  it  never  occurs  to  a  Eussian  peasant  to  build  a  house  on 
the  German  model.  Germans  are  Germans,  and  Russians  are  Rus- 
sians— and  there  is  nothing  more  to  be  said  on  the  subject. 

This  stul)bornly  conservative  spirit  of  the  peasantry  who  live  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Germans  seems  to  give  the  lie  direct  to  the 
oft-repeated  and  universally  believed  assertion  that  Russians  are 
an  imitative  people  strongly  disposed  to  adopt  the  manners  and 
customs  of  any  foreigners  with  whom  they  may  come  in  contact. 
The  Russian,  it  is  said,  changes  his  nationality  as  easily  as  he 
changes  his  coat,  and  derives  great  satisfaction  from  wearing  some 
nationality  that  does  not  belong  to  him;  but  here  we  have  an 
important  fact  which  appears  to  prove  the  contrary. 

The  truth  is  that  in  this  matter  we  must  distinguish  between  the 
Noblesse  and  the  peasantry.  The  nol)les  are  singularly  prone  to 
adopt  foreign  manners,  customs,  and  institutions;  the  peasants, 
on  the  contrary,  are  as  a  rule  decidedly  conservative.  It  must  not, 
however,  he  supposed  that  this  proceeds  from  a  difference  of  race; 
the  difference  is  to  be  explained  by  the  past  history  of  the  two 
classes.  Like  all  other  peoples,  the  Russians  are  strongly  con- 
servative so  long  as  they  remain  in  what  may  be  termed  their 
primitive  moral  habitat — that  is  to  say,  so  long  as  external  circum- 
stances do  not  force  them  out  of  their  accustomed  traditional 
groove.  The  Noblesse  were  long  ago  violently  forced  out  of  their 
old  groove  by  the  reforming  Tsars,  and  since  that  time  they  have 
been  so  constantly  driven  hither  and  thither  by  foreign  influences 
that  they  have  never  been  able  to  form  a  new  one.  Thus  they 
easily  enter  upon  any  new  path  which  seems  to  them  profitable  or 
attractive.  The  great  mass  of  the  people,  on  the  contrary,  too 
heavy  to  be  thus  lifted  out  of  the  guiding  influence  of  custom  and 
tradition,  are  still  animated  with  a  strongly  conservative  spirit. 

In  confirmation  of  this  view  I  may  mention  two  facts  which  have 
often  attracted  my  attention.  The  first  is  that  the  ^lolokanye — 
a  primitive  Evangelical  sect  of  which  I  shall  speak  at  length  in  the 
next  chapter — succumb  gradually  to  German  influence;  by  becom- 
ing heretics  in  religion  they  free  themselves  from  one  of  the 
strongest  bonds  attaching  them  to  the  past,  and  soon  become  heretics 
in  things  secular.  The  second  fact  is  that  even  the  Orthodox 
peasant,  when  placed  by  circumstances  in  some  new  sphere  of 
activity,  readily  adopts  whatever  seems  profitable.  Take,  for  exam- 
ple, the  peasants  who  abandon  agriculture  and  embark  in  industrial 


218  EUSSIA 

enterprises;  finding  themselves,  as  it  were,  in  a  new  world,  in 
which  their  old  traditional  notions  are  totally  inapplicable,  they 
have  no  hesitation  in  adopting  foreign  ideas  and  foreign  inventions. 
And  when  once  they  have  chosen  this  new  path,  they  are  much 
more  "  go-ahead  "  than  the  Germans.  Freed  alike  from  the  tram- 
mels of  hereditary  conceptions  and  from  the  prudence  which  experi- 
ence generates,  they  often  give  a  loose  rein  to  their  impulsive 
character,  and  enter  freely  on  the  wildest  speculations. 

The  marked  contrast  presented  by  a  German  colony  and  a  Rus- 
sian village  in  close  proximity  with  each  other  is  often  used  to 
illustrate  the  superiority  of  the  Teutonic  over  the  Slavonic  race, 
and  in  order  to  make  the  contrast  more  striking,  the  Mennonite 
colonies  are  generally  taken  as  the  representatives  of  the  Germans. 
Without  entering  here  on  the  general  question,  I  must  say  that  this 
method  of  argumentation  is  scarcely  fair.  The  Mennonites,  who 
formerly  lived  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Danzig  and  emigrated  from 
Prussia  in  order  to  escape  the  military  conscription,  brought  with 
them  to  their  new  home  a  large  store  of  useful  technical  knowledge 
and  a  considerable  amount  of  capital,  and  they  received  a  quantity 
of  land  very  much  greater  than  the  Eussian  peasants  possess. 
Besides  this,  they  enjoyed  until  very  recently  several  valuable 
privileges.  They  were  entirely  exempted  from  military  service  and 
almost  entirely  exempted  from  taxation.  Altogether  their  lines 
fell  in  very  pleasant  places.  In  material  and  moral  well-being  they 
stand  as  far  above  the  majority  of  the  ordinary  German  colonists 
as  these  latter  do  above  their  Eussian  neighbours.  Even  in  the 
richest  districts  of  Germany  their  prosperity  would  attract  atten- 
tion. To  compare  these  rich,  privileged,  well-educated  farmers  with 
the  poor,  heavily  taxed,  uneducated  peasantry,  and  to  draw  from  the 
comparison  conclusions  concerning  the  capabilities  of  the  two  races, 
is  a  proceeding  so  absurd  that  it  requires  no  further  comment. 

To  the  wearied  traveller  who  has  been  living  for  some  time  in 
Eussian  villages,  one  of  these  Mennonite  colonies  seems  an  earthly 
paradise.  In  a  little  hollow,  perhaps  by  the  side  of  a  watercourse, 
he  suddenly  comes  on  a  long  row  of  high-roofed  houses  half  con- 
cealed in  trees.  The  trees  may  be  found  on  closer  inspection  to  be 
little  better  than  mere  saplings;  but  after  a  long  journey  on  the 
bare  Steppe,  where  there  is  neither  tree  nor  bush  of  any  kind,  the 
foliage,  scant  as  it  is,  appears  singularly  inviting.  The  houses  are 
large,  well  arranged,  and  kept  in  such  thoroughly  good  repair  that 
they  always  appear  to  be  newly  built.  The  rooms  are  plainly  fur- 
nished, without  any  pretensions  to  elegance,  but  scrupulously  clean. 


FOREIGN"    COLONISTS    ON    THE    STEPPE        219 

Adjoining  the  house  are  the  stable  and  byre,  which  would  not  dis- 
grace a  model  farm  in  Germany  or  England.  In  front  is  a 
spacious  courtyard,  which  has  the  appearance  of  being  swept  several 
times  a  day,  and  behind  there  is  a  garden  well  stocked  with  vege- 
tables. Fruit  trees  and  flowers  are  not  very  plentiful,  for  the  cli- 
mate is  not  favourable  to  them. 

The  inhabitants  are  honest,  frugal  folk,  somewhat  sluggish  of 
intellect  and  indifferent  to  things  lying  beyond  the  narrow  limits 
of  their  own  little  world,  but  shrewd  enough  in  all  matters  which 
they  deem  worthy  of  their  attention.  If  you  arrive  amongst  them  as 
a  stranger  you  may  be  a  little  chilled  by  the  welcome  you  receive,  for 
they  are  exclusive,  reserved,  and  distrustful,  and  do  not  much  like  to 
associate  with  those  who  do  not  belong  to  their  own  sect;  but  if 
you  can  converse  with  them  in  their  mother  tongue  and  talk  about 
religious  matters  in  an  evangelical  tone,  you  may  easily  overcome 
their  stiffness  and  exclusiveness.  Altogether  such  a  village  cannot 
be  recommended  for  a  lengthened  sojourn,  for  the  severe  order  and 
symmetry  which  everywhere  prevail  would  soon  prove  irksome  to 
any  one  having  no  Dutch  blood  in  his  veins;*  but  as  a  temporary 
resting-place  during  a  pilgrimage  on  the  Steppe,  when  the  pilgrim 
is  longing  for  a  little  cleanliness  and  comfort,  it  is  very  agreeable. 

The  fact  that  these  ]\Iennonites  and  some  other  German  colonies 
have  succeeded  in  rearing  a  few  sickly  trees  has  suggested  to  some 
fertile  minds  the  idea  that  the  prevailing  dryness  of  the  climate, 
which  is  the  chief  difficulty  with  which  the  agriculturist  of  that 
region  has  to  contend,  might  be  to  some  extent  counteracted  by 
arboriculture  on  a  large  scale.  This  scheme,  though  it  has  been 
seriously  entertained  by  one  of  his  Majesty's  ministers,  must  seem 
hardly  practicable  to  any  one  who  knows  how  much  labour  and 
money  the  colonists  have  expended  in  creating  that  agreeable  shade 
which  they  love  to  enjoy  in  their  leisure  hours.  If  climate  is 
affected  at  all  by  the  existence  or  non-existence  of  forests — a  point 
on  which  scientific  men  do  not  seem  to  be  entirely  agreed — any 
palpable  increase  of  the  rainfall  can  be  produced  only  by  forests 
of  enormous  extent,  and  it  is  hardly  conceivable  that  these  could  be 
artificially  produced  in  Southern  Eussia.  It  is  quite  possible,  how- 
ever, that  local  ameliorations  may  be  effected.     During  a  visit  to 

•  The  Mennonites  were  originally  Dutchmen.  Persecuted  for  their 
religious  views  in  the  sixteenth  century,  a  large  number  of  them  ac- 
cepted an  invitation  to  settle  in  West  Prussia,  where  they  helped  to 
drain  the  great  marshes  between  Danzig,  Elbing.  and  Marienburg.  Here 
in  the  course  of  time  they  forgot  their  native  language.  Their  emigra- 
tion to  Russia  began  in  1789. 


230  KUSSIA 

the  province  of  Voronezh  in  1903  I  found  that  comparatively  small 
plantations  diminished  the  effects  of  drought  in  their  immediate 
vicinity  by  retaining  the  moisture  for  a  time  in  the  soil  and  the 
surrounding  atmosphere. 

After  the  Mennonites  and  other  Germans,  the  Bulgarian  colonists 
deserve  a  passing  notice.  They  settled  in  this  region  much  more 
recently,  on  the  land  that  was  left  vacant  by  the  exodus  of  the 
jSTogai"  Tartars  after  the  Crimean  War.  If  I  may  judge  of  their 
condition  by  a  mere  fljdng  visit,  I  should  say  that  in  agriculture 
and  domestic  civilisation  they  are  not  very  far  behind  the  majority 
of  German  colonists.  Their  houses  are  indeed  small — so  small  that 
one  of  them  might  almost  be  put  into  a  single  room  of  a  Mennonite's 
house;  but  there  is  an  air  of  cleanliness  and  comfort  about  them 
that  would  do  credit  to  a  German  housewife. 

In  spite  of  all  this,  these  Bulgarians  were,  I  could  easily  per- 
ceive, by  no  means  delighted  with  their  new  home.  The  cause  of 
their  discontent,  so  far  as  I  could  gather  from  the  few  laconic 
remarks  which  I  extracted  from  them,  seemed  to  be  this:  Trust- 
ing to  the  highly  coloured  descriptions  furnished  by  the  emigra- 
tion agents  who  had  induced  them  to  change  the  rule  of  the  Sul- 
tan for  the  authority  of  the  Tsar,  they  came  to  Russia  with  the 
expectation  of  finding  a  fertile  and  beautiful  Promised  Land. 
Instead  of  a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey,  they  received  a 
tract  of  bare  Steppe  on  which  even  water  could  be  obtained  only 
with  great  difficulty — with  no  shade  to  protect  them  from  the  heat 
of  summer  and  nothing  to  shelter  them  from  the  keen  northern 
blasts  that  often  sweep  over  those  open  plains.  As  no  adequate 
arrangements  had  been  made  for  their  reception,  they  were  quar- 
tered during  the  first  winter  on  the  German  colonists,  who,  being 
quite  innocent  of  any  Slavophil  sympathies,  were  probably  not 
very  hospitable  to  their  uninvited  guests.  To  complete  their  dis- 
appointment, they  found  that  they  could  not  cultivate  the  vine, 
and  that  their  mild,  fragrant  tobacco,  which  is  for  them  a  neces- 
sary of  life,  could  be  obtained  only  at  a  very  high  price.  So  discon- 
solate were  they  under  this  cruel  disenchantment  that,  at  the  time  of 
my  visit,  they  talked  of  returning  to  their  old  homes  in  Turkey. 

As  an  example  of  the  less  prosperous  colonists,  I  may  mention 
the  Tartar-speaking  Greeks  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Mariupol,  on 
the  northern  shore  of  the  Sea  of  Azof.  Their  ancestors  lived  in 
the  Crimea,  under  the  rule  of  the  Tartar  Khans,  and  emigrated  to 
Eussia  in  the  time  of  Catherine  II.,  before  Crim  Tartary  was 
annexed  to  the  Russian  Empire.     They  have  almost  entirely  for- 


rOEEIGX    COLOXISTS    OX    THE    STEPPE        221 

gotten  their  old  language,  but  have  preserved  their  old  faith.  In 
adopting  the  Tartar  language  they  have  adopted  something  of  Tar- 
tar indolence  and  apathy,  and  the  natural  consequence  is  that  they 
are  poor  and  ignorant. 

But  of  all  tiie  colonists  of  this  region  the  least  prosperous  are 
the  Jews.  The  Chosen  People  are  certainly  a  most  intelligent, 
industrious,  frugal  race,  and  in  all  matters  of  buying,  selling,  and 
bartering  they  are  unrivalled  among  the  nations  of  the  earth,  but 
they  have  been  too  long  accustomed  to  to^vTi  life  to  be  good  tillers 
of  the  soil.  These  Jewish  colonies  were  founded  as  an  experiment 
to  see  whether  the  Israelite  could  be  weaned  from  his  traditionary 
pursuits  and  transferred  to  what  some  economists  call  the  produc- 
tive section  of  society.  The  experiment  has  failed,  and  the  cause 
of  the  failure  is  not  difficult  to  find.  One  has  merely  to  look  at 
these  men  of  gaunt  visage  and  shambling  gait,  with  their  loop- 
holed  slippers,  and  black,  threadbare  coats  reaching  down  to  their 
ankles,  to  understand  that  they  are  not  in  their  proper  sphere. 
Their  houses  are  in  a  most  dilapidated  condition,  and  their  villages 
remind  one  of  the  abomination  of  desolation  spoken  of  by  Daniel 
the  Prophet.  A  great  part  of  their  land  is  left  uncultivated  or  let 
to  colonists  of  a  different  race.  What  little  revenue  they  have  is 
derived  chiefly  from  trade  of  a  more  or  less  clandestine  nature.* 

As  Scandinavia  was  formerly  called  ofjicina  gentium — a  work- 
shop in  which  new  nations  were  made — so  we  may  regard  Southern 
Eussia  as  a  workshop  in  which  fragments  of  old  nations  are  being 
melted  down  to  form  a  new,  composite  whole.  It  must  be  con- 
fessed, however,  that  the  melting  process  has  as  yet  scarcely  begun. 

National  peculiarities  are  not  obliterated  so  rapidly  in  Eussia 
as  in  America  or  in  British  colonies.  Among  the  German  colonists 
in  Eussia  the  process  of  assimilation  is  hardly  perceptible.  Though 
their  fathers  and  grandfathers  may  have  been  born  in  the  new 
country,  they  would  consider  it  an  insult  to  be  called  Eussians. 
They  look  do^Am  upon  the  Eussian  peasantry  as  poor,  ignorant, 
lazy,  and  dishonest,  fear  the  officials  on  account  of  their  tyranny 
and  extortion,  preserve  Jealously  their  o^vn  language  and  customs, 
rarely  speak  Eussian  well — sometimes  not  at  all — and  never  inter- 
marry with  those  from  whom  they  are  separated  by  nationality 
and  religion.  The  Eussian  influence  acts,  however,  more  rapidly 
on  the  Slavonic  colonists — Servians,  Bulgarians,  jMontenegrins — 

*  Mr.  Aruold  White,  who  subsequently  visited  some  of  these  Jewish 
colonies  in  connection  with  Baron  Ilirsch's  colonisation  scheme,  assured 
me  that  he  found  them  in  a  much  more  prosperous  condition. 


223  RUSSIA 

who  profess  the  Greek  Orthodox  faith,  learn  more  easily  the  Eus- 
sian  language,  which  is  closely  allied  to  their  own,  have  no  con- 
sciousness of  belonging  to  a  Culturvolk,  and  in  general  possess  a 
nature  much  more  pliable  than  the  Teutonic. 

The  Government  has  recently  attempted  to  accelerate  the  fus- 
ing process  by  retracting  the  privileges  granted  to  the  colonists 
and  abolishing  the  peculiar  administration  under  which  they  were 
placed.  These  measures — especially  the  universal  military  service 
— may  eventually  diminish  the  extreme  exclusiveness  of  the  Ger- 
mans ;  the  youths,  whilst  serving  in  the  army,  will  at  least  learn  the 
Eussian  language,  and  may  possibly  imbibe  something  of  the  Eus- 
sian  spirit.  But  for  the  present  this  new  policy  has  aroused  a 
strong  feeling  of  hostility  and  greatly  intensified  the  spirit  of 
exclusiveness.  In  the  German  colonies  I  have  often  overheard 
complaints  about  Eussian  tyranny  and  uncomplimentary  remarks 
about  the  Eussian  national  character. 

The  Mennonites  consider  themselves  specially  aggrieved  by  the 
so-called  reforms.  They  came  to  Eussia  in  order  to  escape  military 
service  and  with  the  distinct  understanding  that  they  should  be 
exempted  from  it,  and  now  they  are  forced  to  act  contrary  to  the 
religious  tenets  of  their  sect.  This  is  the  ground  of  complaint 
which  they  put  forward  in  the  petitions  addressed  to  the  Govern- 
ment, but  they  have  at  the  same  time  another,  and  perhaps  more 
important,  objection  to  the  proposed  changes.  They  feel,  as  several 
of  them  admitted  to  me,  that  if  the  barrier  which  separates  them 
from  the  rest  of  the  population  were  in  any  way  broken  down,  they 
could  no  longer  preserve  that  stern  Puritanical  discipline  which  at 
present  constitutes  their  force.  Hence,  though  the  Government 
was  disposed  to  make  important  concessions,  hundreds  of  families 
sold  their  property  and  emigrated  to  America.  The  movement, 
however,  did  not  become  general.  At  present  the  Eussian  Men- 
nonites number,  male  and  female,  about  50,000,  divided  into  160 
colonies  and  possessing  over  800,000  acres  of  land. 

It  is  quite  possible  that  under  the  new  system  of  administration 
the  colonists  who  profess  in  common  with  the  Eussians  the  Greek 
Orthodox  faith  may  be  rapidly  Eussianised;  but  I  am  convinced 
that  the  others  will  long  resist  assimilation.  Greek  orthodoxy  and 
Protestant  sectarianism  are  so  radically  different  in  spirit  that  their 
respective  votaries  are  not  likely  to  intermarry ;  and  without  inter- 
marriage it  is  impossible  that  the  two  nationalities  should  blend. 

As  an  instance  of  the  ethnological  curiosities  which  the  traveller 
may  stumble  upon  unawares  in  this  curious  region,  I  may  mention 


FOREIGX    COLONISTS    OX   THE    STEPPE        223 

a  strange  acquaintance  I  made  when  travelling  on  the  great  plain 
which  stretches  from  the  Sea  of  Azof  to  the  Caspian.  One  day  I 
accidentally  noticed  on  my  travelling-map  the  name  "  Shotlandskaya 
Koloniya"  (Scottish  Colony)  near  the  celebrated  baths  of  Piati- 
gorsk.  I  was  at  that  moment  in  Stavropol,  a  to^\Ti  about  eighty 
miles  to  the  north,  and  could  not  gain  any  satisfactory  information 
as  to  what  this  colony  was.  Some  well-informed  people  assured 
me  that  it  really  was  what  its  name  implied,  whilst  others  asserted 
as  confidently  that  it  was  simply  a  small  German  settlement. 
To  decide  the  matter  I  determined  to  visit  the  place  myself,  though 
it  did  not  lie  near  my  intended  route,  and  I  accordingly  found 
myself  one  morning  in  the  village  in  question.  The  first  inhabi- 
tants whom  I  encountered  were  unmistakably  German,  and  they 
professed  to  know  nothing  about  the  existence  of  Scotsmen  in  the 
locality  either  at  the  present  or  in  former  times.  This  was  disap- 
pointing, and  I  was  about  to  turn  away  and  drive  off,  when  a  young 
man,  who  proved  to  be  the  schoolmaster,  came  up,  and  on  hearing 
what  I  desired,  advised  me  to  consult  an  old  Circassian  who  lived 
at  the  end  of  the  village  and  was  well  acquainted  with  local  antiq- 
uities. On  proceeding  to  the  house  indicated,  I  found  a  veneral^le 
old  man,  with  fine,  regular  features  of  the  Circassian  tj^ie,  coal- 
black  sparkling  eyes,  and  a  long  grey  beard  that  would  have  done 
honour  to  a  patriarch.  To  him  I  explained  briefly,  in  Russian, 
the  object  of  my  visit,  and  asked  whether  he  knew  of  any  Scotsmen 
in  the  district. 

"  And  why  do  you  wish  to  know  ? "  he  replied,  in  the  same 
language,  fixing  me  with  his  keen,  sparkling  eyes. 

"  Because  I  am  myself  a  Scotsman,  and  hoped  to  find  fellow- 
countrymen  here." 

Let  the  reader  imagine  my  astonishment  when,  in  reply  to  this, 
he  answered,  in  genuine  broad  Scotch,  "  Od,  man,  I'm  a  Scotsman 
tae!  My  name  is  John  Abercrombie.  Did  ye  never  hear  tell  o' 
John  Abercrombie,  the  famous  Edinburgh  doctor  ?  " 

I  was  fairly  puzzled  by  this  extraordinary  declaration.  Dr. 
Abercrombie's  name  was  familiar  to  me  as  that  of  a  medical 
practitioner  and  writer  on  psycholog}'',  but  I  knew  that  he  was  long 
since  dead.  "When  I  had  recovered  a  little  from  my  surprise,  I 
ventured  to  remark  to  the  enigmatical  personage  before  me  that, 
though  his  tongue  was  certainly  Scotch,  his  face  was  as  certainly 
Circassian. 

"  Weel,  weel,"  he  replied,  evidently  enjoying  my  look  of  mystifi- 
cation, "  you're  no'  far  wrang.     I'm  a  Circassian  Scotsman !  " 


324  EUSSIA 

This  extraordinary  admission  did  not  diminish  my  perplexity,  so 
I  begged  my  new  acquaintance  to  be  a  little  more  explicit,  and  he 
at  once  complied  with  my  request.  His  long  story  may  be  told  in 
a  few  words : 

In  the  first  years  of  the  present  century  a  band  of  Scotch  mis- 
sionaries came  to  Eussia  for  the  purpose  of  converting  the  Circas- 
sian tribes,  and  received  from  the  Emperor  Alexander  I.  a  large 
grant  of  land  in  this  place,  which  was  then  on  the  frontier  of  the 
Empire.  Here  they  founded  a  mission,  and  began  the  work;  but 
they  soon  discovered  that  the  surrounding  population  were  not 
idolaters,  but  Mussulmans,  and  consequently  impervious  to  Chris- 
tianity. In  this  difficulty  they  fell  on  the  happy  idea  of  buying 
Circassian  children  from  their  parents  and  bringing  them  up  as 
Christians.  One  of  these  children,  purchased  about  the  year  1806, 
was  a  little  boy  called  Teoona.  As  he  had  been  purchased  with 
money  subscribed  by  Dr.  Abercrombie,  he  had  received  in  baptism 
that  gentleman's  name,  and  he  considered  himself  the  foster-son 
of  his  benefactor.     Here  was  the  explanation  of  the  mystery. 

Teoona,  alias  Mr.  Abercrombie,  was  a  man  of  more  than  average 
intelligence.  Besides  his  native  tongue,  he  spoke  English,  German, 
and  Eussian  perfectly;  and  he  assured  me  that  he  knew  several 
other  languages  equally  well.  His  life  had  been  devoted  to  mis- 
sionary work,  and  especially  to  translating  and  printing  the  Scrip- 
tures. He  had  laboured  first  in  Astrakhan,  then  for  four  years 
and  a  half  in  Persia— in  the  service  of  the  Bale  mission — and 
afterwards  for  six  years  in  Siberia. 

The  Scottish  mission  was  suppressed  by  the  Emperor  Nicholas 
about  the  year  1835,  and  all  the  missionaries  except  two  returned 
home.  The  son  of  one  of  these  two  (Galloway)  was  the  only 
genuine  Scotsman  remaining  at  the  time  of  my  visit.  Of  the 
"  Circassian  Scotsmen "  there  were  several,  most  of  whom  had 
married  Germans.  The  other  inhabitants  were  German  colonists 
from  the  province  of  Saratof,  and  German  was  the  language  com- 
monly spoken  in  the  village. 

After  hearing  so  much  about  foreign  colonists,  Tartar  invaders, 
and  Finnish  aborigines,  the  reader  may  naturally  desire  to  know 
the  numerical  strength  of  this  foreign  element.  Unfortunately  we 
have  no  accurate  data  on  this  subject,  but  from  a  careful  examina- 
tion of  the  available  statistics  I  am  inclined  to  conclude  that  it 
constitutes  about  one-sixth  of  the  population  of  European  Eussia, 
including  Poland,  Finland,  and  the  Caucasus,  and  nearly  a  third 
of  the  population  of  the  Empire  as  a  whole. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

AMONG    THE    HERETICS 

The  Molokanye — My  Method  of  Investigation — Alexandrof-IIal — An  Un- 
expected Theological  Discussion — Doctrines  and  Ecclesiastical  Organ- 
isation of  the  Molokdnye — Moral  Supervision  and  Mutual  Assistance 
— History  of  the  Sect — A  False  Prophet — Utilitarian  Christianity — 
Classification  of  the  Fantastic  Sects — The  *'  Khlysti  " — Policy  of  the 
Government  towards  Sectarianism — Two  Kinds  of  Heresy — Prob- 
able Future  of  the  Heretical  Sects — Political  Disaffection. 

\17HILST  travelling  on  the  Steppe  I  heard  a  great  deal  about 
'  »  a  peculiar  religious  sect  called  the  Molokanye,  and  I  felt 
interested  in  them  because  their  religious  belief,  whatever  it  was, 
seemed  to  have  a  beneficial  influence  on  their  material  welfare. 
Of  the  same  race  and  placed  in  the  same  conditions  as  the  Orthodox 
peasantry  around  them,  they  were  undoubtedly  better  housed,  better 
clad,  more  punctual  in  the  payment  of  their  taxes,  and,  in  a  word, 
more  prosperous.  All  my  informants  agreed  in  describing  them  as 
quiet,  decent,  sober  people;  but  regarding  their  religious  doctrines 
the  evidence  was  vague  and  contradictory.  Some  described  them  as 
Protestants  or  Lutherans,  whilst  others  believed  them  to  be  the  last 
remnants  of  a  curious  heretical  sect  which  existed  in  the  early 
Christian  Church. 

Desirous  of  obtaining  clear  notions  on  the  subject,  I  determined 
to  investigate  the  matter  for  myself.  At  first  I  found  this  to  be  no 
easy  task.  In  the  villages  through  which  I  passed  I  found  numerous 
members  of  the  sect,  but  they  all  showed  a  decided  repugnance  to 
speak  about  their  religious  beliefs.  Long  accustomed  to  extortion 
and  persecution  at  the  hands  of  the  Administration,  and  suspect- 
ing me  to  be  a  secret  agent  of  the  Government,  they  carefully 
avoided  speaking  on  any  subject  beyond  the  state  of  the  weather  and 
the  prospects  of  the  harvest,  and  replied  to  my  questions  on  other 
topics  as  if  they  had  been  standing  before  a  Grand  Inquisitor. 

A  few  unsuccessful  attempts  convinced  me  that  it  would  be 
impossible  to  extract  from  them  their  religious  beliefs  by  direct 
questioning.  I  adopted,  therefore,  a  different  system  of  tactics. 
From  meagre  replies  already  received  I  had  discovered  that  their 


226  KUSSIA 

doctrine  had  at  least  a  superficial  resemblance  to  Presbyterianism, 
and  from  former  experience  I  was  aware  that  the  curiosity  of 
intelligent  Eussian  peasants  is  easily  excited  by  descriptions  of 
foreign  countries.  On  these  two  facts  I  based  my  plan  of  cam- 
paign. When  I  found  a  Molokan,  or  some  one  whom  I  suspected 
to  be  such,  I  talked  for  some  time  about  the  weather  and  the 
crops,  as  if  I  had  no  ulterior  object  in  view.  Having  fully  dis- 
cussed this  matter,  I  led  the  conversation  gradually  from  the 
weather  and  crops  in  Kussia  to  the  weather  and  crops  in  Scotland, 
and  then  passed  slowly  from  Scotch  agriculture  to  the  Scotch 
Presbyterian  Church.  On  nearly  every  occasion  this  policy  suc- 
ceeded. When  the  peasant  heard  that  there  was  a  country  where 
the  people  interpreted  the  Scriptures  for  themselves,  had  no  bishops, 
and  considered  the  veneration  of  Icons  as  idolatry,  he  invariably 
listened  with  profound  attention ;  and  when  he  learned  further  that 
in  that  wonderful  country  the  parishes  annually  sent  deputies  to 
an  assembly  in  which  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  Church  were 
freely  and  publicly  discussed,  he  almost  always  gave  free  expression 
to  his  astonishment,  and  I  had  to  answer  a  whole  volley  of  ques- 
tions. "  Where  is  that  country  ?  "  "  Is  it  to  the  east,  or  the  west  ?  " 
"Is  it  very  far  away?"  "If  our  Presbyter  could  only  hear  all 
that!" 

This  last  expression  was  precisely  what  I  wanted,  because  it 
gave  me  an  opportunity  of  making  the  acquaintance  of  the 
Presbyter,  or  pastor,  without  seeming  to  desire  it;  and  I  knew 
that  a  conversation  with  that  personage,  who  is  always  an  unedu- 
cated peasant  like  the  others,  but  is  generally  more  intelligent 
and  better  acquainted  with  religious  doctrine,  would  certainly  be 
of  use  to  me.  On  more  than  one  occasion  I  spent  a  great  part 
of  the  night  with  a  Presbyter,  and  thereby  learned  much  concerning 
the  religious  beliefs  and  practices  of  the  sect.  After  these  inter- 
views I  was  sure  to  be  treated  with  confidence  and  respect  by  all 
the  Molokanye  in  the  village,  and  recommended  to  the  brethren  of 
the  faith  in  the  neighbouring  villages  through  which  I  intended  to 
pass.  Several  of  the  more  intelligent  peasants  with  whom  I  spoke 
advised  me  strongly  to  visit  Alexandrof-Hai,  a  village  situated  on 
the  borders  of  the  Kirghiz  Steppe.  "We  are  dark  [i.e.,  ignorant] 
people  here,"  they  were  wont  to  say,  "  and  do  not  know  anything, 
but  in  Alexandrof-Hai  you  will  find  those  who  know  the  faith, 
and  they  will  discuss  with  you."  This  prediction  was  fulfilled  in 
a  somewhat  unexpected  way. 

When  returning  some  weeks  later  from  a  visit  to  the  Kirghiz  of 


AMONG    THE    HEKETICS  237 

the  Inner  Horde,  I  arrived  one  evening  at  this  centre  of  the  Molo- 
kan  faith,  and  was  hospitably  received  by  one  of  the  brotherhood. 
In  conversing  casually  with  my  host  on  religious  subjects  I  ex- 
pressed to  him  a  desire  to  find  some  one  well  read  in  Holy  Writ 
and  well  grounded  in  the  faith,  and  he  promised  to  do  what  he 
could  for  me  in  this  respect.  Next  morning  he  kept  his  promise 
with  a  vengeance.  Immediately  after  the  tea-urn  had  been  re- 
moved the  door  of  the  room  was  opened  and  tw^elve  peasants  were 
ushered  in!  After  the  customary  salutations  with  these  unex- 
pected visitors,  my  host  informed  me  to  my  astonishment  that  his 
friends  had  come  to  have  a  talk  with  me  about  the  faith;  and 
without  further  ceremony  he  placed  before  me  a  folio  Bible  in  the 
old  Slavonic  tongue,  in  order  that  I  might  read  passages  in  support 
of  my  arguments.  As  I  was  not  at  all  prepared  to  open  a  formal 
theological  discussion,  I  felt  not  a  little  embarrassed,  and  I  could 
see  that  my  travelling  companions,  two  Russian  friends  who  cared 
for  none  of  these  things,  were  thoroughly  enjoying  my  discomfiture. 
There  was,  however,  no  possibility  of  drawing  back.  I  had  asked 
for  an  opportunity  of  having  a  talk  with  some  of  the  brethren,  and 
now  I  had  got  it  in  a  way  that  I  certainly  did  not  expect.  My 
friends  withdrew—"  leaving  me  to  my  fate,"  as  they  whispered  to 
me — and  the  "  talk  "  began. 

My  fate  was  by  no  means  so  terrible  as  had  been  anticipated,  but 
at  first  the  situation  was  a  little  awkward.  Neither  party  had  any 
clear  ideas  as  to  w^hat  the  other  desired,  and  my  visitors  expected 
that  I  was  to  begin  the  proceedings.  This  expectation  was  quite 
natural  and  justifiable,  for  I  had  inadvertently  invited  them  to 
meet  me,  but  I  could  not  make  a  speech  to  them,  for  the  best  of 
all  reasons— that  I  did  not  k-now  what  to  say.  If  I  told  them  my 
real  aims,  their  suspicions  would  probably  be  aroused.  My  usual 
stratagem  of  the  weather  and  the  crops  was  wholly  inapplicable. 
For  a  moment  I  thought  of  proposing  that  a  psalm  should  be  sung 
as  a  means  of  breaking  the  ice,  but  I  felt  that  this  would  give  to 
the  meeting  a  solemnity  which  I  wished  to  avoid.  On  the  whole 
it  seemed  best  to  begin  at  once  a  formal  discussion.  I  told  them, 
therefore,  that  I  had  spoken  with  many  of  their  brethren  in  various 
villages,  and  that  I  had  found  what  I  considered  grave  errors  of 
doctrine.  I  could  not,  for  instance,  agree  Avith  them  in  their  belief 
that  it  was  unlawful  to  eat  pork.  This  was  perhaps  an  abrupt  way 
of  entering  on  the  subject,  but  it  furnished  at  least  a  locus  standi — 
something  to  talk  about— and  an  animated  discussion  immediately 
ensued.    My  opponents  first  endeavoured  to  prove  their  thesis  from 


228  EUSSIA 

the  !N"ew  Testament,  and  when  this  argument  broke  down  they  had 
recourse  to  the  Pentateuch.  From  a  particular  article  of  the  cere- 
monial law  we  passed  to  the  broader  question  as  to  how  far  the 
ceremonial  law  is  still  binding,  and  from  this  to  other  points 
equally  important. 

If  the  logic  of  the  peasants  was  not  always  unimpeachable, 
their  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures  left  nothing  to  be  desired. 
In  support  of  their  views  they  quoted  long  passages  from 
memory,  and  whenever  I  indicated  vaguely  any  text  which  I 
needed,  they  at  once  supplied  it  verbatim,  so  that  the  big  folio 
Bible  served  merely  as  an  ornament.  Three  or  four  of  them  seemed 
to  know  the  whole  of  the  New  Testament  by  heart.  The  course 
of  our  informal  debate  need  not  here  be  described;  suffice  it  to 
say  that,  after  four  hours  of  uninterrupted  conversation,  we  agreed 
to  differ  on  questions  of  detail,  and  parted  from  each  other  without 
a  trace  of  that  ill-feeling  which  religious  discussion  commonly 
engenders.  Never  have  I  met  men  more  honest  and  courteous  in 
debate,  more  earnest  in  the  search  after  truth,  more  careless  of 
dialectical  triumphs,  than  these  simple,  uneducated  muzhiks.  If 
at  one  or  two  points  in  the  discussion  a  little  undue  warmth  was 
displayed,  I  must  do  my  opponents  the  justice  to  say  that  they 
were  not  the  offending  party. 

This  long  discussion,  as  well  as  numerous  discussions  which  I 
had  had  before  and  since  have  had  with  Molokanye  in  various 
parts  of  the  country,  confirmed  my  first  impression  that  their 
doctrines  have  a  strong  resemblance  to  Presbyterianism.  There  is, 
however,  an  important  difference.  Presbyterianism  has  an  eccles- 
iastical organisation  and  a  written  creed,  and  its  doctrines  have 
long  since  become  clearly  defined  by  means  of  public  discussion, 
polemical  literature,  and  general  assemblies.  The  Molokanye, 
on  the  contrary,  have  had  no  means  of  developing  their  funda- 
mental principles  and  forming  their  vague  religious  beliefs  into 
a  clearly  defined  logical  system.  Their  theology  is  therefore 
still  in  a  half-fluid  state,  so  that  it  is  impossible  to  predict 
what  form  it  will  ultimately  assume.  "  We  have  not  yet  thought 
about  that,"  I  have  frequenitly  been  told  when  I  inquired 
about  some  abstruse  doctrine ;  "  we  must  talk  about  it  at  the 
meeting  next  Sunday.  What  is  your  opinion?"  Besides  this, 
their  fundamental  principles  allow  great  latitude  for  individual 
and  local  differences  of  opinion.  They  hold  that  Holy  Writ  is  the 
only  rule  of  faith  and  conduct,  but  that  it  must  be  taken  in  the 
spiritual,  and  not  in  the  literal,  sense.     As  there  is  no  terrestrial 


AMONG    THE    IIEPiETICS  229 

authority  to  which  donljtful  points  can  be  referred,  each  individual 
is  free  to  adopt  tlic  interpretation  which  commends  itself  to  his 
own  judgment.  This  will  no  doubt  ultimately  lead  to  a  variety 
of  sects,  and  already  there  is  a  considerable  diversity  of  opinion 
between  different  communities;  but  this  diversity  lias  not  yet  been 
recognised,  and  I  may  say  that  I  nowliere  found  that  fanatically 
dogmatic,  quibbling  spirit  which  is  usually  the  soul  of  sectarianism. 

For  their  ecclesiastical  organisation  the  Molokanye  take  as  their 
model  the  early  Apostolic  Church,  as  depicted  in  the  New  Tusta- 
ment,  and  uncompromisingly  reject  all  later  authorities.  In  ac- 
cordance with  this  model  they  have  no  hierarchy  and  no  paid 
clergy,  but  choose  from  among  themselves  a  Presbyter  and  two 
assistants — men  well  known  among  the  brethren  for  their  exem- 
plary life  and  their  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures — whose  duty  it 
is  to  watch  over  the  religious  and  moral  welfare  of  the  flock.  On 
Sundays  they  hold  meetings  in  private  houses — they  are  not 
allowed  to  build  churches — and  spend  two  or  three  hours  in  psalm 
singing,  prayer,  reading  the  Scriptures,  and  friendly  conversation 
on  religious  subjects.  If  any  one  has  a  doctrinal  difficulty  which 
he  desires  to  have  cleared  up,  he  states  it  to  the  congregation,  and 
some  of  the  others  give  their  opinions,  with  the  texts  on  which 
the  opinions  are  founded.  If  the  question  seems  clearly  solved 
by  the  texts,  it  is  decided;  if  not,  it  is  left  open. 

As  in  many  young  sects,  there  exists  among  the  Molokanye  a 
system  of  severe  moral  supervision.  If  a  member  has  been  guilty 
of  drunkenness  or  any  act  unbecoming  a  Christian,  he  is  first  ad- 
monished by  the  Presbyter  in  private  or  before  the  congregation; 
and  if  this  does  not  produce  the  desired  effect,  he  is  excluded 
for  a  longer  or  shorter  period  from  the  meetings  and  from  all 
intercourse  with  the  members.  In  extreme  cases  expulsion  is  re- 
sorted to.  On  the  other  hand,  if  any  one  of  the  members  happens 
to  be,  from  no  fault  of  his  own,  in  pecuniary  difficulties,  the  others 
will  assist  him.  This  system  of  mutual  control  and  mutual  assist- 
ance has  no  doubt  something  to  do  with  the  fact  that  the  Molokanye 
are  distinguished  from  the  surrounding  population  by  their  so- 
briety, uprightness,  and  material  prosperity. 

Of  the  history  of  the  sect  my  friends*  in  Alexandrof-Hai  could 
tell  me  very  little,  but  I  have  obtained  from  other  quarters  some 
interesting  information.  The  founder  was  a  peasant  of  the  prov- 
ince of  Tambof  called  Uklein,  who  lived  in  tlie  reign  of  Catherine 
IL,  and  gained  his  living  as  an  itinerant  tailor.  For  some  time 
he  belonged  to  the  sect  of  the  Dukhobortsi — who  are  sometimes 


230  RUSSIA 

called  the  Russian  Quakers,  and  who  have  recently  become  known 
in  Western  Europe  through  the  efforts  of  Count  Tolstoy  on  their 
behalf — but  he  soon  seceded  from  them,  because  he  could  not 
admit  their  doctrine  that  God  dwells  in  the  human  soul,  and  that 
consequently  the  chief  source  of  religious  truth  is  internal  en- 
lightenment. To  him  it  seemed  that  religious  truth  was  to  be 
found  only  in  the  Scriptures.  With  this  doctrine  he  soon  made 
many  converts,  and  one  day  he  unexpectedly  entered  the  town  of 
Tambof,  surrounded  by  seventy  "  Apostles  "  chanting  psalms.  They 
were  all  quickly  arrested  and  imprisoned,  and  when  the  affair  was 
reported  to  St.  Petersburg  the  Empress  Catherine  ordered  that 
they  should  be  handed  over  to  the  ecclesiastical  authorities,  and  that 
in  the  event  of  their  proving  obdurate  to  exhortation  they  should  be 
tried  by  the  Criminal  Courts.  Uklein  professed  to  recant,  and  was 
liberated;  but  he  continued  his  teaching  secretly  in  the  villages, 
and  at  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  believed  to  have  no  less  than 
five  thousand  followers. 

As  to  the  actual  strength  of  the  sect  it  is  difficult  to  form 
even  a  conjecture.  Certainly  it  has  many  thousand  members — 
probably  several  hundred  thousand.  Formerly  the  Government 
transported  them  from  the  central  provinces  to  the  thinly  popu- 
lated outlying  districts,  where  they  had  less  opportunity  of  con- 
taminating Orthodox  neighbours;  and  accordingly  we  find  them 
in  the  southeastern  districts  of  Samara,  on  the  north  coast  of  the 
Sea  of  Azof,  in  the  Crimea,  in  the  Caucasus,  and  in  Siberia. 
There  are  still,  however,  very  many  of  them  in  the  central  region, 
especially  in  the  province  of  Tambof. 

The  readiness  with  which  the  Molokanye  modify  their  opinions 
and  beliefs  in  accordance  with  what  seems  to  them  new  light  saves 
them  effectually  from  bigotry  and  fanaticism,  but  it  at  the  same 
time  exposes  them  to  evils  of  a  different  kind,  from  which  they 
might  be  preserved  by  a  few  stubborn  prejudices.  "  False  prophets 
arise  among  us,"  said  an  old,  sober-minded  member  to  me  on  one 
occasion,  "and  lead  many  away  from  the  faith." 

In  1835,  for  example,  great  excitement  was  produced  among 
them  by  rumours  that  the  second  advent  of  Christ  was  at  hand,  and 
that  the  Son  of  Man,  coming  to  judge  the  world,  was  about  to 
appear  in  the  New  Jerusalem,  somewhere  near  Mount  Ararat. 
As  Elijah  and  Enoch  were  to  appear  before  the  opening  of  the 
Millennium,  they  were  anxiously  awaited  by  the  faithful,  and  at 
last  Elijah  appeared,  in  the  person  of  a  Melitopol  peasant  called 
Belozvorof,  who  announced  that  on  a  given  day  he  would  ascend 


AMOXG    THE    HERETICS  231 

into  heaven.  On  the  day  appointed  a  great  crowd  collected,  but 
he  failed  to  keep  his  promise,  and  was  handed  over  to  the  police  as 
an  impostor  by  the  Molokanye  themselves.  Unfortunately  they 
were  not  always  so  sensible  as  on  that  occasion.  In  the  very  next 
year  many  of  them  were  persuaded  by  a  certain  Lukian  Petrof 
to  put  on  their  best  garments  and  start  for  the  Promised  Land  in 
the  Caucasus,  where  the  ]\Iillennium  was  about  to  begin. 

Of  these  false  prophets  the  most  remarkable  in  recent  times  was 
a  man  who  called  himself  Ivan  Grigorief,  a  mysterious  personage 
who  had  at  one  time  a  Turkish  and  at  another  an  American  pass- 
port, but  who  seemed  in  all  other  respects  a  genuine  Russian. 
Some  years  previously  to  my  visit  he  appeared  at  Alexandrof-IIai. 
Though  he  professed  himself  to  be  a  good  Molokan  and  was  re- 
ceived as  such,  he  enounced  at  the  weekly  meetings  many  new  and 
startling  ideas.  At  first  he  simply  urged  his  hearers  to  live  like  the 
early  Christians,  and  have  all  things  in  common.  This  seemed 
sound  doctrine  to  the  ^folokanye,  who  profess  to  take  the  early 
Christians  as  their  model,  and  some  of  them  thought  of  at  once 
abolishing  personal  property ;  but  when  the  teacher  intimated  pretty 
plainly  that  this  communism  should  include  free  love,  a  decided 
opposition  arose,  and  it  was  objected  that  the  early  Church  did 
not  recommend  wholesale  adultery  and  cognate  sins.  This  was  a 
formidable  objection,  but  "  the  prophet "  was  equal  to  the  occasion. 
He  reminded  his  friends  that  in  accordance  with  their  own  doc- 
trine the  Scriptures  should  be  understood,  not  in  the  literal,  but 
in  the  spiritual,  sense — that  Christianity  had  made  men  free,  and 
every  true  Christian  ought  to  use  his  freedom. 

This  account  of  the  new  doctrine  was  given  to  me  by  an  intelli- 
gent Molokan,  who  had  formerly  been  a  peasant  and  was  now  a 
trader,  as  I  sat  one  evening  in  his  house  in  I^ovo-usensk,  the  chief 
town  of  the  district  in  which  Alexandrof-Hai  is  situated.  It 
seemed  to  me  that  the  author  of  this  ingenious  attempt  to  conciliate 
Christianity  with  extreme  Utilitarianism  must  be  an  educated  man 
in  disguise.  This  conviction  I  communicated  to  my  host,  but  he 
did  not  agree  with  me. 

"ISTo,  I  think  not,"  he  replied;  "in  fact,  I  am  sure  he  is  a 
peasant,  and  I  strongly  suspect  he  was  at  some  time  a  soldier. 
He  has  not  much  learning,  but  he  has  a  wonderful  gift  of  talking; 
never  have  I  heard  any  one  speak  like  him.  He  would  have  talked 
over  the  whole  village,  had  it  not  been  for  an  old  man  who  was 
more  than  a  match  for  him.  And  then  he  went  to  Orloff-Hai 
and  there  he  did  talk  the  people  over."     What  he  really   did 


332  RUSSIA 

in  this  latter  place  I  never  could  clearly  ascertain.  Report 
said  that  he  founded  a  communistic  association,  of  which  he  was 
himself  president  and  treasurer,  and  converted  the  members  to  an 
extraordinary  theory  of  prophetic  succession,  invented  apparently 
for  his  own  sensual  gratification.  For  further  information  my  host 
advised  me  to  apply  either  to  the  prophet  himself,  who  was  at  that 
time  confined  in  the  gaol  on  a  charge  of  using  a  forged  passport, 

or  to  one  of  his  friends,  a  certain  Mr.  I ,  who  lived  in  the 

town.  As  it  was  a  difficult  matter  to  gain  admittance  to  the 
prisoner,  and  I  had  little  time  at  my  disposal,  I  adopted  the  latter 
alternative. 

Mr.  I was  himself  a  somewhat  curious  character.    He  had 

been  a  student  in  Moscow,  and  in  consequence  of  some  youthful  in- 
discretions during  the  University  disturbances  had  been  exiled  to 
this  place.  After  waiting  in  vain  some  years  for  a  release,  he  gave 
up  the  idea  of  entering  one  of  the  learned  professions,  married  a 
peasant  girl,  rented  a  piece  of  land,  bought  a  pair  of  camels,  and 
settled  down  as  a  small  farmer.*  He  had  a  great  deal  to  tell  about 
the  prophet. 

Grigorief,  it  seemed,  was  really  simply  a  Russian  peasant,  but 
he  had  been  from  his  youth  upwards  one  of  those  restless  people 
who  can  never  long  work  in  harness.  Where  his  native  place  was, 
and  why  he  left  it,  he  never  divulged,  for  reasons  best  knovm  to 
himself.  He  had  travelled  much,  and  had  been  an  attentive  ob- 
server. Whether  he  had  ever  been  in  America  was  doubtful,  but 
he  had  certainly  been  in  Turkey,  and  had  fraternised  with  various 
Russian  sectarians,  who  are  to  be  found  in  considerable  numbers 
near  the  Danube.  Here,  probably,  he  acquired  many  of  his  peculiar 
religious  ideas,  and  conceived  his  grand  scheme  of  founding  a  new 
religion — of  rivalling  the  Founder  of  Christianity!  He  aimed  at 
nothing  less  than  this,  as  he  on  one  occasion  confessed,  and  he  did 
not  see  why  he  should  not  be  successful.  He  believed  that  the 
Founder  of  Christianity  had  been  simply  a  man  like  himself,  who 
understood  better  than  others  the  people  around  him  and  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  time,  and  he  was  convinced  that  he  himself  had 
these  qualifications.  One  qualification,  however,  for  becoming  a 
prophet  he  certainly  did  not  possess:  he  had  no  genuine  religious 
enthusiasm  in  him — nothing  of  the  martyr  spirit  about  him.  Much 
of  his  own  preaching  he  did  not  himself  believe,  and  he  had  a 

*  Here  for  the  first  time  I  saw  camels  used  for  agricultural  purposes. 
When  yoked  to  a  small  four-wheeled  cart,  the  "ships  of  the  desert" 
seemed  decidedly  out  of  place. 


AMOXG   THE    HEEETICS  233 

secret  contempt  for  those  who  naively  accepted  it  all.  Not  only  was 
he  cunning,  but  he  knew  he  was  cunning,  and  he  was  conscious 
that  he  was  playing  an  assumed  part.  And  yet  perhaps  it  would  be 
unjust  to  say  that  he  was  merely  an  impostor  exclusively  occupied 
with  his  own  personal  advantage.  Though  he  was  naturally  a  man 
of  sensual  tastes,  and  could  not  resist  convenient  opportunities  of 
gratifying  them,  he  seemed  to  believe  that  his  communistic  schemes 
would,  if  realised,  be  beneficial  not  only  to  himself,  but  also  to  the 
people.  Altogether  a  curious  mixture  of  the  prophet,  the  social 
reformer,  and  the  cunning  impostor ! 

Besides  the  Molokanye,  there  are  in  Eussia  many  other  heretical 
sects.  Some  of  them  are  simply  Evangelical  Protestants,  like  the 
Stundisti,  who  have  adopted  the  religious  conceptions  of  their 
neighbours,  the  German  colonists;  whilst  others  are  composed  of 
wild  enthusiasts,  who  give  a  loose  rein  to  their  excited  imagination, 
and  revel  in  what  the  Germans  aptly  term  "  der  hohere  Blodsinn." 
I  cannot  here  attempt  to  convey  even  a  general  idea  of  these  fan- 
tastic sects  with  their  doctrinal  and  ceremonial  absurdities,  but  I 
may  offer  the  following  classification  of  them  for  the  benefit  of 
those  who  may  desire  to  study  the  subject : 

1.  Sects  which  take  the  Scriptures  as  the  basis  of  their  belief, 
but  interpret  and  complete  the  doctrines  therein  contained  by 
means  of  the  occasional  inspiration  or  internal  enlightenment  of 
their  leading  members. 

2.  Sects  which  reject  interpretation  and  insist  on  certain  pas- 
sages of  Scripture  being  taken  in  the  literal  sense.  In  one  of  the 
best  known  of  these  sects — the  Skoptsi,  or  Eunuchs — fanaticism 
has  led  to  physical  mutilation. 

3.  Sects  which  pay  little  or  no  attention  to  Scripture,  and  derive 
their  doctrine  from  the  supposed  inspiration  of  their  living 
teachers. 

4.  Sects  which  believe  in  the  re-incarnation  of  Christ. 

5.  Sects  which  confound  religion  with  nervous  excitement,  and 
are  more  or  less  erotic  in  their  character.  The  excitement  necessary 
for  prophesying  is  commonly  produced  by  dancing,  jumping,  pir- 
ouetting, or  self-castigation ;  and  the  absurdities  spoken  at  such 
times  are  regarded  as  the  direct  expression  of  divine  wisdom.  The 
religious  exercises  resemble  more  or  less  closely  those  of  the 
"  dancing  dervishes  "  and  "  howling  dervishes  "  with  which  all  who 
have  visited  Constantinople  are  familiar.  There  is,  however,  one 
important  difference :  the  dervishes  practice  their  religious  exercises 
in  public,  and  consequently  observe  a  certain  decorum,  whilst  these 


234  EUSSIA 

Eussian  sects  assemble  in  secret,  and  give  free  scope  to  their  excite- 
ment, so  that  most  disgusting  orgies  sometimes  take  place  at  their 
meetings. 

To  illustrate  the  general  character  of  the  sects  belonging  to  this 
last  category,  I  may  quote  here  a  short  extract  from  a  description 
of  the  "  Khlysti "  by  one  who  was  initiated  into  their  mysteries : 
"Among  them  men  and  women  alike  take  upon  themselves  the 
calling  of  teachers  and  prophets,  and  in  this  character  they  lead  a 
strict,  ascetic  life,  refrain  from  the  most  ordinary  and  innocent 
pleasures,  exhaust  themselves  by  long  fasting  and  wild,  ecstatic 
religious  exercises,  and  abhor  marriage.  Under  the  excitement 
caused  by  their  supposed  holiness  and  inspiration,  they  call  them- 
selves not  only  teachers  and  prophets,  but  also  *  Saviours,'  '  Ee- 
deemers,'  'Christs,'  'Mothers  of  God/  Generally  speaking,  they 
call  themselves  simply  Gods,  and  pray  to  each  other  as  to  real  Gods 
and  living  Christs  or  Madonnas.  When  several  of  these  teachers 
come  together  at  a  meeting,  they  dispute  with  each  other  in  a  vain 
boasting  way  as  to  which  of  them  possesses  most  grace  and  power. 
In  this  rivalry  they  sometimes  give  each  other  lusty  blows  on  the 
ear,  and  he  who  bears  the  blows  most  patiently,  turning  the  other 
cheek  to  the  smiter,  acquires  the  reputation  of  having  most  holi- 
ness." 

Another  sect  belonging  to  this  category  is  the  Jumpers,  among 
whom  the  erotic  element  is  disagreeably  prominent.  Here  is  a 
description  of  their  religious  meetings,  which  are  held  during  sum- 
mer in  the  forest,  and  during  winter  in  some  out-house  or  barn: 
"After  due  preparation  prayers  are  read  by  the  chief  teacher, 
dressed  in  a  white  robe  and  standing  in  the  midst  of  the  congrega- 
tion. At  first  he  reads  in  an  ordinary  tone  of  voice,  and  then 
passes  gradually  into  a  merry  chant.  When  he  remarks  that  the 
chanting  has  sufficiently  acted  on  the  hearers,  he  begins  to  jump. 
The  hearers,  singing  likewise,  follow  his  example.  Their  ever- 
increasing  excitement  finds  expression  in  the  highest  possible 
jumps.  This  they  continue  as  long  as  they  can — men  and  women 
alike  yelling  like  enraged  savages.  When  all  are  thoroughly  ex- 
hausted, the  leader  declares  that  he  hears  the  angels  singing" — 
and  then  begins  a  scene  which  cannot  be  here  described. 

It  is  but  fair  to  add  that  we  know  very  little  of  these  peculiar 
sects,  and  what  we  do  know  is  furnished  by  avowed  enemies.  It 
is  very  possible,  therefore,  that  some  of  them  are  not  nearly  so 
absurd  as  they  are  commonly  represented,  and  that  many  of  the 
stories  told  are  mere  calumnies. 


AMONG   THE    HERETICS  235 

The  Government  is  very  hostile  to  sectarianism,  and  occasionally 
endeavours  to  suppress  it.  This  is  natural  enough  as  regards  these 
fantastic  sects,  but  it  seems  strange  that  the  peaceful,  industrious, 
honest  Molokanye  and  Stundisti  should  be  put  under  the  ban. 
Why  is  it  that  a  Russian  peasant  should  be  punished  for  holding 
doctrines  which  are  openly  professed,  with  the  sanction  of  the 
authorities,  by  his  neighbours,  the  German  colonists? 

To  understand  this  the  reader  must  know  that  according  to 
Russian  conceptions  there  are  two  distinct  kinds  of  heresy,  dis- 
tinguished from  each  other,  not  by  the  doctrines  held,  but  by  the 
nationality  of  the  holder.  It  seems  to  a  Russian  in  the  nature  of 
things  that  Tartars  should  be  Mahometans,  that  Poles  should  be 
Roman  Catholics,  and  that  Germans  should  be  Protestants;  and 
the  mere  act  of  becoming  a  Russian  subject  is  not  supposed  to 
lay  the  Tartar,  the  Pole,  or  the  German  under  any  obligation  to 
change  his  faith.  These  nationalities  are  therefore  allowed  the 
most  perfect  freedom  in  the  exercise  of  their  respective  religions, 
so  long  as  they  refrain  from  disturbing  by  propagandism  the 
divinely  established  order  of  things. 

This  is  the  received  theory,  and  we  must  do  the  Russians  the 
justice  to  say  that  they  habitually  act  up  to  it.  If  the  Govern- 
ment has  sometimes  attempted  to  convert  alien  races,  the  motive 
has  always  been  political,  and  the  efforts  have  never  awakened 
much  sympathy  among  the  people  at  large,  or  even  among  the 
clergy.  In  like  manner  the  missionary  societies  which  have  some- 
times been  formed  in  imitation  of  the  Western  nations  have  never 
received  much  popular  support.  Thus  with  regard  to  aliens  this 
peculiar  theory  has  led  to  very  extensive  religious  toleration.  With 
regard  to  the  Russians  themselves  the  theory  has  had  a  very  dif- 
ferent effect.  If  in  the  nature  of  things  the  Tartar  is  a  Ma- 
hometan, the  Pole  a  Roman  Catholic,  and  the  German  a  Protestant, 
it  is  equally  in  the  nature  of  things  that  the  Russian  should  be  a 
member  of  the  Orthodox  Church.  On  this  point  the  written  law 
and  public  opinion  are  in  perfect  accord.  If  an  Orthodox  Russian 
becomes  a  Roman  Catholic  or  a  Protestant,  he  is  amenable  to  the 
criminal  law,  and  is  at  the  same  time  condemned  by  public  opinion 
as  an  apostate  and  renegade — almost  as  a  traitor. 

As  to  the  future  of  these  heretical  sects  it  is  impossible  to  speak 
with  confidence.  The  more  gross  and  fantastic  will  probably 
disappear  as  primary  education  spreads  among  the  people;  but  the 
Protestant  sects  seem  to  possess  much  more  vitality.  For  the 
present,  at  least,  they  are  rapidly  spreading.     I  have  seen  large 


236  EUSSIA 

villages  where,  according  to  the  testimony  of  the  inhabitants,  there 
was  not  a  single  heretic  fifteen  years  before,  and  where  one-half 
of  the  population  had  already  become  Molokanye;  and  this  change, 
be  it  remarked,  had  taken  place  without  any  propagandist  organ- 
isation. The  civil  and  ecclesiastical  authorities  were  well  aware 
of  the  existence  of  the  movement,  but  they  were  powerless  to  pre- 
vent it.  The  few  efforts  which  they  made  were  without  effect,  or 
worse  than  useless.  Among  the  Stundisti  corporal  punishment  was 
tried  as  an  antidote — without  the  concurrence,  it  is  to  be  hoped, 
of  the  central  authorities — and  to  the  Molokanye  of  the  province 
of  Samara  a  learned  monk  was  sent  in  the  hope  of  converting  them 
from  their  errors  by  reason  and  eloquence.  What  effect  the  birch- 
twigs  had  on  the  religious  convictions  of  the  Stundisti  I  have  not 
been  able  to  ascertain,  but  I  assume  that  they  were  not  very  effica- 
cious, for  according  to  the  latest  accounts  the  numbers  of  the  sect 
are  increasing.  Of  the  mission  in  the  province  of  Samara  I  happen 
to  know  more,  and  can  state  on  the  evidence  of  many  peasants — 
some  of  them  Orthodox — that  the  only  immediate  effect  was  to  stir 
up  religious  fanaticism,  and  to  induce  a  certain  number  of  Ortho- 
dox to  go  over  to  the  heretical  camp. 

In  their  public  discussions  the  disputants  could  find  no  com- 
mon ground  on  which  to  argue,  for  the  simple  reason  that  their 
fundamental  conceptions  were  different.  The  monk  spoke  of 
the  Church  as  the  terrestrial  representative  of  Christ  and  the 
sole  possessor  of  truth,  whilst  his  opponents  knew  nothing  of  a 
Church  in  this  sense,  and  held  simply  that  all  men  should  live 
in  accordance  with  the  dictates  of  Scripture.  Once  the  monk 
consented  to  argue  with  them  on  their  own  ground,  and  on  that 
occasion  he  sustained  a  signal  defeat,  for  he  could  not  pro- 
duce a  single  passage  recommending  the  veneration  of  Icons — a 
practice  which  the  Eussian  peasants  consider  an  essential  part 
of  Orthodoxy.  After  this  he  always  insisted  on  the  authority  of 
the  early  CEcumenical  Councils  and  the  Fathers  of  the  Church — 
an  authority  which  his  antagonists  did  not  recognise.  Altogether 
the  mission  was  a  complete  failure,  and  all  parties  regretted  that  it 
had  been  undertaken.  "  It  was  a  great  mistake,"  remarked  to  me 
confidentially  an  Orthodox  peasant ;  "  a  very  great  mistake.  The 
Molokanye  are  a  cunning  people.  The  monk  was  no  match  for 
them;  they  knew  the  Scriptures  a  great  deal  better  than  he  did. 
The  Church  should  not  condescend  to  discuss  with  heretics." 

It  is  often  said  that  these  heretical  sects  are  politically  dis- 
affected, and  the  Molokanye  are  thought  to  be  specially  dangerous 


AMONG   THE   HERETICS  237 

in  this  respect.  Perhaps  there  is  a  certain  foundation  for  this 
opinion,  for  men  are  naturally  disposed  to  doubt  the  legitimacy  of 
a  power  that  systematically  persecutes  them.  With  regard  to  the 
Molokdnye,  I  believe  the  accusation  to  be  a  groundless  calumny. 
Political  ideas  seemed  entirely  foreign  to  their  modes  of  thought. 
During  my  intercourse  with  them  I  often  heard  them  refer  to  the 
police  as  "wolves  which  have  to  be  fed,"  but  I  never  li^^rd  them 
speak  of  the  Emperor  otherwise  than  in  terms  of  filial  affection 
and  veneration. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE     DISSENTERS 

Dissenters  not  to  be  Confounded  with  Heretics — Extreme  Importance 
Attached  to  Ritual  Observances — The  RaskOl,  or  Great  Schism  in 
the  Seventeenth  Century — Antichrist  Appears! — Policy  of  Peter  the 
Great  and  Catherine  II. — Present  Ingenious  Method  of  Securing 
Religious  Toleration — Internal  Development  of  the  Raskol — Schism 
among  the  Schismatics — The  Old  Ritualists — The  Priestless  People 
— Cooling  of  the  Fanatical  Enthusiasm  and  Formation  of  New 
Sects — Rec-ent  Policy  of  the  Government  towards  the  Sectarians — 
Numerical  Force  and  Political  Significance  of  Sectarianism. 

WE  must  be  careful  not  to  confound  those  heretical  sects, 
Protestant  and  fantastical,  of  which  I  have  spoken  in  the 
preceding  chapter,  with  the  more  numerous  Dissenters  or  Schis- 
matics, the  descendants  of  those  who  seceded  from  the  Eussian 
Church — or  more  correctly  from  whom  the  Eussian  Church  se- 
ceded— in  the  seventeenth  century.  So  far  from  regarding  them- 
selves as  heretics,  these  latter  consider  themselves  more  orthodox 
than  the  oflQcial  Orthodox  Church.  They  are  conservatives,  too,  in 
the  social  as  well  as  the  religious  sense  of  the  term.  Among  them 
are  to  be  found  the  last  remnants  of  old  Eussian  life,  untinged  by 
foreign  influences. 

The  Eussian  Church,  as  I  have  already  had  occasion  to  remark, 
has  always  paid  inordinate  attention  to  ceremonial  observances  and 
somewhat  neglected  the  doctrinal  and  moral  elements  of  the  faith 
which  it  professes.  This  peculiarity  greatly  facilitated  the  spread 
of  its  influence  among  a  people  accustomed  to  pagan  rites  and 
magical  incantations,  but  it  had  the  pernicious  effect  of  con- 
firming in  the  new  converts  their  superstitious  belief  in  the  virtue 
of  mere  ceremonies.  Thus  the  Eussians  became  zealous  Christians 
in  all  matters  of  external  observance,  without  knowing  much  about 
the  spiritual  meaning  of  the  rites  which  they  practised.  They 
looked  upon  the  rites  and  sacraments  as  mysterious  charms  which 
preserved  them  from  evil  influences  in  the  present  life  and  secured 
them  eternal  felicity  in  the  life  to  come,  and  they  believed  that 
these  charms  would  inevitably  lose  their  efficacy  if  modified  in 
the  slightest  degree.  Extreme  importance  was  therefore  attached 
to  the  ritual  minutiae,  and  the  slightest  modification  of  these  minu- 

238 


THE    DISSENTERS  239 

tiae  assumed  the  importance  of  an  historical  event.  In  the  year 
1476,  for  instance,  the  Novgorodian  Chronicler  gravely  relates: 
"  This  winter  some  philosophers  ( ! )  began  to  sing,  '  0  Lord, 
have  mercy/  and  others  merely,  '  Lord,  have  mercy.' "  And  this 
attaching  of  enormous  importance  to  trifles  was  not  confined  to  the 
ignorant  multitude.  An  Archbishop  of  Novgorod  declared  solemnly 
that  those  who  repeat  the  word  "  Alleluia  "  only  twice  at  certain 
points  in  the  liturgy  "  sing  to  their  own  damnation,"  and  a  cele- 
brated Ecclesiastical  Council,  held  in  1551,  put  such  matters  as  the 
position  of  the  fingers  when  making  the  sign  of  the  cross  on  the 
same  level  as  heresies — formally  anathematising  those  who  acted 
in  such  trifles  contrary  to  its  decisions. 

This  conservative  spirit  in  religious  concerns  had  a  considerable 
influence  on  social  life.  As  there  was  no  clear  line  of  demarca- 
tion between  religious  observances  and  simple  traditional  customs, 
the  most  ordinary  act  might  receive  a  religious  significance,  and 
the  slightest  departure  from  a  traditional  custom  might  be  looked 
upon  as  a  deadly  sin.  A  Eussian  of  the  olden  time  would  have 
resisted  the  attempt  to  deprive  him  of  his  beard  as  strenuously  as 
a  Calvinist  of  the  present  day  would  resist  the  attempt  to  make 
him  abjure  the  doctrine  of  Predestination — and  both  for  the  same 
reason.  As  the  doctrine  of  Predestination  is  for  the  Calvinist,  so 
the  wearing  of  a  beard  was  for  the  old  Eussian — an  essential  of 
salvation.  "  Where,"  asked  one  of  the  Patriarchs  of  j\roscow,  "  will 
those  who  shave  their  chins  stand  at  the  Last  Day? — among  the 
righteous  adorned  with  beards,  or  among  the  beardless  heretics  ?  " 
The  question  required  no  answer. 

In  the  seventeenth  century  this  superstitious,  conservative  spirit 
reached  its  climax.  The  civil  wars  and  foreign  invasions,  accom- 
panied by  pillage,  famine,  and  plagues  with  which  that  century 
opened,  produced  a  wide-spread  conviction  that  the  end  of  all 
things  was  at  hand.  The  mysterious  number  of  the  Beast  was 
found  to  indicate  the  year  1666,  and  timid  souls  began  to  discover 
signs  of  that  falling  away  from  the  Faith  which  is  spoken  of  in  the 
Apocalypse.  The  majority  of  the  people  did  not  perhaps  share  this 
notion,  but  they  believed  that  the  sufferings  with  which  they  had 
been  visited  were  a  Divine  punishment  for  having  forsaken  the 
ancient  customs.  And  it  could  not  be  denied  that  considerable 
changes  had  taken  place.  Orthodox  Eussia  was  now  tainted  with 
the  presence  of  heretics.  Foreigners  who  shaved  their  chins  and 
smoked  the  accursed  weed  had  been  allowed  to  settle  in  ]\Ioscow, 
and  the  Tsars  not  only  held  converse  with  them,  but  had  even 


240  EUSSIA 

adopted  some  of  their  "pagan"  practises.  Besides  this,  the  Gov- 
ernment had  introduced  innovations  and  reforms,  many  of  which 
were  displeasing  to  the  people.  In  short,  the  country  was  polluted 
with  "heresy" — a  subtle,  evil  influence  lurking  in  everything 
foreign,  and  very  dangerous  to  the  spiritual  and  temporal  welfare 
of  the  Faithful — something  of  the  nature  of  an  epidemic,  but 
infinitely  more  dangerous;  for  disease  kills  merely  the  body, 
whereas  "heresy"  kills  the  soul,  and  causes  both  soul  and  body 
to  be  cast  into  hell-fire. 

Had  the  Government  introduced  the  innovations  slowly  and 
cautiously,  respecting  as  far  as  possible  all  outward  forms,  it  might 
have  effected  much  without  producing  a  religious  panic;  but, 
instead  of  acting  circumspectly  as  the  occasion  demanded,  it  ran 
full-tilt  against  the  ancient  prejudices  and  superstitious  fears,  and 
drove  the  people  into  open  resistance.  When  the  art  of  printing 
was  introduced,  it  became  necessary  to  choose  the  best  texts  of  the 
Liturgy,  Psalter,  and  other  religious  books,  and  on  examination 
it  was  found  that,  through  the  ignorance  and  carelessness  of  copy- 
ists, numerous  errors  had  crept  into  the  manuscripts  in  use.  This 
discovery  led  to  further  investigation,  which  showed  that  certain 
irregularities  had  likewise  crept  into  the  ceremonial.  The  chief 
of  the  clerical  errors  lay  in  the  orthography  of  the  word  "  Jesus," 
and  the  chief  irregularity  in  the  ceremonial  regarded  the  position 
of  the  fingers  when  making  the  sign  of  the  cross. 

To  correct  these  errors  the  celebrated  Nikon,  who  was  Patriarch 
in  the  time  of  Tsar  Alexis,  father  of  Peter  the  Great,  ordered  all 
the  old  liturgical  books  and  the  old  Icons  to  be  called  in,  and  new 
ones  to  be  distributed;  but  the  clergy  and  the  people  resisted. 
Believing  these  "  Nikonian  novelties  "  to  be  heretical,  they  clung 
to  their  old  Icons,  their  old  missals  and  their  old  religious  customs 
as  the  sole  anchors  of  safety  which  could  save  the  Faithful  from 
drifting  to  perdition.  In  vain  the  Patriarch  assured  the  people  that 
the  change  was  a  return  to  the  ancient  forms  still  preserved  in 
Greece  and  Constantinople.  "  The  Greek  Church,"  it  was  replied, 
"  is  no  longer  free  from  heresy.  Orthodoxy  has  become  many-col- 
oured from  the  violence  of  the  Turkish  Mahomet;  and  the  Greeks, 
under  the  sons  of  Hagar,  have  fallen  away  from  the  ancient 
traditions." 

An  anathema,  formally  pronounced  by  an  Ecclesiastical  Coun- 
cil against  these  Nonconformists,  had  no  more  effect  than  the 
admonitions  of  the  Patriarch.  They  persevered  in  their  obstinacy, 
and  refused  to  believe  that  the  blessed  saints  and  holy  martyrs 


THE    DISSEXTEES  241 

who  had  used  the  anciont  formis  liad  not  prayed  and  crossed  them- 
selves aright.  "  Xot  those  holy  men  of  old,  but  the  present  Patri- 
arch and  his  counsellors  must  be  heretics."  "  Woe  to  us !  Woe 
to  us ! "  cried  the  monks  of  Solovetsk  when  they  received  the  new 
Liturgies.  "  What  have  you  done  with  the  Son  of  God  ?  Give 
him  back  to  us !  You  have  changed  Isus  [the  old  Russian  form 
of  Jesus]  into  lisus!  It  is  fearful  not  only  to  commit  such  a  sin, 
but  even  to  think  of  it !  "  And  the  sturdy  monks  shut  their  gates, 
and  defied  Patriarch,  Council,  and  Tsar  for  seven  long  years,  till 
the  monastery  was  taken  by  an  armed  force. 

The  decree  of  excommunication  pronounced  by  the  Ecclesiastical 
Council  placed  the  Nonconformists  beyond  the  pale  of  the  Church, 
and  the  civil  power  undertook  the  task  of  persecuting  them.  Per- 
secution had  of  course  merely  the  effect  of  confirming  the  victims 
in  their  belief  that  the  Church  and  the  Tsar  had  become  heretical. 
Thousands  fled  across  the  frontier  and  settled  in  the  neighbour- 
ing countries — Poland,  Russia,  Sweden,  Austria,  Turkey,  the  Cau- 
casus, and  Siberia.  Others  concealed  themselves  in  the  northern 
forests  and  the  densely  wooded  region  near  the  Polish  frontier, 
where  they  lived  by  agriculture  or  fishing,  and  prayed,  crossed 
themselves  and  buried  their  dead  according  to  the  customs  of 
their  forefathers.  The  northern  forests  were  their  favourite  place 
of  refuge.  Hither  flocked  many  of  those  who  wished  to  keep  them- 
selves pure  and  undefiled.  Here  the  more  learned  men  among 
the  Nonconformists — well  acquainted  with  Holy  Writ,  with  frag- 
mentary translations  from  the  Greek  Fathers,  and  with  the  more 
important  decisions  of  the  early  (Ecumenical  Councils — wrote 
polemical  and  edifying  works  for  the  confounding  of  heretics  and 
the  confirming  of  true  believers.  Hence  were  sent  out  in  all  direc- 
tions zealous  missionaries,  in  the  guise  of  traders,  peddlers,  and 
labourers,  to  sow  what  they  called  the  living  seed,  and  what  the 
official  Church  termed  "  Satan's  tares."  When  the  Government 
agents  discovered  these  retreats,  the  inmates  generally  fled  from 
the  "ravenous  wolves";  but  on  more  than  one  occasion  a  large 
number  of  fanatical  men  and  women,  shutting  themselves  up,  set 
fire  to  their  houses,  and  voluntarily  perished  in  the  flames.  In 
Paleostrofski  Monastery,  for  instance,  in  the  j^ear  1G87,  no  less 
than  2,700  fanatics  gained  the  crown  of  martj'rdom  in  this  way; 
and  many  similar  instances  are  on  record.*     As  in  all  periods  of 

*  A  list  of  well-anthentioated  cases  is  given  by  Nilski,  "  SemOinaya 
zliizn  V  russkom  Ruskole."  St.  Petersburg,  18G9;  part  I.,  pp.  55-57.  Tlie 
number  of  tliese  self-immolators  certainly  amounted  to  many  thousands. 


242  RUSSIA 

religious  panic,  the  Apocalypse  was  carefully  studied,  and  the 
Millennial  ideas  rapidly  spread.  The  signs  of  the  time  were  plain : 
Satan  was  being  let  loose  for  a  little  season.  Men  anxiously  looked 
for  the  reappearance  of  Antichrist — and  Antichrist  appeared ! 

The  man  in  whom  the  people  recognised  the  incarnate  spirit  of 
evil  was  no  other  than  Peter  the  Great. 

From  the  Nonconformist  point  of  view,  Peter  had  very  strong 
claims  to  be  considered  Antichrist.  He  had  none  of  the  staid, 
pious  demeanour  of  the  old  Tsars,  and  showed  no  respect  for  many 
things  which  were  venerated  by  the  people.  He  ate,  drank,  and 
habitually  associated  with  heretics,  spoke  their  language,  wore  their 
costume,  chose  from  among  them  his  most  intimate  friends,  and 
favoured  them  more  than  his  own  people.  Imagine  the  horror  and 
commotion  which  would  be  produced  among  pious  Catholics  if 
the  Pope  should  some  day  appear  in  the  costimie  of  the  Grand 
Turk,  and  should  choose  Pashas  as  his  chief  counsellors!  The 
horror  which  Peter's  conduct  produced  among  a  large  section  of 
his  subjects  was  not  less  great.  They  could  not  explain  it  other- 
wise than  by  supposing  him  to  be  the  Devil  in  disguise,  and  they 
saw  in  all  his  important  measures  convincing  proofs  of  his  Satanic 
origin.  The  newly  invented  census,  or  "  revision,"  was  a  profane 
"  numbering  of  the  people,"  and  an  attempt  to  enrol  in  the  service 
of  Beelzebub  those  whose  names  were  written  in  the  Lamb's  Book 
of  Life.  The  new  title  of  Imperator  was  explained  to  mean  some- 
thing very  diabolical.  The  passport  bearing  the  Imperial  arms 
was  the  seal  of  Antichrist.  The  order  to  shave  the  beard  was  an 
attempt  to  disfigure  "the  image  of  God,"  after  which  man  had 
been  created,  and  by  which  Christ  would  recognise  His  own  at  the 
Last  Day.  The  change  in  the  calendar,  by  which  New  Year's 
Day  was  transferred  from  September  to  January,  was  the  destruc- 
tion of  "the  years  of  our  Lord,"  and  the  introduction  of  the 
years  of  Satan  in  their  place.  Of  the  ingenious  arguments  by 
which  these  theses  were  supported,  I  may  quote  one  by  way  of 
illustration.  The  world,  it  was  explained,  could  not  have  been 
created  in  January  as  the  new  calendar  seemed  to  indicate,  be- 
cause apples  are  not  ripe  at  that  season,  and  consequently  Eve 
could  not  have  been  tempted  in  the  way  described !  * 

These  ideas  regarding  Peter  and  his  reforms  were  strongly  con- 
firmed by  the  vigorous  persecutions  which  took  place  during  the 
earlier  years  of  his  reign.     The  Nonconformists  were  constantly 

*  I  found  this  ingenious  argument  in  one  of  the  polemical  treatises 
of  the  Old  Believers. 


THE   DISSEXTEPtS  243 

convicted  of  political  disaffection — especially  of  "  insulting  the 
Imperial  Majesty  " — and  were  accordingly  flogged,  tortured,  and 
beheaded  without  mercy.  But  when  Peter  had  succeeded  in  put- 
ting do^\^l  all  armed  opposition,  and  found  that  the  movement  was 
no  longer  dangerous  for  the  throne,  he  adopted  a  policy  more  in 
accordance  with  his  personal  character.  Whether  he  had  himself 
any  religious  belief  whatever  may  be  doubted;  certainly  he  had 
not  a  spark  of  religious  fanaticism  in  his  nature.  Exclusively 
occupied  with  secular  concerns,  he  took  no  interest  in  subtle  ques- 
tions of  religious  ceremonial,  and  was  profoundly  indifferent  as  to 
how  his  subjects  prayed  and  crossed  themselves,  provided  they 
obeyed  his  orders  in  worldly  matters  and  paid  their  taxes  regularly. 
As  soon,  therefore,  as  political  considerations  admitted  of  clem- 
ency, he  stopped  the  persecutions,  and  at  last,  in  1714,  issued 
ukazes  to  the  effect  that  all  Dissenters  might  live  unmolested,  pro- 
vided they  inscribed  themselves  in  the  official  registers  and  paid  a 
double  poll-tax.  Somewhat  later  they  were  allowed  to  practise 
freely  all  their  old  rites  and  customs,  on  condition  of  paying 
certain  fines. 

With  the  accession  of  Catherine  II.,  "the  friend  of  philoso- 
phers," the  Rasl'ol*  as  the  schism  had  come  to  be  called,  entered 
on  a  new  phase.  Penetrated  with  the  ideas  of  religious  tolera- 
tion then  in  fashion  in  Western  Europe,  Catherine  abolished  the 
disabilities  to  which  the  Easkolniks  were  subjected,  and  invited 
those  of  them  who  had  fled  across  the  frontier  to  return  to  their 
homes.  Thousands  accepted  the  invitation,  and  many  who  had 
hitherto  sought  to  conceal  themselves  from  the  eyes  of  the 
authorities  became  rich  and  respected  merchants.  The  peculiar 
semi-monastic  religious  communities,  which  had  up  till  that  time 
existed  only  in  the  forests  of  the  northern  and  western  provinces, 
began  to  appear  in  Moscow,  and  were  officially  recognised  by  the 
Administration.  At  first  they  took  the  form  of  hospitals  for  the 
sick,  or  asylums  for  the  aged  and  infirm,  but  soon  they  became 
regular  monasteries,  the  superiors  of  which  exercised  an  unde- 
fined spiritual  authority  not  only  over  the  inmates,  but  also  over 
the  members  of  the  sect  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 
Empire. 

From  that  time  down  to  the  present  the  Government  has  fol- 

*  The  term  is  derived  from  two  Russian  words — ra-t,  asunder;  and 
kolot,  to  split.  Those  who  belonj?  to  the  Raskol  are  called  RaskoJniki. 
They  call  themselves  Stdro-obriadtsi  (Old  Ritualists)  or  Starovcri  (OKI 
Believers). 


244  EUSSIA 

lowed  a  wavering  policy,  oscillating  between  complete  tolerance 
and  active  persecution.  It  must,  however,  be  said  that  the  perse- 
cution has  never  been  of  a  very  searching  kind.  In  persecution, 
as  in  all  other  manifestations,  the  Kussian  Church  directs  its  atten- 
tion chiefly  to  external  forms.  It  does  not  seek  to  ferret  out 
heresy  in  a  man's  opinions,  but  complacently  accepts  as  Orthodox 
all  who  annually  appear  at  confession  and  communion,  and  who 
refrain  from  acts  of  open  hostility.  Those  who  can  make  these 
concessions  to  convenience  are  practically  free  from  molestation, 
and  those  who  cannot  so  trifle  with  their  conscience  have  an  equally 
convenient  method  of  escaping  persecution.  The  parish  clergy, 
with  their  customary  indifference  to  things  spiritual  and  their 
traditional  habit  of  regarding  their  functions  from  the  financial 
point  of  view,  are  hostile  to  sectarianism  chiefly  because  it  dimin- 
ishes their  revenues  by  diminishing  the  number  of  parishioners  re- 
quiring their  ministrations.  This  cause  of  hostility  can  easily  be 
removed  by  a  certain  pecuniary  sacrifice  on  the  part  of  the  secta- 
rians, and  accordingly  there  generally  exists  between  them  and 
their  parish  priest  a  tacit  contract,  by  which  both  parties  are  per- 
fectly satisfied.  The  priest  receives  his  income  as  if  all  his  parish- 
ioners belonged  to  the  State  Church,  and  the  parishioners  are  left 
in  peace  to  believe  and  practise  what  they  please.  By  this  rude, 
convenient  method  a  very  large  amount  of  toleration  is  effectually 
secured.  Whether  the  practise  has  a  beneficial  moral  influence 
on  the  parish  clergy  is,  of  course,  an  entirely  different  question. 

When  the  priest  has  been  satisfied,  there  still  remains  the  police, 
which  likewise  levies  an  irregular  tax  on  heterodoxy;  but  the  nego- 
tiations are  generally  not  difficult,  for  it  is  in  the  interest  of  both 
parties  that  they  should  come  to  terms  and  live  in  good-fellow- 
ship. Thus  practically  the  Easkolniki  live  in  the  same  condition 
as  in  the  time  of  Peter:  they  pay  a  tax  and  are  not  molested — 
only  the  money  paid  does  not  now  find  its  way  into  the  Imperial 
Exchequer. 

These  external  changes  in  the  history  of  the  Easkol  have  exer- 
cised a  powerful  influence  on  its  internal  development. 

When  formally  anathematised  and  excluded  from  the  dominant 
Church  the  Nonconformists  had  neither  a  definite  organisation 
nor  a  positive  creed.  The  only  tie  that  bound  them  together  was 
hostility  to  the  "  Nikonian  novelties,"  and  all  they  desired  was  to 
preserve  intact  the  beliefs  and  customs  of  their  forefathers.  At 
first  they  never  thought  of  creating  any  permanent  organisation. 
The  more  moderate  believed  that  the  Tsar  would  soon  re-establish 


THE    DISSEXTERS  245 

Orthodoxy,  and  the  more  fanatical  imagined  that  tlic  end  of  all 
things  was  at  hand.*  In  cither  case  they  had  only  to  suffer  for 
a  little  season,  keeping  themselves  free  from  the  taint  of  heresy 
and  from  all  contact  with  the  kingdom  of  Antichrist. 

But  years  passed,  and  neither  of  these  expectations  was  ful- 
filled. The  fanatics  awaited  in  vain  the  sound  of  the  last  trun>p 
and  the  appearance  of  Christ,  coming  witli  Ilis  angels  to  judge 
the  world.  The  sun  continued  to  rise,  and  the  seasons  followed 
each  other  in  their  accustomed  course,  but  the  end  was  not  yet. 
Nor  did  the  civil  power  return  to  the  old  faith.  Nikon  fell  a 
victim  to  Court  intrigues  and  his  own  overweening  pride,  and 
was  formally  deposed.  Tsar  Alexis  in  the  fulness  of  time  was 
gathered  unto  his  fathers.  But  there  was  no  sign  of  a  re-estab- 
lishment of  the  old  Orthodoxy.  Gradually  the  leading  EasMl- 
niki  perceived  that  they  must  make  preparations,  not  for  the  Day 
of  Judgment,  but  for  a  terrestrial  future — that  tliey  must  create 
some  permanent  form  of  ecclesiastical  organisation.  In  this  work 
they  encountered  at  the  very  outset  not  only  practical,  but  also 
theoretical  difSculties. 

So  long  as  they  confined  themselves  simply  to  resisting  the 
official  innovations,  they  seemed  to  be  unanimous;  but  when  they 
were  forced  to  abandon  this  negative  policy  and  to  determine  theo- 
retically their  new  position,  radical  differences  of  opinion  became 
apparent.  All  were  convinced  that  the  official  Russian  Church 
had  become  heretical,  and  that  it  had  now  Antichrist  instead  of 
Christ  as  its  head;  but  it  was  not  easy  to  determine  what  should 
be  done  by  those  who  refused  to  bow  the  knee  to  the  Son  of  De- 
struction. According  to  Protestant  conceptions  there  was  a  very 
simple  solution  of  the  difficulty:  the  Nonconformists  had  simply 
to  create  a  new  Church  for  themselves,  and  worship  God  in  the 
way  that  seemed  good  to  them.  But  to  the  Russians  of  that  time 
such  notions  w^ere  still  more  repulsive  than  the  innovations  of 
Nikon.  These  men  were  Orthodox  to  the  backbone — "  plus  royal- 
istes  que  le  roi " — and  according  to  Orthodox  conceptions  the 
founding  of  a  new  Church  is  an  absurdity.  They  believed  that  if 
the  chain  of  historic  continuity  were  once  broken,  the  Church  must 
necessarily  cease  to  exist,  in  the  same  way  as  an  ancient  family 
becomes  extinct  when  its  sole  representative  dies  without  issue. 
If,  therefore,  the  Church  had  already  ceased  to  exist,  there  was  no 
longer  any  means  of  communication  between  Christ  and  His  people, 

*  Some  had  coffins  rnado.  and  lay  down  in  them  at  night,  in  the  expec- 
tation that  the  Second  Advent  might  take  place  before  the  morning. 


246  EUSSIA 

the  sacraments  were  no  longer  efficacious,  and  mankind  was  for- 
ever deprived  of  the  ordinary  means  of  grace. 

Now,  on  this  important  point  there  was  a  difference  of  opinion 
among  the  Dissenters.  Some  of  them  believed  that,  though  the 
ecclesiastical  authorities  had  become  heretical,  the  Church  still 
existed  in  the  communion  of  those  who  had  refused  to  accept  the 
innovations.  Others  declared  boldly  that  the  Orthodox  Church 
had  ceased  to  exist,  that  the  ancient  means  of  grace  had  been  with- 
drawn, and  that  those  who  had  remained  faithful  must  thenceforth 
seek  salvation,  not  in  the  sacraments,  but  in  prayer  and  such  other 
religious  exercises  as  did  not  require  the  co-operation  of  duly 
consecrated  priests.  Thus  took  place  a  schism  among  the  Schis- 
matics. The  one  party  retained  all  the  sacraments  and  ceremonial 
observances  in  the  older  form;  the  other  refrained  from  the  sacra- 
ments and  from  many  of  the  ordinary  rites,  on  the  ground  that 
there  was  no  longer  a  real  priesthood,  and  that  consequently  the 
sacraments  could  not  be  efficacious.  The  former  party  are  termed 
Stdro-ohriadsti,  or  Old  Eitualists;  the  latter  are  called  Bezpop- 
oftsi — that  is  to  say,  people  "without  priests"  (hez  popov). 

The  succeeding  history  of  these  two  sections  of  the  Noncon- 
formists has  been  widely  different.  The  Old  Eitualists,  being 
simply  ecclesiastical  Conservatives  desirous  of  resisting  all  inno- 
vations, have  remained  a  compact  body  little  troubled  by  differ- 
ences of  opinion.  The  Priestless  People,  on  the  contrary,  ever 
seeking  to  discover  some  new  effectual  means  of  salvation,  have 
fallen  into  an  endless  number  of  independent  sects. 

The  Old  Eitualists  had  still,  however,  one  important  theoretical 
difficulty.  At  first  they  had  amongst  themselves  plenty  of  conse- 
crated priests  for  the  celebration  of  the  ordinances,  but  they  had 
no  means  of  renewing  the  supply.  They  had  no  bishops,  and 
according  to  Orthodox  belief  the  lower  degrees  of  the  clergy  can- 
not be  created  without  episcopal  consecration.  At  the  time  of 
the  schism  one  bishop  had  thrown  in  his  lot  with  the  Schismatics, 
but  he  had  died  shortly  afterwards  without  leaving  a  successor, 
and  thereafter  no  bishop  had  joined  their  ranks.  As  time  wore 
on,  the  necessity  of  episcopal  consecration  came  to  be  more  and 
more  felt,  and  it  is  not  a  little  interesting  to  observe  how  these 
rigorists,  who  held  to  the  letter  of  the  law  and  declared  them- 
selves ready  to  die  for  a  jot  or  a  tittle,  modified  their  theory  in 
accordance  with  the  changing  exigencies  of  their  position.  When 
the  priests  who  had  kept  themselves  "pure  and  undefiled  " — free 
from  all  contact  with  Antichrist — became  scarce,  it  was  discov- 


THE    DISSENTERS  247 

ered  that  certain  priests  of  the  dominant  Church  might  be  accepted 
if  they  formally  abjured  the  Nikonian  novelties.  At  first,  how- 
ever, only  those  who  had  been  consecrated  previous  to  the  supposed 
apostasy  of  the  Church  were  accepted,  for  the  very  good  reason  that 
consecration  by  bishops  who  had  become  heretical  could  not  be 
efficacious.  When  these  could  no  longer  be  obtained  it  was  dis- 
covered that  those  who  had  been  baptised  previous  to  the  apos- 
tasy might  be  accepted;  and  when  even  these  could  no  longer  be 
found,  a  still  further  concession  was  made  to  necessity,  and  all 
consecrated  priests  were  received  on  condition  of  their  solemnly 
abjuring  their  errors.  Of  such  priests  there  was  always  an  abun- 
dant supply.  If  a  regular  priest  could  not  find  a  parish,  or  if  he 
was  deposed  by  the  authorities  for  some  crime  or  misdemeanour, 
he  had  merely  to  pass  over  to  the  Old  Ritualists,  and  was  sure 
to  find  among  them  a  hearty  welcome  and  a  tolerable  salary. 

By  these  concessions  the  indefinite  prolongation  of  Old  Ritual- 
ism was  secured,  but  many  of  the  Old  Ritualists  could  not  but 
feel  that  their  position  was,  to  say  the  least,  extremely  anomalous. 
They  had  no  bishops  of  their  own,  and  their  priests  were  all  con- 
secrated by  bishops  whom  they  believed  to  be  heretical!  For 
many  years  they  hoped  to  escape  from  this  dilemma  by  discover- 
ing "  Orthodox " — that  is  to  say.  Old  Ritualist — bishops  some- 
where in  the  East;  but  when  the  East  had  been  searched  in  vain, 
and  all  their  efforts  to  obtain  native  bishops  proved  fruitless, 
they  conceived  the  design  of  creating  a  bishopric  somewhere  be- 
yond the  frontier,  among  the  Old  Ritualists  who  had  in  times  of 
persecution  fled  to  Prussia,  Austria,  and  Turkey.  There  were, 
however,  immense  difficulties  in  the  way.  In  the  first  place  it 
was  necessary  to  obtain  the  formal  permission  of  some  foreign 
Government;  and  in  the  second  place  an  Orthodox  bishop  must 
be  found,  willing  to  consecrate  an  Old  Ritualist  or  to  become  an 
Old  Ritualist  himself.  Again  and  again  the  attempt  was  made, 
and  failed;  but  at  last,  after  years  of  effort  and  intrigue,  the 
design  was  realised.  In  1844  the  Austrian  Government  gave  per- 
mission to  found  a  bishopric  at  Belaya  Krinitsa,  in  Galicia,  a  few 
miles  from  the  Russian  frontier;  and  two  years  later  the  deposed 
Metropolitan  of  Bosnia  consented,  after  much  hesitation,  to  pass 
over  to  the  Old  Ritualist  confession  and  accept  the  diocese.* 
From  that  time  the  Old  Ritualists  have  had  their  own  bishops, 

*  An  interesting  account  of  tliese  negotiations,  and  a  most  curious 
picture  of  the  Orthodox  eeclestiastical  world  in  Constantinople,  is  given 
by  Subbutiny,  "  Istoriu  Belokrinitskoi  lerarkhii,"  Moscow,  1874. 


248  KUSSIA 

and  have  not  been  obliged  to  accept  the  runaway  priests  of  the 
official  Church. 

The  Old  Eitualists  were  naturally  much  grieved  by  the  schism, 
and  were  often  sorely  tried  by  persecution,  but  they  have  always 
enjoyed  a  certain  spiritual  tranquillity,  proceeding  from  the  con- 
viction that  they  have  preserved  for  themselves  the  means  of  sal- 
vation. The  position  of  the  more  extreme  section  of  the  Schis- 
matics was  much  more  tragical.  They  believed  that  the  sacraments 
had  irretrievably  lost  their  efficacy,  that  the  ordinary  means  of 
salvation  were  forever  withdrawn,  that  the  powers  of  darkness 
had  been  let  loose  for  a  little  season,  that  the  authorities  were  the 
agents  of  Satan,  and  that  the  personage  who  filled  the  place  of 
the  old  God-fearing  Tsars  was  no  other  than  Antichrist,  Under 
the  influence  of  these  horrible  ideas  they  fled  to  the  woods  and  the 
caves  to  escape  from  the  rage  of  the  Beast,  and  to  await  the  second 
coming  of  Our  Lord. 

This  state  of  things  could  not  continue  permanently.  Ex- 
treme religious  fanaticism,  like  all  other  abnormal  states,  cannot 
long  exist  in  a  mass  of  human  beings  without  some  constant  excit- 
ing cause.  The  vulgar  necessities  of  everyday  life,  especially 
among  people  who  have  to  live  by  the  labour  of  their  hands,  have 
a  wonderfully  sobering  influence  on  the  excited  brain,  and  must 
always,  sooner  or  later,  prove  fatal  to  inordinate  excitement.  A 
few  peculiarly  constituted  individuals  may  show  themselves  capable 
of  a  lifelong  enthusiasm,  but  the  multitude  is  ever  spasmodic  in 
its  fervour,  and  begins  to  slide  back  to  its  former  apathy  as  soon  as 
the  exciting  cause  ceases  to  act. 

All  this  we  find  exemplified  in  the  history  of  the  Priestless 
People.  When  it  was  found  that  the  world  did  not  come  to 
an  end,  and  that  the  rigorous  system  of  persecution  was  relaxed, 
the  less  excitable  natures  returned  to  their  homes,  and  resumed 
their  old  mode  of  life;  and  when  Peter  the  Great  made  his 
politic  concessions,  many  who  had  declared  him  to  be  Antichrist 
came  to  suspect  that  he  was  really  not  so  black  as  he  was 
painted.  This  idea  struck  deep  root  in  a  religious  community 
near  Lake  Onega  (VuigovsU  Skit),  which  had  received  special 
privileges  on  condition  of  supplying  labourers  for  the  neigh- 
bouring mines;  and  here  was  developed  a  new  theory  which 
opened  up  a  way  of  reconciliation  with  the  Government.  By 
a  more  attentive  study  of  Holy  Writ  and  ancient  books  it  was 
discovered  that  the  reign  of  Antichrist  would  consist  of  two  periods. 
In  the  former,  the  Son  of  Destruction  would  reign  merely  in  the 


THE   DISSEXTERS  249 

spiritual  sense,  and  the  Faithful  would  not  be  much  molested;  in 
the  latter,  he  would  reign  visibly  in  the  flesh,  and  true  believers 
would  be  subjected  to  the  most  frightful  persecution.  The  second 
period,  it  was  held,  had  evidently  not  yet  arrived,  for  the  Faithful 
now  enjoyed  "  a  time  of  freedom,  and  not  of  compulsion  or  op- 
pression." Whether  this  theory  is  strictly  in  accordance  with 
Apocalyptic  prophecy  and  patristic  theology  may  be  doubted,  but 
it  fully  satisfied  those  who  had  already  arrived  at  the  conclusion 
by  a  different  road,  and  who  sought  merely  a  means  of  justifying 
their  position.  Certain  it  is  that  very  many  accepted  it,  and  de- 
termined to  render  unto  Caesar  the  things  that  were  Caesar's,  or, 
in  secular  language,  to  pray  for  the  Tsar  and  to  pay  their  taxes. 

This  ingenious  compromise  was  not  accepted  by  all  the  Priest- 
less  People.  On  the  contrary,  many  of  them  regarded  it  as  a 
woeful  backsliding — a  new  device  of  the  Evil  One;  and  among 
these  irreconcilables  was  a  certain  peasant  called  Theodosi,  a  man 
of  little  education,  but  of  remarkable  intellectual  power  and  un- 
usual strength  of  character.  He  raised  anew  the  old  fanaticism 
by  his  preaching  and  writings — widely  circulated  in  manuscript — 
and  succeeded  in  founding  a  new  sect  in  the  forest  region  near 
the  Polish  frontier. 

The  Priestless  Nonconformists  thus  fell  into  two  sections;  the 
one,  called  Pomortsi*  accepted  at  least  a  partial  reconciliation 
with  the  civil  power;  the  other,  called  Theodosians,  after  tlieir 
founder,  held  to  the  old  opinions,  and  refused  to  regard  the  Tsar 
otherwise  than  as  Antichrist. 

These  latter  were  at  first  very  wild  in  their  fanaticism,  but  eye 
long  they  gave  way  to  the  influences  which  had  softened  the  fanati- 
cism of  the  Pomortsi.  Under  the  liberal,  conciliatory  rule  of 
Catherine  they  lived  in  contentment,  and  many  of  them  enriched 
themselves  by  trade.  Their  fanatical  zeal  and  exclusiveness  evap- 
orated under  the  influence  of  material  well-being  and  constant 
contact  with  the  outer  world,  especially  after  they  were  allowed  to 
build  a  monastery  in  Moscow.  The  Superior  of  this  monastery, 
a  man  of  much  shrewdness  and  enormous  wealth,  succeeded  in 
gaining  the  favour  not  only  of  the  lower  officials,  who  could  be 
easily  bought,  but  even  of  high-placed  dignitaries,  and  for  many 

*  The  word  Pom6rtsi  means  "  those  who  live  near  the  seashore."  It 
is  commonly  applied  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  Northern  provinces — 
that  is,  those  who  live  near  the  shore  of  the  White  Sea,  the  only  mari- 
time frontier  that  Russia  possessed  previous  to  the  conquests  of  Peter 
the  Great. 


250  EUSSIA 

years  he  exercised  a  very  real,  if  undefined,  authority  over  all  sec- 
tions of  the  Priestless  People.  "His  fame,"  it  is  said,  "sounded 
throughout  Moscow,  and  the  echoes  were  heard  in  Petropol  (St. 
Petersburg),  Riga,  Astrakhan,  Nizhni-ISTovgorod,  and  other  lands 
of  piety  " ;  and  when  deputies  came  to  consult  him,  they  prostrated 
themselves  in  his  presence,  as  before  the  great  ones  of  the  earth. 
Living  thus  not  only  in  peace  and  plenty,  but  even  in  honour  and 
luxury,  "the  proud  Patriarch  of  the  Theodosian  Church"  could 
not  consistently  fulminate  against  "  the  ravenous  wolves "  with 
whom  he  was  on  friendly  terms,  or  excite  the  fanaticism  of  his 
followers  by  highly  coloured  descriptions  of  "the  awful  suffer- 
ings and  persecution  of  God's  people  in  these  latter  days,"  as  the 
founder  of  the  sect  had  been  wont  to  do.  Though  he  could  not 
openly  abandon  any  fundamental  doctrines,  he  allowed  the  ideas 
about  the  reign  of  Antichrist  to.  fall  into  the  background,  and 
taught  by  example,  if  not  by  precept,  that  the  Faithful  might,  by 
prudent  concessions,  live  very  comfortably  in  this  present  evil 
world.  This  seed  fell  upon  soil  already  prepared  for  its  reception. 
The  Faithful  gradually  forgot  their  old  savage  fanaticism,  and 
they  have  since  contrived,  while  holding  many  of  their  old  ideas 
in  theory,  to  accommodate  themselves  in  practice  to  the  existing 
order  of  things. 

The  gradual  softening  and  toning  down  of  the  original  fanati- 
cism in  these  two  sects  are  strikingly  exemplified  in  their  ideas  of 
marriage.  According  to  Orthodox  doctrine,  marriage  is  a  sacra- 
ment which  can  only  be  performed  by  a  consecrated  priest,  and 
consequently  for  the  Priestless  People  the  celebration  of  marriage 
was  an  impossibility.  In  the  first  ages  of  sectarianism  a  state  of 
celibacy  was  quite  in  accordance  with  their  surroundings.  Living  in 
constant  fear  of  their  persecutors,  and  wandering  from  one  place  of 
refuge  to  another,  the  sufferers  for  the  Faith  had  little  time  or 
inclination  to  think  of  family  ties,  and  readily  listened  to  the 
monks,  who  exhorted  them  to  mortify  the  lusts  of  the  flesh. 

The  result,  however,  proved  that  celibacy  in  the  creed  by  no 
means  ensures  chastity  in  practice.  Not  only  in  the  villages  of  the 
Dissenters,  but  even  in  those  religious  communities  which  professed 
a  more  ascetic  mode  of  life,  a  numerous  class  of  "  orphans  "  began 
to  appear,  who  knew  not  who  their  parents  were ;  and  this  ignorance 
of  blood-relationship  naturally  led  to  incestuous  connections.  Be- 
sides this,  the  doctrine  of  celibacy  had  grave  practical  inconven- 
iences, for  the  peasant  requires  a  housewife  to  attend  to  domestic 
concerns  and  to  help  him  in  his  agricultural  occupations.    Thus  the 


THE    DISSENTERS  251 

necessity  of  re-establishing  family  life  came  to  be  felt,  and  the  feel- 
ing soon  found  expression  in  a  doctrinal  form  both  among  the  Po- 
mortsi  and  among  the  Theodsians,  Learned  dissertations  were 
written  and  disseminated  in  manuscript  copies,  violent  discussions 
took  place,  and  at  last  a  great  Council  was  held  in  Moscow  to  dis- 
cuss the  question.*  The  point  at  issue  was  never  unanimously 
decided,  but  many  accepted  the  ingenious  arguments  in  favour  of 
matrimony,  and  contracted  marriages  which  were,  of  course,  null 
and  void  in  the  eye  of  the  law  and  of  the  Church,  but  valid  in  all 
other  respects. 

This  new  backsliding  of  the  unstable  multitude  produced  a  new 
outburst  of  fanaticism  among  the  stubborn  few.  Some  of  those 
who  had  hitherto  sought  to  conceal  the  origin  of  the  "  orphan  " 
class  above  referred  to  now  boldly  asserted  that  the  existence  of 
this  class  was  a  religious  necessity,  because  in  order  to  be  saved 
men  must  repent,  and  in  order  to  repent  men  must  sin!  At  the 
same  time  the  old  ideas  about  Antichrist  were  revived  and  preached 
with  fervour  by  a  peasant  called  Philip,  who  founded  a  new  sect 
called  the  Philipists.  This  sect  still  exists.  They  hold  fast  to  the 
old  belief  that  the  Tsar  is  Antichrist,  and  that  the  civil  and  eccle- 
siastical authorities  are  the  servants  of  Satan — an  idea  that  was 
kept  alive  by  the  corruption  and  extortion  for  which  the  Adminis- 
tration was  notorious.  They  do  not  venture  on  open  resistance 
to  the  authorities,  but  the  bolder  members  take  little  pains  to  con- 
ceal their  opinions  and  sentiments,  and  may  be  easily  recognised 
by  their  severe  aspect,  their  Puritanical  manner,  and  their  Phari- 
saical horror  of  everything  which  they  suppose  heretical  and  un- 
clean. Some  of  them,  it  is  said,  carry  this  fastidiousness  to  such 
an  extent  that  they  throw  away  the  handle  of  a  door  if  it  has  been 
touched  by  a  heretic! 

It  may  seem  that  we  have  here  reached  the  extreme  limits  of 
fanaticism,  but  in  reality  there  were  men  whom  even  the  Phari- 
saical Puritanism  of  the  Philipists  did  not  satisfy.  These  new 
zealots,  who  appeared  in  the  time  of  Catherine  II.,  but  first  be- 
came known  to  the  oflBcial  world  in  the  reign  of  Nicholas  I.,  re- 
buked the  lukewarmness  of  their  brethren,  and  founded  a  new 
sect  in  order  to  preserve  intact  the  asceticism  practised  immediately 
after  the  schism.     This  sect  stiU  exists.     They  call  themselves 

♦  I  cannot  here  enter  into  the  details  of  this  remarkable  controversy, 
but  I  may  say  that  in  studying  it  I  have  been  frequently  astonished  by 
the  dialectical  power  and  logical  subtlety  displayed  by  the  disputants, 
some  of  them  simple  peasants. 


253  EUSSIA 

"Christ's  people"  (Christomye  Lyudi),  but  are  better  known 
under  the  popular  name  of  "Wanderers"  (StranniTci) ,  or  "Fugi- 
tives "  (Beguny).  Of  all  the  sects  they  are  the  most  hostile  to  the 
existing  political  and  social  organisation.  Not  content  with  con- 
demning the  military  conscription,  the  payment  of  taxes,  the  ac- 
ceptance of  passports,  and  everything  connected  with  the  civil  and 
ecclesiastical  authorities,  they  consider  it  sinful  to  live  peaceably 
among  an  orthodox — that  is,  according  to  their  belief,  a  heretical 
— population,  and  to  have  dealings  with  any  who  do  not  share 
their  extreme  views.  Holding  the  Antichrist  doctrine  in  the  ex- 
treme form,  they  declare  that  Tsars  are  the  vessels  of  Satan,  that 
the  Established  Church  is  the  dwelling-place  of  the  Father  of  Lies, 
and  that  all  who  submit  to  the  authorities  are  children  of  the 
Devil.  According  to  this  creed,  those  who  wish  to  escape  from 
the  wrath  to  come  must  have  neither  houses  nor  fixed  places  of 
abode,  must  sever  all  ties  that  bind  them  to  the  world,  and 
must  wander  about  continually  from  place  to  place.  True 
Christians  are  but  strangers  and  pilgrims  in  the  present  life,  and 
whoso  binds  himself  to  the  world  will  perish  with  the  world. 

Such  is  the  theory  of  these  Wanderers,  but  among  them,  as 
among  the  less  fanatical  sects,  practical  necessities  have  produced 
concessions  and  compromises.  As  it  is  impossible  to  lead  a  no- 
madic life  in  Russian  forests,  the  Wanderers  have  been  compelled 
to  admit  into  their  ranks  what  may  be  called  lay-brethren — men 
who  nominally  belong  to  the  sect,  but  who  live  like  ordinary  mor- 
tals and  have  some  rational  way  of  gaining  a  livelihood.  These 
latter  live  in  the  villages  or  towns,  support  themselves  by  agricul- 
ture or  trade,  accept  passports  from  the  authorities,  pay  their 
taxes  regularly,  and  conduct  themselves  in  all  outward  respects 
like  loyal  subjects.  Their  chief  religious  duty  consists  in  giving 
food  and  shelter  to  their  more  zealous  brethren,  who  have  adopted 
a  vagabond  life  in  practise  as  well  as  in  theory.  It  is  only  when 
they  feel  death  approaching  that  they  consider  it  necessary  to^  sep- 
arate themselves  from  the  heretical  world,  and  they  effect  this  by 
having  themselves  carried  out  to  some  neighbouring  wood — or  into 
a  garden  if  there  is  no  wood  at  hand — where  they  may  die  in  the 
open  air. 

Thus,  we  see,  there  is  among  the  Russian  Nonconformist  sects 
what  may  be  called  a  gradation  of  fanaticism,  in  which  is  reflected 
the  history  of  the  Great  Schism.  In  the  Wanderers  we  have  the 
representatives  of  those  who  adopted  and  preserved  the  Antichrist 
doctrine  in  its  extreme  form — the  successors  of  those  who  fled  to 


THE    DISSENTEES  253 

the  forests  to  escape  from  the  rage  of  the  Beast  and  to  await  the 
second  coming  of  Christ.  In  the  Philipists  we  have  the  represent- 
atives of  those  who  adopted  these  ideas  in  a  somewhat  softer  form, 
and  who  came  to  recognise  the  necessity  of  having  some  regular 
means  of  subsistence  until  the  last  trump  should  be  heard.  The 
Tlieodosians  represent  those  who  were  in  theory  at  one  with  the 
preceding  category,  but  who,  having  less  religious  fanaticism,  con- 
sidered it  necessary  to  yield  to  force  and  make  peace  with  the 
Government  without  sacrificing  their  convictions.  In  the  Po- 
mortsi  we  see  those  who  preserved  only  the  religious  ideas  of  the 
schism,  and  became  reconciled  with  the  civil  power.  Lastly  we 
have  the  Old  Eitualists,  who  differed  from  all  the  other  sects  in 
retaining  the  old  ordinances,  and  who  simply  rejected  the  spir- 
itual authority  of  the  dominant  Church.  Besides  these  chief  sec- 
tions of  the  Nonconformists  there  are  a  great  many  minor  denomi- 
nations (tolJci),  differing  from  each  other  on  minor  points  of  doc- 
trine. In  certain  districts,  it  is  said,  nearly  every  village  has  one 
or  two  independent  sects.  This  is  especially  the  case  among  the 
Don  Cossacks  and  the  Cossacks  of  the  Ural,  who  are  in  part  de- 
scendants of  the  men  who  fled  from  the  early  persecutions. 

Of  all  the  sects  the  Old  Eitualists  stand  nearest  to  the  ofiBcial 
Church.  They  hold  the  same  dogmas,  practise  the  same  rites,  and 
differ  only  in  trifling  ceremonial  matters,  which  few  people  con- 
sider essential.  In  the  hope  of  inducing  them  to  return  to  the 
official  fold  the  Government  created  at  the  beginning  of  last  cen- 
tury special  churches,  in  which  they  were  allowed  to  retain  their 
ceremonial  peculiarities  on  condition  of  accepting  regularly  con- 
secrated priests  and  submitting  to  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction.  As 
yet  the  design  has  not  met  with  much  success.  The  great  ma- 
jority of  the  Old  Eitualists  regard  it  as  a  trap,  and  assert  that  the 
Church  in  making  this  concession  has  been  guilty  of  self-contra- 
diction. "  The  Ecclesiastical  Council  of  Moscow,^'  they  say, 
"  anathematised  our  forefathers  for  holding  to  the  old  ritual,  and 
declared  that  the  whole  course  of  nature  would  be  changed  sooner 
than  the  curse  be  withdrawn.  The  course  of  nature  has  not  been 
changed,  but  the  anathema  has  been  cancelled."  This  argument 
ought  to  have  a  certain  weight  with  those  who  believe  in  the 
infallibility  of  Ecclesiastical  Councils. 

Towards  the  Priestless  People  the  Government  has  always  acted 
in  a  much  less  conciliatory  spirit.  Its  severity  has  been  sometimes 
justified  on  the  ground  that  sectarianism  has  had  a  political  as 
well  as  a  religious  significance.     A  State  like  Eussia  cannot  over- 


254  EUSSIA 

look  the  existence  of  sects  which  preach  the  duty  of  systematic 
resistance  to  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  authorities  and  hold  doc- 
trines which  lead  to  the  grossest  immorality.  This  argument,  it 
must  be  admitted,  is  not  without  a  certain  force,  but  it  seems  to 
me  that  the  policy  adopted  tended  to  increase  rather  than  diminish 
the  evils  Avhich  it  sought  to  cure.  Instead  of  dispelling  the  absurd 
idea  that  the  Tsar  was  Antichrist  by  a  system  of  strict  and  even- 
handed  Justice,  punishing  merely  actual  crimes  and  delinquencies, 
the  Government  confirmed  the  notion  in  the  minds  of  thousands 
by  persecuting  those  who  had  committed  no  crime  and  who  de- 
sired merely  to  worship  God  according  to  their  conscience.  Above 
all  it  erred  in  opposing  and  punishing  those  marriages  which, 
though  legally  irregular,  were  the  best  possible  means  of  dimin- 
ishing fanaticism,  by  leading  back  the  fanatics  to  healthy  social 
life.  Fortunately  these  errors  have  now  been  abandoned.  A 
policy  of  greater  clemency  and  conciliation  has  been  adopted,  and 
has  proved  much  more  efficacious  than  persecution.  The  Dissenters 
have  not  returned  to  the  official  fold,  but  they  have  lost  much  of 
their  old  fanaticism  and  exclusiveness. 

In  respect  of  numbers  the  sectarians  compose  a  very  formidable 
body.  Of  Old  Ritualists  and  Priestless  People  there  are,  it  is  said, 
no  less  than  eleven  millions;  and  the  Protestant  and  fantastical 
sects  comprise  probably  about  five  millions  more.  If  these  num- 
bers be  correct,  the  sectarians  constitute  about  an  eighth  of  the 
whole  population  of  the  Empire.  They  count  in  their  ranks  none 
of  the  nobles — none  of  the  so-called  enlightened  class — but  they 
include  in  their  number  a  respectable  proportion  of  the  peasants, 
a  third  of  the  rich  merchant  class,  the  majority  of  the  Don  Cos- 
sacks, and  nearly  all  the  Cossacks  of  the  Ural. 

Under  these  circumstances  it  is  important  to  know  how  far  the 
sectarians  are  politically  disaffected.  Some  people  imagine  that 
in  the  event  of  an  insurrection  or  a  foreign  invasion  they  might 
rise  against  the  Government,  whilst  others  believe  that  this  sup- 
posed danger  is  purely  imaginary.  For  my  own  part  I  agree  with 
the  latter  opinion,  which  is  strongly  supported  by  the  history  of 
many  important  events,  such  as  the  French  invasion  in  1812,  the 
Crimean  War,  and  the  last  Polish  insurrection.  The  great  ma- 
jority of  the  Schismatics  and  heretics  are,  I  believe,  loyal  subjects 
of  the  Tsar.  The  more  violent  sects,  which  are  alone  capable  of 
active  hostility  against  the  authorities,  are  weak  in  numbers,  and 
regard  all  outsiders  with  such  profound  mistrust  that  they  are 
wholly  impervious  to  inflammatory  influences  from  without.    Even 


THE    DISSENTERS  255 

if  all  the  sects  were  capable  of  active  hostility,  they  would  not  be 
nearly  so  formidable  as  their  numbers  seem  to  indicate,  for  they 
are  hostile  to  each  other,  and  are  wholly  incapable  of  combining 
for  a  common  purpose. 

Though  sectarianism  is  thus  by  no  means  a  serious  political 
danger,  it  has  nevertheless  a  considerable  political  significance.  It 
proves  satisfactorily  that  the  Russian  people  is  by  no  means  so 
docile  and  pliable  as  is  commonly  supposed,  and  that  it  is  capable 
of  showing  a  stubborn,  passive  resistance  to  authority  when  it 
believes  great  interests  to  be  at  stake.  The  dogged  energy  which 
it  has  displayed  in  asserting  for  centuries  its  religious  liberty  may 
perhaps  some  day  be  employed  in  the  arena  of  secular  politics. 


CHAPTEE  XIX 

CHURCH    AND    STATE 

The  Russian  Orthodox  Church — Russia  Outside  of  the  Mediaeval  Papal 
Commonwealth — Influence  of  the  Greek  Church — Ecclesiastical  His- 
tory of  Russia — Relations  between  Church  and  State — Eastern  Or- 
thodoxy and  the  Russian  National  Church — The  Synod — Ecclesias- 
tical Grumbling — Local  Ecclesiastical  Administration — The  Black 
Clergy  and  the  Monasteries — The  Character  of  the  Eastern  Church 
Reflected  in  the  History  of  Religious  Art — Practical  Consequences 
— The  Union  Scheme. 

FROM  the  curious  world  of  heretics  and  Dissenters  let  us  pass 
now  to  the  Eussian  Orthodox  Church,  to  which  the  great  ma- 
jority of  the  Eussian  people  belong.  It  has  played  an  important 
part  in  the  national  history,  and  has  exercised  a  powerful  influ- 
ence in  the  formation  of  the  national  character. 

Eussians  are  in  the  habit  of  patriotically  and  proudly  congratu- 
lating themselves  on  the  fact  that  their  forefathers  always  resisted 
successfully  the  aggressive  tendencies  of  the  Papacy,  but  it  may 
be  doubted  whether,  from  a  worldly  point  of  view,  the  freedom 
from  Papal  authority  has  been  an  unmixed  blessing  for  the  coun- 
try. If  the  Popes  failed  to  realise  their  grand  design  of  creating 
a  vast  European  empire  based  on  theocratic  principles,  they  suc- 
ceeded at  least  in  inspiring  with  a  feeling  of  brotherhood  and  a 
vague  consciousness  of  common  interest  all  the  nations  which 
acknowledged  their  spiritual  supremacy.  These  nations,  whilst 
remaining  politically  independent  and  frequently  coming  into 
hostile  contact  with  each  other,  all  looked  to  Eorae  as  the  capital 
of  the  Christian  world,  and  to  the  Pope  as  the  highest  terrestrial 
authority.  Though  the  Church  did  not  annihilate  nationality,  it 
made  a  wide  breach  in  the  political  barriers,  and  formed  a  channel 
for  international  communication  by  which  the  social  and  intel- 
lectual progress  of  each  nation  became  known  to  all  the  other 
members  of  the  great  Christian  confederacy.  Throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  Papal  Commonwealth  educated  men 
had  a  common  language,  a  common  literature,  a  common  scien- 
tific method,  and  to  a  certain  extent  a  common  jurisprudence. 

256 


CHURCH    AND    STATE  257 

Western  Christendom  was  thus  all  through  the  IMiddle  Ages  not 
merely  an  abstract  conception  or  a  geographical  expression :  if 
not  a  political,  it  Avas  at  least  a  religious  and  intellectual  unit,  and 
all  the  countries  of  which  it  was  composed  benefited  more  or  less 
by  the  connection. 

For  centuries  Russia  stood  outside  of  this  religious  and  intel- 
lectual confederation,  for  her  Church  connected  her  not  with  Rome, 
but  with  Constantinople,  and  Papal  Europe  looked  upon  her  as 
belonging  to  the  barbarous  East.  When  the  Mongol  hosts  swept 
over  her  plains,  burnt  her  towns  and  villages,  and  finally  incorpo- 
rated her  into  the  great  empire  of  Genghis  Khan,  the  so-called 
Christian  world  took  no  interest  in  the  struggle  except  in  so  far  as 
its  own  safety  was  threatened.  And  as  time  wore  on,  the  barriers 
which  separated  the  two  great  sections  of  Christendom  became 
more  and  more  formidable.  The  aggressive  pretensions  and  ambi- 
tious schemes  of  the  \'atican  produced  in  the  Greek  Orthodox 
world  a  profound  antipathy  to  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  and  to 
Western  influence  of  every  kind.  So  strong  was  this  aversion  that 
when  the  nations  of  the  West  awakened  in  the  fifteenth  and  six- 
teenth centuries  from  their  intellectual  lethargy  and  began  to 
move  forward  on  the  path  of  intellectual  and  material  progress, 
Russia  not  only  remained  unmoved,  but  looked  on  the  new  civili- 
sation with  suspicion  and  fear  as  a  thing  heretical  and  accursed. 
We  have  here  one  of  the  chief  reasons  why  Russia,  at  the  present 
day,  is  in  many  respects  less  civilised  than  the  nations  of  Western 
Europe. 

But  it  is  not  merely  in  this  negative  way  that  the  acceptance  of 
Christianity  from  Constantinople  has  afl'ected  the  fate  of  Russia. 
The  Greek  Church,  whilst  excluding  Roman  Catholic  civilisation, 
exerted  at  the  same  time  a  powerful  positive  influence  on  the  his- 
torical development  of  the  nation. 

The  Church  of  the  West  inherited  from  old  Rome  something  of 
that  logical,  juridical,  administrative  spirit  which  had  created 
the  Roman  law,  and  something  of  that  ambition  and  dogged,  ener- 
getic perseverance  that  had  formed  nearly  the  whole  known  world 
into  a  great  centralised  empire.  The  Bishops  of  Rome  early  con- 
ceived the  design  of  reconstructing  that  old  empire  on  a  new 
basis,  and  long  strove  to  create  a  universal  Christian  theocratic 
State,  in  which  kings  and  other  civil  authorities  should  be  the  sub- 
ordinates of  Christ's  Vicar  upon  earth.  The  Eastern  Church,  on 
the  contrary,  has  remained  true  to  her  Byzantine  traditions,  and 
has  never  dreamed  of  such  lofty  pretensions.    Accustomed  to  lean 


258  RUSSIA 

on  the  civil  power,  she  has  always  been  content  to  play  a  secondary 
part,  and  has  never  strenuously  resisted  the  formation  of  national 
churches. 

For  about  two  centuries  after  the  introduction  of  Christianity — 
from  988  to  1240 — Eussia  formed,  ecclesiastically  speaking,  part 
of  the  Patriarchate  of  Constantinople.  The  metropolitans  and  the 
bishops  were  Greek  by  birth  and  education,  and  the  ecclesiastical 
administration  was  guided  and  controlled  by  the  Byzantine  Patri- 
archs. But  from  the  time  of  the  Mongol  invasion,  when  com- 
munication with  Constantinople  became  more  difficult  and  edu- 
cated native  priests  had  become  more  numerous,  this  complete  de- 
pendence on  the  Patriarch  of  Constantinople  ceased.  The  Princes 
gradually  arrogated  to  themselves  the  right  of  choosing  the  Met- 
ropolitan of  Kief — who  was  at  that  time  the  chief  ecclesiastical 
dignitary  in  Eussia — and  merely  sent  their  nominees  to  Constan- 
tinople for  consecration.  About  1448  this  formality  came  to  be 
dispensed  with,  and  the  Metropolitan  was  commonly  consecrated 
by  a  Council  of  Eussian  bishops.  A  further  step  in  the  direction 
of  ecclesiastical  autonomy  was  taken  in  1589,  when  the  Tsar  suc- 
ceeded in  procuring  the  consecration  of  a  Eussian  Patriarch,  equal 
in  dignity  and  authority  to  the  Patriarchs  of  Constantinople,  Jeru- 
salem, Antioch,  and  Alexandria. 

In  all  matters  of  external  form  the  Patriarch  of  Moscow  was  a 
very  important  personage.  He  exercised  a  certain  influence  in 
civil  as  well  as  ecclesiastical  affairs,  bore  the  official  title  of  "  Great 
Lord"  (Velijci  Gosuddr),  which  had  previously  been  reserved  for 
the  civil  head  of  the  State,  and  habitually  received  from  the  people 
scarcely  less  veneration  than  the  Tsar  himself.  But  in  reality  he 
possessed  very  little  independent  power.  The  Tsar  was  the  real 
ruler  in  ecclesiastical  as  well  as  in  civil  affairs.* 

The  Eussian  Patriarchate  came  to  an  end  in  the  time  of  Peter 
the  Great.  Peter  wished,  among  other  things,  to  reform  the  eccle- 
siastical administration,  and    to  introduce  into  his  country  many 

*  As  this  is  frequently  denied  by  Russians,  it  may  be  well  to  quote 
one  authority  out  of  many  that  might  be  cited.  Bishop  Makarii,  whose 
erudition  and  good  faith  are  alike  above  suspicion,  says  of  Dmitri  of 
the  Don :  "He  arrogated  to  himself  full,  unconditional  power  over  the 
Head  of  the  Russian  Church,  and  through  him  over  the  whole  Russian 
Church  itself."  ("  Istoriya  Russkoi  Tserkvi,"  V.,  p.  101.)  This  is  said 
of  a  Grand  Prince  who  had  strong  rivals  and  had  to  treat  the  Church 
as  an  ally.  When  the  Grand  Princes  became  Tsars  and  had  no  longer 
any  rivals,  their  power  was  certainly  not  diminished.  Any  further 
confirmation  that  may  be  required  will  be  found  in  the  Life  of  the 
famous  Patriarch  Nikon. 


CHURCH    AND    STATE  259 

novelties  which  the  majority  of  the  clergy  and  of  the  people  re- 
garded as  heretical;  and  he  clearly  perceived  that  a  bigoted,  ener- 
getic Patriarch  might  throw  considerable  obstacles  in  his  way, 
and  cause  him  infinite  annoyance.  Though  such  a  Patriarch  might 
be  deposed  without  any  flagrant  violation  of  the  canonical  for- 
malities, the  operation  would  necessarily  be  attended  witli  great 
trouble  and  loss  of  time.  Peter  was  no  friend  of  roundabout,  tor- 
tuous methods,  and  preferred  to  remove  the  difficulty  in  his  usual 
thorough,  violent  fashion.  When  the  Patriarch  Adrian  died,  the 
customary  short  interregnum  was  prolonged  for  twenty  years,  and 
when  the  people  had  thus  become  accustomed  to  having  no  Patri- 
arch, it  was  announced  that  no  more  Patriarchs  would  be  elected. 
Their  place  was  supplied  by  an  ecclesiastical  council,  or  Synod,  in 
which,  as  a  contemporary  explained,  "  the  mainspring  was  Peter's 
power,  and  the  pendulum  his  understanding."  The  great  auto- 
crat Justly  considered  that  such  a  council  could  be  much  more 
easily  managed  than  a  stubborn  Patriarch,  and  the  wisdom  of  the 
measure  has  been  duly  appreciated  by  succeeding  sovereigns. 
Though  the  idea  of  re-establishing  the  Patriarchate  has  more  than 
once  been  raised,  it  has  never  been  carried  into  execution.  The 
Holy  Synod  remains  the  highest  ecclesiastical  authority. 

But  the  Emperor?  What  is  his  relation  to  the  Synod  and  to 
the  Church  in  general? 

This  is  a  question  about  which  zealous  Orthodox  Russians  are 
extremely  sensitive.  If  a  foreigner  ventures  to  hint  in  their  pres- 
ence that  the  Emperor  seems  to  have  a  considerable  influence  in 
the  Church,  he  may  inadvertently  produce  a  little  outburst  of  patri- 
otic warmth  and  virtuous  indignation.  The  truth  is  that  many 
Russians  have  a  pet  theory  on  this  subject,  and  have  at  the  same 
time  a  dim  consciousness  that  the  theory  is  not  quite  in  accordance 
with  reality.  They  hold  theoretically  that  the  Orthodox  Church 
has  no  "  Head "  but  Christ,  and  is  in  some  peculiar  undefined 
sense  entirely  independent  of  all  terrestrial  authority.  In  this 
respect  it  is  often  contrasted  with  the  Anglican  Church,  rftuch  to 
the  disadvantage  of  the  latter;  and  the  supposed  differences  be- 
tween the  two  are  made  a  theme  for  semi-religious,  semi-patriotic 
exultation.  Khomiakof,  for  instance,  in  one  of  his  most  vigorous 
poems,  predicts  that  God  will  one  day  take  the  destiny  of  the 
world  out  of  the  hands  of  England  in  order  to  give  it  to  Russia, 
and  he  adduces  as  one  of  the  reasons  for  this  transfer  the  fact  that 
England  "has  chained,  with  sacrilegious  hand,  the  Church  of  God 
to  the  pedestal  of  the  vain  earthly  power."     So  far  the  theory. 


260  EUSSIA 

As  to  the  facts,  it  is  unquestionable  that  the  Tsar  exercises  a  much 
greater  influence  in  ecclesiastical  afi'airs  than  the  King  and  Parlia- 
ment in  England.  All  who  know  the  internal  history  of  Russia 
are  aware  that  the  Government  does  not  draw  a  clear  line  of  dis- 
tinction between  the  temporal  and  the  spiritual,  and  that  it 
occasionally  uses  the  ecclesiastical  organisation  for  political  pur- 
poses. 

What,  then,  are  the  relations  between  Church  and  State? 

To  avoid  confusion,  we  must  carefully  distinguish  between  the 
Eastern  Orthodox  Church  as  a  whole  and  that  section  of  it  which 
is  known  as  the  Eussian  Church. 

The  Eastern  Orthodox  Church*  is,  properly  speaking,  a  con- 
federation of  independent  churches  without  any  central  author- 
ity— a  unity  founded  on  the  possession  of  a  common  dogma  and 
on  the  theoretical  but  now  unrealisable  possibility  of  holding 
CEcumenical  Councils.  The  Eussian  National  Church  is  one  of 
the  members  of  this  ecclesiastical  confederation.  In  matters  of 
faith  it  is  bound  by  the  decisions  of  the  ancient  CEcumenical 
Councils,  but  in  all  other  respects  it  enjoys  complete  independence 
and  autonomy. 

In  relation  to  the  Orthodox  Church  as  a  whole  the  Emperor  of 
Eussia  is  nothing  more  than  a  simple  member,  and  can  no  more 
interfere  with  its  dogmas  or  ceremonial  than  a  King  of  Italy  or  an 
Emperor  of  the  French  could  modify  Eoman  Catholic  theology; 
but  in  relation  to  the  Eussian  National  Church  his  position  is 
peculiar.  He  is  described  in  one  of  the  fundamental  laws  as  "  the 
supreme  defender  and  preserver  of  the  dogmas  of  the  dominant 
faith,"  and  immediately  afterwards  it  is  said  that  "  the  autocratic 
power  acts  in  the  ecclesiastical  administration  by  means  of  the  most 
Holy  Governing  Synod,  created  by  it."  t  This  describes  very 
fairly  the  relations  between  the  Emperor  and  the  Church.  He  is 
merely  the  defender  of  the  dogmas,  and  cannot  in  the  least  modify 
them ;  but  he  is  at  the  same  time  the  chief  administrator,  and  uses 
the  Sytiod  as  an  instrument. 

Some  ingenious  people  who  wish  to  prove  that  the  creation  of  the 
Synod  was  not  an  innovation  represent  the  institution  as  a  resusci- 
tation of  the  ancient  local  councils;  but  this  view  is  utterly  un- 
tenable. The  Synod  is  not  a  council  of  deputies  from  various 
sections  of  the  Church,  but  a  permanent  college,  or  ecclesiastical 
senate,  the  members  of  which  are  appointed  and  dismissed  by  the 

*  Or  Greek  Orthodox  Church,  as  it  is  sometimes  called. 
t  Svod  Zakonov  I.,  §§  42,  43. 


CHURCH    AND    STATE  261 

Emperor  as  he  thinks  fit.  It  lias  no  independent  legislative  author- 
ity, for  its  legislative  projects  do  not  become  law  till  they  have 
received  the  Imperial  sanction;  and  they  are  always  published, 
not  in  the  name  of  the  Church,  but  in  the  name  of  the  Supreme 
Power.  Even  in  matters  of  simple  administration  it  is  not  inde- 
pendent, for  all  its  resolutions  require  the  consent  of  the  Pro- 
cureur,  a  layman  nominated  by  his  ]\Iajesty.  In  theory  this  func- 
tionary protests  only  against  those  resolutions  which  are  not  in 
accordance  with  the  civil  law  of  the  country;  but  as  he  alone  has 
the  right  to  address  the  Emperor  directly  on  ecclesiastical  con- 
cerns, and  as  all  communications  between  the  Emperor  and  the 
Synod  pass  through  his  hands,  he  possesses  in  reality  considerable 
power.  Besides  this,  he  can  always  influence  the  individual  mem- 
bers by  holding  out  prospects  of  advancement  and  decorations,  and 
if  this  device  fails,  he  can  make  refractory  members  retire,  and  fill 
up  their  places  with  men  of  more  pliant  disposition.  A  Council 
constituted  in  this  way  cannot,  of  course,  display  much  independ- 
ence of  thought  or  action,  especially  in  a  country  like  Eussia, 
where  no  one  ventures  to  oppose  openly  the  Imperial  will. 

It  must  not,  however,  be  supposed  that  the  Russian  ecclesiastics 
regard  the  Imperial  authority  with  jealousy  or  dislike.  They  are 
all  most  loyal  subjects,  and  warm  adherents  of  autocracy.  Those 
ideas  of  ecclesiastical  independence  which  are  so  common  in 
"Western  Europe,  and  that  spirit  of  opposition  to  the  civil  power 
which  animates  the  Roman  Catholic  clergy,  are  entirely  foreign 
to  their  minds.  If  a  bishop  sometimes  complains  to  an  intimate 
friend  that  he  has  been  brought  to  St.  Petersburg  and  made  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Synod  merely  to  append  his  signature  to  official  papers 
and  to  give  his  consent  to  foregone  conclusions,  his  displeasure 
is  directed,  not  against  the  Emperor,  but  against  the  Procureur. 
He  is  full  of  loyalty  and  devotion  to  the  Tsar,  and  has  no  desire 
to  see  his  Majesty  excluded  from  all  influence  in  ecclesiastical 
affairs;  but  he  feels  saddened  and  humiliated  when  he  finds  that 
the  whole  government  of  the  Church  is  in  the  hands  of  a  lay  func- 
tionary, who  may  be  a  military  man,  and  who  looks  at  all  matters 
from  a  layman's  point  of  view. 

This  close  connection  between  Church  and  State  and  the 
thoroughly  national  character  of  the  Russian  Church  is  well  illus- 
trated by  the  history  of  the  local  ecclesiastical  administration. 
The  civil  and  the  ecclesiastical  administration  have  always  had  the 
same  character  and  have  always  been  modified  by  the  same  influ- 
ences.    The  terrorism  which  was  largely  used  by  the  ]\ruscovite 


262  RUSSIA 

Tsars  and  brought  to  a  climax  by  Peter  the  Great  appeared  equally 
in  both.  In  the  episcopal  circulars,  as  in  the  Imperial  ukazes, 
we  find  frequent  mention  of  "most  cruel  corporal  punishment," 
"cruel  punishment  with  whips,  so  that  the  delinquent  and  others 
may  not  acquire  the  habit  of  practising  such  insolence,"  and  much 
more  of  the  same  kind.  And  these  terribly  severe  measures  were 
sometimes  directed  against  very  venial  offences.  The  Bishop  of 
Vologda,  for  instance,  in  1748  decrees  "cruel  corporal  punish- 
ment" against  priests  who  wear  coarse  and  ragged  clothes,*  and 
the  records  of  the  Consistorial  courts  contain  abundant  proof  that 
such  decrees  were  rigorously  executed.  When  Catherine  II.  intro- 
duced a  more  humane  spirit  into  the  civil  administration,  corporal 
punishment  was  at  once  abolished  in  the  Consistorial  courts,  and 
the  procedure  was  modified  according  to  the  accepted  maxims  of 
civil  jurisprudence.  But  I  must  not  weary  the  reader  with  tire- 
some historical  details.  Sufiice  it  to  say  that,  from  the  time  of 
Peter  the  Great  downwards,  the  character  of  all  the  more  energetic 
sovereigns  is  reflected  in  the  history  of  the  ecclesiastical  adminis- 
tration. 

Each  province,  or  "government,"  forms  a  diocese,  and  the 
bishop,  like  the  civil  governor,  has  a  Council  which  theoretically 
controls  his  power,  but  practically  has  no  controlling  influence 
whatever.  The  Consistorial  Council,  which  has  in  the  theory  of 
ecclesiastical  procedure  a  very  imposing  appearance,  is  in  reality 
the  bishop's  chancellerie,  and  its  members  are  little  more  than 
secretaries,  whose  chief  object  is  to  make  themselves  agreeable  to 
their  superior.  And  it  must  be  confessed  that,  so  long  as  they 
remain  what  they  are,  the  less  power  they  possess  the  better  it 
will  be  for  those  who  have  the  misfortune  to  be  under  their  juris- 
diction. The  higher  dignitaries  have  at  least  larger  aims  and  a 
certain  consciousness  of  the  dignity  of  their  position;  but  the 
lower  officials,  who  have  no  such  healthy  restraints  and  receive 
ridiculously  small  salaries,  grossly  misuse  the  little  authority  which 
they  possess,  and  habitually  pilfer  and  extort  in  the  most  shameless 
manner.  The  Consistories  are,  in  fact,  what  the  public  offices 
were  in  the  time  of  Nicholas  I. 

The  higher  ecclesiastical  administration  has  always  been  in 
the  hands  of  the  monks,  or  "Black  Clergy,"  as  they  are  com- 
monly termed,  who  form  a  large  and  influential  class.  The  monks 
who  first  settled  in  Russia  were,  like  those  who  first  visited  north- 

*Znamenski,  "  Prikhodskoe  Dukhovenstvo  v  Rossii  so  vremeni 
reformy  Petra,"  Kazan,  1873. 


CHUECH    AND    STATE  263 

western  Europe,  men  of  the  earnest,  ascetic,  missionary  type. 
Filled  with  zeal  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  salvation  of  souls, 
they  took  little  or  no  thought  for  the  morrow,  and  devoutly  believed 
that  their  Heavenly  Father,  without  whose  knowledge  no  sparrow 
falls  to  the  ground,  would  provide  for  their  humble  wants.  Poor, 
clad  in  rags,  eating  the  most  simple  fare,  and  ever  ready  to  share 
what  they  had  with  any  one  poorer  than  themselves,  they  per- 
formed faithfully  and  earnestly  the  work  which  their  Master  had 
given  them  to  do.  But  this  ideal  of  monastic  life  soon  gave  way 
in  Eussia,  as  in  the  West,  to  practices  less  simple  and  austere.  By 
the  liberal  donations  and  bequests  of  the  faithful  the  monasteries 
became  rich  in  gold,  in  silver,  in  precious  stones,  and  above  all  in 
land  and  serfs.  Troitsa,  for  instance,  possessed  at  one  time  120,- 
000  serfs  and  a  proportionate  amount  of  land,  and  it  is  said  that 
at  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  more  than  a  fourth  of 
the  entire  population  had  fallen  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Church.  Many  of  the  monasteries  engaged  in  commerce,  and  the 
monks  were,  if  we  may  credit  Fletcher,  who  visited  Eussia  in  1588, 
the  most  intelligent  merchants  of  the  country. 

During  the  eighteenth  century  the  Church  lands  were  secular- 
ised, and  the  serfs  of  the  Church  became  serfs  of  the  State.  This 
was  a  severe  blow  for  the  monasteries,  but  it  did  not  prove  fatal, 
as  many  people  predicted.  Some  monasteries  were  abolished  and 
others  were  reduced  to  extreme  poverty,  but  many  survived  and 
prospered.  These  could  no  longer  possess  serfs,  but  they  had  still 
three  sources  of  revenue:  a  limited  amount  of  real  property,  Gov- 
ernment subsidies,  and  the  voluntary  offerings  of  the  faithful. 
At  present  there  are  about  500  monastic  establishments,  and  the 
great  majority  of  them,  though  not  wealthy,  have  revenues  more 
than  sufficient  to  satisfy  all  the  requirements  of  an  ascetic  life. 

Thus  in  Eussia,  as  in  Western  Europe,  the  history  of  monastic 
institutions  is  composed  of  three  chapters,  which  may  be  briefly 
entitled :  asceticism  and  missionary  enterprise ;  wealth,  luxury, 
and  corruption;  secularisation  of  property  and  decline.  But  be- 
tween Eastern  and  Western  monasticism  there  is  at  least  one 
marked  difference.  The  monasticism  of  the  West  made  at  various 
epochs  of  its  history  a  vigorous,  spontaneous  effort  at  self-regenera- 
tion, which  found  expression  in  the  foundation  of  separate  Orders, 
each  of  which  proposed  to  itself  some  special  aim — some  special 
sphere  of  usefulness.  In  Eussia  we  find  no  similar  phenomenon. 
Here  the  monasteries  never  deviated  from  the  rules  of  St.  Basil, 
which  restrict  the  members  to  religious  ceremonies,  prayer,  and 


264  EUSSIA 

contemplation.  From  time  to  time  a  solitary  individual  raised  his 
voice  against  the  prevailing  abuses,  or  retired  from  his  monastery 
to  spend  the  remainder  of  his  days  in  ascetic  solitude;  but  neither 
in  the  monastic  population  as  a  whole,  nor  in  any  particular  monas- 
tery, do  we  find  at  any  time  a  spontaneous,  vigorous  movement 
towards  reform.  During  the  last  two  hundred  years  reforms  have 
certainly  been  effected,  but  they  have  all  been  the  work  of  the  civil 
power,  and  in  the  realisation  of  them  the  monks  have  shown  little 
more  than  the  virtue  of  resignation.  Here,  as  elsewhere,  we  have 
evidence  of  that  inertness,  apathy,  and  want  of  spontaneous  vigour 
which  form  one  of  the  most  characteristic  traits  of  Russian 
national  life.  In  this,  as  in  other  departments  of  national  activity, 
the  spring  of  action  has  lain  not  in  the  people,  but  in  the  Govern- 
ment. 

It  is  only  fair  to  the  monks  to  state  that  in  their  dislike  to  prog- 
ress and  change  of  every  kind  they  merely  reflect  the  traditional 
spirit  of  the  Church  to  which  they  belong.  The  Russian  Church, 
like  the  Eastern  Orthodox  Church  generally,  is  essentially  con- 
servativa  Anything  in  the  nature  of  a  religious  revival  is  foreign 
to  her  traditions  and  character.  Quieta  non  movere  is  her  funda- 
mental principle  of  conduct.  She  prides  herself  as  being  above 
terrestrial  influences. 

The  modifications  that  have  been  made  in  her  administrative 
organisation  have  not  affected  her  inner  nature.  In  spirit  and 
character  she  is  now  what  she  was  under  the  Patriarchs  in  the  time 
of  the  Muscovite  Tsars,  holding  fast  to  the  promise  that  no  Jot 
or  tittle  shall  pass  from  the  law  till  all  be  fulfilled.  To  those  who 
talk  about  the  requirements  of  modern  life  and  modern  science  she 
turns  a  deaf  ear.  Partly  from  the  predominance  which  she  gives 
to  the  ceremonial  element,  partly  from  the  fact  that  her  chief  aim 
is  to  preserve  unmodified  the  doctrine  and  ceremonial  as  deter- 
mined by  the  early  CEcumenical  Councils,  and  partly  from  the  low 
state  of  general  culture  among  the  clergy,  she  has  ever  remained 
outside  of  the  intellectual  movements.  The  attempts  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  to  develop  the  traditional  dogmas  by  definition 
and  deduction,  and  the  efforts  of  Protestants  to  reconcile  their 
creeds  with  progressive  science  and  the  ever-varying  intellectual 
currents  of  the  time,  are  alike  foreign  to  her  nature.  Hence  she 
has  produced  no  profound  theological  treatises  conceived  in  a  philo- 
sophical spirit,  and  has  made  no  attempt  to  combat  the  spirit  of 
infidelity  in  its  modern  forms.  Profoundly  convinced  that  her 
position  is  impregnable,  she    has  "let    the    nations    rave,"    and 


CHURCH    AXD    STATE  265 

scarcely  deigned  to  cast  a  glance  at  their  intellectual  and  religious 
struggles.     In  a  word,  she  is  "  in  the  world,  but  not  of  it." 

If  we  wish  to  see  represented  in  a  visible  form  the  peculiar 
characteristics  of  the  Eussian  Church,  we  have  only  to  glance  at 
Russian  religious  art,  and  compare  it  with  that  of  Western  Europe. 
In  the  West,  from  the  time  of  the  Renaissance  downwards,  religious 
art  has  kept  pace  with  artistic  progress.  Gradually  it  emancipated 
itself  from  archaic  forms  and  childish  symbolism,  converted  the 
lifeless  typical  figures  into  living  individuals,  lit  up  tlieir  dull 
eyes  and  expressionless  faces  with  human  intelligence  and  human 
feeling,  and  finally  aimed  at  archaeological  accuracy  in  costume  and 
other  details.  Thus  in  the  West  the  Icon  grew  slowly  into  the 
naturalistic  portrait,  and  the  rude  symbolical  groups  developed 
gradually  into  highly-finished  historical  pictures.  In  Russia  the 
history  of  religious  art  has  been  entirely  difl'erent.  Instead  of  dis- 
tinctive schools  of  painting  and  great  religious  artists,  there  has 
been  merely  an  anonymous  traditional  craft,  destitute  of  any 
artistic  individuality.  In  all  the  productions  of  this  craft  the  old 
Byzantine  forms  have  been  faithfully  and  rigorously  preserved, 
and  we  can  see  reflected  in  the  modern  Icons — stiff,  archaic,  expres- 
sionless— the  immobility  of  the  Eastern  Church  in  general,  and  of 
the  Russian  Church  in  particular. 

To  the  Roman  Catholic,  who  struggles  against  science  as  soon 
as  it  contradicts  traditional  conceptions,  and  to  the  Protestant, 
who  strives  to  bring  his  religious  beliefs  into  accordance  with  his 
scientific  knowledge,  the  Russian  Church  may  seem  to  resemble  an 
antediluvian  petrifaction,  or  a  cumbrous  line-of-battle  ship  that 
has  been  long  stranded.  It  must  be  confessed,  however,  that  the 
serene  inactivity  for  which  she  is  distinguished  has  had  very  valu- 
able practical  consequences.  The  Russian  clergy  have  neither  that 
haughty,  aggressive  intolerance  which  characterises  their  Roman 
Catholic  brethren,  nor  that  bitter,  uncharital)le,  sectarian  spirit 
which  is  too  often  to  be  found  among  Protestants.  They  allow 
not  only  to  heretics,  but  also  to  members  of  their  0'\\ti  communion, 
the  most  complete  intellectual  freedom,  and  never  think  of  anathe- 
matising any  one  for  his  scientific  or  unscientific  opinions.  All 
that  they  demand  is  that  those  who  have  been  born  within  the  pale 
of  Orthodoxy  should  show  the  Church  a  certain  nominal  allegiance ; 
and  in  this  matter  of  allegiance  they  are  by  no  mean  very  exact- 
ing. So  long  as  a  member  refrains  from  openly  attacking  the 
Church  and  from  going  over  to  another  confession,  he  may  en- 
tirely neglect  all  religious  ordinances  and  publicly  profess  scientific 


266  EUSSIA 

theories  logically  inconsistent  with  any  kind  of  dogmatic  religious 
belief  without  the  slightest  danger  of  incurring  ecclesiastical 
censure. 

This  apathetic  tolerance  may  be  partly  explained  by  the  na- 
tional character,  but  it  is  also  to  some  extent  due  to  the  peculiar 
relations  between  Church  and  State.  The  government  vigilantly 
protects  the  Church  from  attack,  and  at  the  same  time  prevents 
her  from  attacking  her  enemies.  Hence  religious  questions  are 
never  discussed  in  the  Press,  and  the  ecclesiastical  literature  is 
all  historical,  homiletic,  or  devotional.  The  authorities  allow 
public  oral  discussions  to  be  held  during  Lent  in  the  Kremlin  of 
Moscow  between  members  of  the  State  Church  and  Old  Ritualists ; 
but  these  debates  are  not  theological  in  our  sense  of  the  term.  They 
turn  exclusively  on  details  of  Church  history,  and  on  the  minutiae 
of  ceremonial  observance. 

A  few  years  ago  there  was  a  good  deal  of  vague  talk  about  a 
possible  union  of  the  Russian  and  Anglican  Churches.  If  by 
"  union "  is  meant  simply  union  in  the  bonds  of  brotherly  love, 
there  can  be,  of  course,  no  objection  to  any  amount  of  such  pia 
desideria;  but  if  anything  more  real  and  practical  is  intended, 
the  project  is  an  absurdity.  A  real  union  of  the  Russian  and 
Anglican  Churches  would  be  as  difficult  of  realisation,  and  is  as 
undesirable,  as  a  union  of  the  Russian  Council  of  State  and  the 
British  House  of  Commons.* 

*  I  suppose  that  the  more  serious  partisans  of  the  union  scheme  mean 
union  with  the  Eastern  Orthodox,  and  not  with  the  Russian,  Church. 
To  them  the  above  remarks  are  not  addressed.  Their  scheme  is,  in 
my  opinion,  unrealisable  and  undesirable,  but  it  contains  nothing  absurd. 


CHAPTER    XX 

THE    NOBLESSE 

The  Nobles  in  Early  Times — Tlie  Mongol  Domination — The  Tsanlom 
of  Muscovy — Family  Dignity — Reforms  of  Peter  the  Great — The 
Nobles  Adopt  West-European  Conceptions — Abolition  of  Obligatory 
Service — Influence  of  Catherine  II. — The  Russian  Dvory^nstvo  Com- 
pared with  the  French  Noblesse  and  the  English  Aristocracy — 
Russian  Titles — Probable  Future  of  the  Russian  Noblesse. 

HITHERTO  I  have  been  compelling  the  reader  to  move  about 
among  what  we  should  call  the  lower  classes — peasants, 
burghers,  traders,  parish  priests,  Dissenters,  heretics,  Cossacks,  and 
the  like — and  he  feels  perhaps  inclined  to  complain  that  he  has  had 
no  opportunity  of  mixing  with  what  old-fashioned  people  call 
gentle-folk  and  persons  of  quality.  By  way  of  making  amends 
to  him  for  this  reprehensible  conduct  on  my  part,  I  propose  now 
to  present  him  to  the  whole  Noblesse  *  in  a  body,  not  only  those 
at  present  living,  but  also  their  near  and  distant  ancestors,  right 
back  to  the  foundation  of  the  Russian  Empire  a  thousand  years 
ago.  Thereafter  I  shall  introduce  him  to  some  of  the  country 
families  and  invite  him  to  make  with  me  a  few  country-house 
visits. 

In  the  old  times,  when  Russia  was  merely  a  collection  of  some 
seventy  independent  principalities,  each  reigning  prince  was  sur- 
rounded by  a  group  of  armed  men,  composed  partly  of  Boyars,  or 
large  landed  proprietors,  and  partly  of  knights,  or  soldiers  of  for- 
tune. These  men,  who  formed  the  Noblesse  of  the  time,  were  to  a 
certain  extent  under  the  authority  of  the  Prince,  but  they  were  by 
no  means  mere  obedient,  silent  executors  of  his  will.  The  Boyars 
might  refuse  to  take  part  in  his  military  expeditions,  and  the 
*'  free-lances  "  might  leave  his  service  and  seek  employment  else- 
where. If  he  wished  to  go  to  war  without  their  consent,  they  could 
say  to  him,  as  they  did  on  one  occasion,  "  You  have  planned  this 

*  I  use  here  a  foreign,  in  preference  to  an  English,  term,  because  the 
word  "  Nobility  "  would  convey  a  false  impression.  Etymologically  the 
Russian  word  "Dvoryanin"  means  a  Courtier  (from  D forecourt )  ; 
but  this  term  is  equally  objectionable,  because  the  great  majority  of  the 
Dvorydnstvo  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  Court. 

267 


268  EUSSIA 

yourself,  Prince,  so  we  will  not  go  with  you,  for  we  knew  nothing 
of  it."  Nor  was  this  resistance  to  the  princely  will  always  merely 
passive.  Once,  in  the  principality  of  Galitch,  the  armed  men 
seized  their  prince,  killed  his  favourites,  burned  his  mistress,  and 
made  him  swear  that  he  would  in  future  live  with  his  lawful  wife. 
To  his  successor,  who  had  married  the  wife  of  a  priest,  they  spoke 
thus :  "  We  have  not  risen  against  you,  Prince,  but  we  will  not 
do  reverence  to  a  priest's  wife :  we  will  put  her  to  death,  and  then 
you  may  marry  whom  you  please."  Even  the  energetic  Bogolub- 
ski,  one  of  the  most  remarkable  of  the  old  Princes,  did  not  succeed 
in  having  his  own  way.  When  he  attempted  to  force  the  Boyars 
he  met  with  stubborn  opposition,  and  was  finally  assassinated. 
From  these  incidents,  which  might  be  indefinitely  multiplied  from 
the  old  chronicles,  we  see  that  in  the  early  period  of  Russian  history 
the  Boyars  and  knights  were  a  body  of  free  men,  possessing  a 
considerable  amount  of  political  power. 

Under  the  Mongol  domination  this  political  equilibrium  was 
destroyed.  When  the  country  had  been  conquered,  the  Princes 
became  servile  vassals  of  the  Khan  and  arbitrary  rulers  towards 
their  own  subjects.  The  political  significance  of  the  nobles  was 
thereby  greatly  diminished.  It  was  not,  however,  by  any  means 
annihilated.  Though  the  Prince  no  longer  depended  entirely  on 
their  support,  he  had  an  interest  in  retaining  their  services,  to 
protect  his  territory  in  case  of  sudden  attack,  or  to  increase  his  pos- 
sessions at  the  expense  of  his  neighbours  when  a  convenient  oppor- 
tunity presented  itself.  Theoretically,  such  conquests  were  im- 
possilsle,  for  all  removing  of  the  ancient  landmarks  depended  on 
the  decision  of  the  Khan ;  but  in  reality  the  Khan  paid  little  atten- 
tion to  the  affairs  of  his  vassals  so  long  as  the  tribute  was  regularly 
paid ;  and  much  took  place  in  Russia  without  his  permission.  We 
find,  therefore,  in  some  of  the  principalities  the  old  relations  still 
subsisting  under  Mongol  rule.  The  famous  Dmitri  of  the  Don, 
for  instance,  when  on  his  death-bed,  speaks  thus  to  his  Boyars: 
"  You  know  my  habits  and  my  character ;  I  was  born  among  you, 
grew  up  among  you,  governed  with  you — fighting  by  your  side, 
showing  you  honour  and  love,  and  placing  you  over  towns  and 
districts.  I  loved  your  children,  and  did  evil  to  no  one.  I  re- 
joiced with  you  in  your  joy,  mourned  with  you  in  your  grief,  and 
called  you  the  princes  of  my  land."  Then,  turning  to  his  children, 
he  adds,  as  a  parting  advice :  "  Love  your  Boyars,  my  children ; 
show  them  the  honour  which  their  services  merit,  and  undertake 
nothing  without  their  consent." 


THE    NOBLESSE  269 

When  the  Grand  Princes  of  Moscow  brought  the  other  princi- 
palities under  their  power,  and  formed  them  into  the  Tsardom  of 
Muscovy,  the  nobles  descended  another  step  in  the  political  scale. 
So  long  as  there  were  many  principalities  they  could  quit  the  serv- 
ice of  a  Prince  as  soon  as  he  gave  them  reason  to  be  discontented, 
knowing  that  they  would  be  well  received  by  one  of  his  rivals;  but 
now  they  had  no  longer  any  choice.  The  only  rival  of  Moscow 
was  Lithuania,  and  precautions  were  taken  to  prevent  the  discon- 
tented from  crossing  the  Lithuanian  frontier.  The  nobles  were 
no  longer  voluntary  adherents  of  a  Prince,  but  had  become  subjects 
of  a  Tsar ;  and  the  Tsars  were  not  as  the  old  Princes  had  been.  By 
a  violent  legal  fiction  they  conceived  themselves  to  be  the  successors 
of  the  Byzantine  Emperors,  and  created  a  new  court  ceremonial, 
borrowed  partly  from  Constantinople  and  partly  from  the  Mongol 
Horde.  They  no  longer  associated  familiarly  with  the  Boyars,  and 
no  longer  asked  their  advice,  but  treated  them  rather  as  menials. 
When  the  nobles  entered  their  august  master's  presence  they  pros- 
trated themselves  in  Oriental  fashion — occasionally  as  many  as 
thirty  times — and  when  they  incurred  his  displeasure  they  were 
summarily  flogged  or  executed,  according  to  the  Tsar's  good  pleas- 
ure. In  succeeding  to  the  power  of  the  Khans,  the  Tsars  had 
adopted,  we  see,  a  good  deal  of  the  Mongol  system  of  government. 

It  may  seem  strange  that  a  class  of  men  which  had  formerly 
shown  a  proud  spirit  of  independence  should  have  submitted 
quietly  to  such  humiliation  and  oppression  without  making  a 
serious  effort  to  curb  the  new  power,  which  had  no  longer  a  Tartar 
Horde  at  its  back  to  quell  opposition.  But  we  must  remember  that 
the  nobles,  as  well  as  the  Princes,  had  passed  in  the  meantime 
through  the  school  of  the  ]\Iongol  domination.  In  the  course  of  two 
centuries  they  had  gradually  become  accustomed  to  despotic  rule  in 
the  Oriental  sense.  If  they  felt  their  position  humiliating  and  irk- 
some, they  must  have  felt,  too,  how  difficult  it  was  to  better  it. 
Their  only  resource  lay  in  combining  against  the  common  oppres- 
sor ;  and  we  have  only  to  glance  at  the  motley,  disorganised  group, 
as  they  cluster  round  the  Tsar,  to  perceive  that  combination  was 
extremely  difficult.  We  can  distinguish  there  the  mediatised 
Princes,  still  harbouring  designs  for  the  recovery  of  their  inde- 
pendence; the  Moscow  Boyars,  jealous  of  their  family  honour  and 
proud  of  Muscovite  supremacy;  Tartar  Murzi,  who  have  submitted 
to  be  baptised  and  have  received  land  like  the  other  nobles;  the 
Xovgorodian  magnate,  who  cannot  forget  the  ancient  glory  of  his 
native  city;  Lithuanian  nobles,  who  find  it  more  profitable  to  serve 


270  EUSSIA 

the  Tsar  than  their  own  sovereign;  petty  chiefs  who  have  fled 
from  the  opposition  of  the  Teutonic  order;  and  soldiers  of  fortune 
from  every  part  of  Eussia.  Strong,  permanent  political  factors 
are  not  easily  formed  out  of  such  heterogeneous  material. 

At  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century  the  old  dynasty  became  ex- 
tinct, and  after  a  short  period  of  political  anarchy,  commonly 
called  "the  troublous  times''  (smutnoe  vremya),  the  Eomanof 
'^^  family  were  raised  to  the  throne  by  the  will  of  the  people,  or  at 
least  by  those  who  were  assumed  to  be  its  representatives.  By  this 
change  the  Noblesse  acquired  a  somewhat  better  position.  They 
were  no  longer  exposed  to  capricious  tyranny  and  barbarous 
cruelty,  such  as  they  had  experienced  at  the  hands  of  Ivan  the 
Terrible,  but  they  did  not,  as  a  class,  gain  any  political  influence. 
There  were  still  rival  families  and  rival  factions,  but  there  were  no 
,  political  parties  in  the  proper  sense  of  the  term,  and  the  highest 
aim  of  families  and  factions  was  to  gain  the  favour  of  the  Tsar. 

The  frequent  quarrels  about  precedence  which  took  place  among 
the  rival  families  at  this  period  form  one  of  the  most  curious  epi- 
sodes of  Eussian  history.  The  old  patriarchal  conception  of  the 
{  family  as  a  unit,  one  and  indivisible,  was  still  so  strong  among  these 
men  that  the  elevation  or  degradation  of  one  member  of  a  family 
[was  considered  to  affect  deeply  the  honour  of  all  the  other  mem- 
bers. Each  noble  family  had  its  rank  in  a  recognised  scale  of 
dignity,  according  to  the  rank  which  it  held,  or  had  previously  held, 
in  the  Tsar's  service;  and  a  whole  family  would  have  considered 
itself  dishonoured  if  one  of  its  members  accepted  a  post  lower 
than  that  to  which  he  was  entitled.  Whenever  a  vacant  place 
in  the  service  was  filled  up,  the  subordinates  of  the  successful 
candidate  examined  the  official  records  and  the  genealogical  trees 
of  their  families,  in  order  to  discover  whether  some  ancestor  of 
their  new  superior  had  not  served  under  one  of  their  own  ancestors. 
If  the  subordinate  found  such  a  case,  he  complained  to  the  Tsar 
that  it  was  not  becoming  for  him  to  serve  under  a  man  who  had 
less  family  honour  than  himself. 

Unfounded  complaints  of  this  kind  often  entailed  imprisonment 
or  corporal  punishment,  but  in  spite  of  this  the  quarrels  for  prec- 
edence were  very  frequent.  At  the  commencement  of  a  campaign 
many  such  disputes  were  sure  to  arise,  and  the  Tsar's  decision  was 
not  always  accepted  by  the  party  who  considered  himself  aggrieved. 
I  have  met  at  least  with  one  example  of  a  great  dignitary  voluntarily 
mutilating  his  hand  in  order  to  escape  the  necessity  of  serving 
under  a  man  whom  he  considered  his  inferior  in  family  dignity. 


THE    NOBLESSE  271 

Even  at  the  Tsar's  table  these  rivalries  sometimes  produced  un- 
seemly incidents,  for  it  was  almost  impossible  to  arrange  the 
places  so  as  to  satisfy  all  the  guests.  In  one  recorded  instance  a 
noble  who  received  a  place  lower  than  that  to  which  he  considered 
himself  entitled  openly  declared  to  the  Tsar  that  he  would  rather 
be  condemned  to  death  than  submit  to  such  an  indignity.  In  an- 
other instance  of  a  similar  kind  the  refractory  guest  was  put  on 
his  chair  by  force,  but  saved  his  family  honour  by  slipping  under 
the  table ! 

The  next  transformation  of  the  Noblesse  was  effected  by  Peter 
the  Great.  Peter  was  by  nature  and  position  an  autocrat,  and 
could  brook  no  opposition.  Having  set  before  himself  a  great  aim, 
he  sought  everywhere  obedient,  intelligent,  energetic  instruments 
to  carry  out  his  designs.  He  himself  served  the  State  zealously — 
as  a  common  artisan,  when  he  considered  it  necessary — and  he  in- 
sisted on  all  his  subjects  doing  likewise,  under  pain  of  merciless 
punishment.  To  noble  birth  and  long  pedigrees  he  habitually 
showed  a  most  democratic,  or  rather  autocratic,  indifference.  In- 
tent on  obtaining  the  service  of  living  men,  he  paid  no  attention 
to  the  claims  of  dead  ancestors,  and  gave  to  his  servants  the  pay 
and  honour  which  their  services  merited,  irrespectively  of  birth  or 
social  position.  Hence  many  of  his  chief  coadjutors  had  no  con- 
nection with  the  old  Kussian  families.  Count  Yaguzhinski,  who 
long  held  one  of  the  most  important  posts  in  the  State,  was  the  son 
of  a  poor  sacristan;  Count  Devier  was  a  Portuguese  by  birth,  and 
had  been  a  cabin-boy;  Baron  Shafirof  was  a  Jew;  Hannibal,  who 
died  with  the  rank  of  Commander  in  Chief,  was  a  negro  who  had 
been  bought  in  Constantinople;  and  his  Serene  Highness  Prince 
j\Ienshikof  had  begun  life,  it  was  said,  as  a  baker's  apprentice!  ' 
For  the  future,  noble  birth  was  to  count  for  nothing.  The  service 
of  the  State  was  thrown  open  to  men  of  all  ranks,  and  personal 
merit  was  to  be  the  only  claim  to  promotion. 

This  must  have  seemed  to  the  Conservatives  of  the  time  a  most 
revolutionary  and  reprehensible  proceeding,  but  it  did  not  satisfy 
the  reforming  tendencies  of  the  great  autocrat.     He  went  a  step 
further,  and  entirely  changed  the  legal  status  of  the  Noblesse. 
Do^vn  to  his  time  the  nobles  were  free  to  serve  or  not  as  they 
chose,  and  those  who  chose  to  serve  enjoyed  land  on  what  we  should  \ 
call  a  feudal  tenure.     Some  served  permanently  in  the  military  or 
civil  administration,  but  by  far  the  greater  number  lived  on  their  / 
estates,  and  entered  the  active  service  merely  when  the  militia  was; 
called  out  in  view  of  war.     This  system  was  completely  changed 


373  EUSSIA 

when  Peter  created  a  large  standing  army  and  a  great  centralised 
bureaucracy.  By  one  of  those  "  fell  swoops  "  which  periodically 
occur  in  Russian  history,  he  changed  the  feudal  into  freehold  ten- 
ures, and  laid  down  the  principle  that  all  nobles,  whatever  their 
landed  possessions  might  be,  should  serve  the  State  in  the  army, 
the  fleet,  or  the  civil  administration,  from  boyhood  to  old  age.  In 
accordance  with  this  principle,  any  noble  who  refused  to  serve  was 
not  only  deprived  of  his  estate,  as  in  the  old  times,  but  was  declared 
to  be  a  traitor  and  might  be  condemned  to  capital  punishment. 

The  nobles  were  thus  transformed  into  servants  of  the  State, 
and  the  State  in  the  time  of  Peter  was  a  hard  taskmaster.  They 
complained  bitterly,  and  with  reason,  that  they  had  been  deprived 
of  their  ancient  rights,  and  were  compelled  to  accept  quietly  and 
uncomplainingly  whatever  burdens  their  master  chose  to  place 
upon  them.  "  Though  our  country,"  they  said,  "  is  in  no  danger 
of  invasion,  no  sooner  is  peace  concluded  than  plans  are  laid  for 
a  new  war,  which  has  generally  no  other  foundation  than  the  ambi- 
tion of  the  Sovereign,  or  perhaps  merely  the  ambition  of  one  of 
his  Ministers.  To  please  him  our  peasants  are  utterly  exhausted, 
and  we  ourselves  are  forced  to  leave  our  homes  and  families,  not  as 
formerly  for  a  single  campaign,  but  for  long  years.  We  are  compelled 
to  contract  debts  and  to  entrust  our  estates  to  thieving  overseers, 
who  commonly  reduce  them  to  such  a  condition  that  when  we  are 
allowed  to  retire  from  the  service,  in  consequence  of  old  age  or 
illness,  we  cannot  to  the  end  of  our  lives  retrieve  our  prosperity. 
In  a  word,  we  are  so  exhausted  and  ruined  by  the  keeping  up  of 
a  standing  army,  and  by  the  consequences  flowing  therefrom,  that 
the  most  cruel  enemy,  though  he  should  devastate  the  whole 
Empire,  could  not  cause  us  one-half  of  the  injury."  * 

This  Spartan  regime,  which  ruthlessly  sacrificed  private  inter- 
ests to  considerations  of  State  policy,  could  not  long  be  maintained 
in  its  pristine  severity.  It  undermined  its  own  foundations  by 
demanding  too  much.  Draconian  laws  threatening  confiscation 
and  capital  punishment  were  of  little  avail.  Nobles  became 
monks,  inscribed  themselves  as  merchants,  or  engaged  themselves 
as  domestic  servants,  in  order  to  escape  their  obligations. 
"  Some,"  says  a  contemporary,  "  grow  old  in  disobedience  and  have 
never  once  appeared  in  active  service.  .  .  .  There  is,  for  in- 
stance, Theodore  Mokeyef.  ...  In  spite  of  the  strict  orders 
sent  regarding  him  no  one  could  ever  catch  him.     Some  of  those 

*  These  complaints  have  been  preserved  by  Vockerodt,  a  Prussian 
diplomatic  agent  of  the  time. 


THE    NOBLESSE  273 

sent  to  take  him  he  belaboured  with  l)lo\vs,  and  wlien  he  could  not 
beat  the  messengers,  he  pretended  to  be  dangerously  ill,  or  feigned 
idiocy,  and,  running  into  the  pond,  stood  in  the  water  up  to  his 
nock ;  but  as  soon  as  the  messengers  were  out  of  sight  he  returned 
home  and  roared  like  a  lion."  *  / 

After  Peter's  death  the  system  was  gradually  relaxed,  but  thcr 
Noblesse  could  not  be  satisfied  by  partial  concessions.  Eussia  had 
in  the  meantime  moved,  as  it  were,  out  of  Asia  into  Europe,  and 
had  become  one  of  the  great  European  Powers.  The  upper  classes 
had  been  gradually  learning  something  of  the  fashions,  the  litera- 
ture, the  institutions,  and  the  moral  conceptions  of  Western 
Europe,  and  the  nobles  naturally  compared  the  class  to  which  they 
belonged  with  the  aristocracies  of  Germany  and  France.  For 
those  who  were  influenced  by  the  new  foreign  ideas  the  comparisoij 
was  humiliating.  In  the  West  the  Noblesse  was  a  free  and  privi- i 
leged  class,  proud  of  its  liberty,  its  rights,  and  its  culture ;  whereas', 
in  Kussia  the  nobles  were  servants  of  the  State,  without  privileges,' 
without  dignity,  subject  to  corporal  punishment,  and  burdened 
Avith  onerous  duties  from  which  there  was  no  escape.  Thus  arose 
in  that  section  of  the  Noblesse  which  had  some  acquaintance  with 
Western  civilisation  a  feeling  of  discontent,  and  a  desire  to  gain  a 
social  position  similar  to  that  of  the  nobles  in  France  and  Ger- 
many. These  aspirations  were  in  part  realised  by  Peter  III.,  who 
in  1763  abolished  the  principle  of  obligatory  service.  His  con- 
sort, Catherine  II.,  went  much  farther  in  the  same  direction,  and 
inaugurated  a  new  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  Dvorydnstvo,  a 
period  in  which  its  duties  and  obligations  fell  into  the  background, 
and  its  rights  and  privileges  came  to  the  front.  1  C    "t^' 

Catherine  had  good  reason  to  favour  the  Noblesse.  As  a  for- 
eigner and  a  usurper,  raised  to  the  throne  by  a  Court  conspiracy, 
she  could  not  awaken  in  the  masses  that  semi-religious  veneration 
which  the  legitimate  Tsars  have  always  enjoyed,  and  consequently 
she  h«4-to  seek  support  in  the  upper  classes,  who  were  less  rigid 
and  uncompromising  in  their  conceptions  of  legitimacy.  She  con- 
firmed, therefore,  the  ukaz  which  abolished  obligatory  service  of 
the  nobles,  and  sought  to  gain  their  voluntary  service  by  honours 
and  rewards.  In  her  manifestoes  she  always  spoke  of  them  in  the 
most  flattering  terms,  and  tried  to  convince  them  that  the  welfare 
of  the  country  depended  on  their  loyalty  and  devotion.  Though 
she  had  no  intention  of  ceding  any  of  her  political  power,  she 
formed  the  nobles  of  each  province  into  a  corporation,  with  periodi- 
*  Pososhkof,  "  O  sktidosti  i  bogfitstve." 


274  RUSSIA 

cal  assemblies,  which  were  supposed  to  resemble  the  French  Pro- 
vincial Parliaments,  and  entrusted  to  each  of  these  corporations 
a  large  part  of  the  local  administration.  By  these  and  similar 
means,  aided  by  her  masculine  energy  and  feminine  tact,  she  made 
herself  very  popular,  and  completely  changed  the  old  conceptions 
about  the  public  service.  Formerly  service  had  been  looked  on  as 
a  burden;  now  it  came  to  be  looked  on  as  a  privilege.  Thousands 
who  had  retired  to  their  estates  after  the  publication  of  the  libera- 
tion edict  now  flocked  back  and  sought  appointments,  and  this 
tendency  was  greatly  increased  by  the  brilliant  campaigns  against 
the  Turks,  which  excited  the  patriotic  feelings  and  gave  plentiful 
opportunities  of  promotion.  "  Not  only  landed  proprietors,"  it  is 
said  in  a  comedy  of  the  time,*  "  but  all  men,  even  shopkeepers  and 
cobblers,  aim  at  becoming  officers,  and  the  man  who  has  passed  his 
whole  life  without  official  rank  seems  to  be  not  a  human  being." 

And  Catherine  did  more  than  this.  She  shared  the  idea — gen- 
erally accepted  throughout  Europe  since  the  brilliant  reign  of 
Louis  XIV. — that  a  refined,  pomp-loving,  pleasure-seeking  Court 
Noblesse  was  not  only  the  best  bulwark  of  Monarchy,  but  also  a 
necessary  ornament  of  every  highly  civilised  State;  and  as  she 
ardently  desired  that  her  country  should  have  the  reputation  of 
being  highly  civilised,  she  strove  to  create  this  national  ornament. 
The  love  of  French  civilisation,  which  already  existed  among  the 
upper  classes  of  her  subjects,  here  came  to  her  aid,  and  her  efforts 
in  this  direction  were  singularly  successful.  The  Court  of  St. 
Petersburg  became  almost  as  brilliant,  as  galant,  and  as  frivolous 
as  the  Court  of  Versailles.  All  who  aimed  at  high  honours  adopted 
French  fashions,  spoke  the  French  language,  and  affected  an  un- 
qualified admiration  for  French  classical  literature.  The  Cour- 
tiers talked  of  the  point  d'honneur,  discussed  the  question  as  to 
what  was  consistent  with  the  dignity  of  a  noble,  sought  to  display 
"  that  chivalrous  spirit  which  constitutes  the  pride  and  ornament 
of  France  " ;  and  looked  back  with  horror  on  the  humiliating  posi- 
tion of  their  fathers  and  grandfathers.  "  Peter  the  Great,"  writes 
one  of  them,  "  beat  all  who  surrounded  him,  without  distinction 
of  family  or  rank ;  but  now,  many  of  us  would  certainly  prefer  capi- 
tal punishment  to  being  beaten  or  flogged,  even  though  the  casti- 
gation  were  applied  by  the  sacred  hands  of  the  Lord's  Anointed." 

The  tone  which  reigned  in  the  Court  circle  of  St.  Petersburg 
spread  gradually  towards  the  lower  ranks  of  the  Dvorydnstvo,  and 
it  seemed  to  superficial  observers  that  a  very  fair  imitation  of  the 
*  Knyazbnina,  "  Khvastuu." 


THE    NOBLESSE  375 

French  Noblesse  had  been  produced;  ])ut  in  reality  the  copy  was 
very  unlike  the  model.  The  Kussian  Dvorijanin  easily  learned  the 
language  and  assumed  the  manners  of  the  French  gentiUiomme, 
and  succeeded  in  changing  his  physical  and  intellectual  exterior; 
but  all  those  deeper  and  more  delicate  parts  of  human  nature  which 
are  formed  by  the  accumulated  experience  of  past  generations  could 
not  be  so  easily  and  rapidly  changed.  The  French  gentilhomme  of 
the  eighteenth  century  was  the  direct  descendant  of  the  feudal 
baron,  with  the  fundamental  conceptions  of  his  ancestors  deeply 
embedded  in  his  nature.  He  had  not,  indeed,  the  old  haughty 
bearing  towards  the  Sovereign,  and  his  language  was  tinged  with 
the  fashionable  democratic  philosophy  of  the  time;  but  he  possessed 
a  large  intellectual  and  moral  inheritance  that  had  come  down  to 
him  directly  from  the  palmy  days  of  feudalism — an  inheritance 
which  even  the  Great  Ke volution,  which  was  then  preparing,  could 
not  annihilate.  The  Russian  noble,  on  the  contrary,  had  received 
from  his  ancestors  entirely  different  traditions.  His  father  and 
grandfather  had  been  conscious  of  the  burdens  rather  than  the 
privileges  of  the  class  to  which  they  belonged.  They  had  con- 
sidered it  no  disgrace  to  receive  corporal  punishment,  and  had 
been  jealous  of  their  honour,  not  as  gentlemen  or  descendants  of 
Boyars,  but  as  Brigadiers,  College  Assessors,  or  Privy  Counsellors. 
Their  dignity  had  rested  not  on  the  grace  of  God,  but  on  the  will 
of  the  Tsar.  Under  these  circumstances  even  the  proudest  mag- 
nate of  Catherine's  Court,  though  he  might  speak  French  as  flu- 
ently as  his  mother  tongue,  could  not  be  very  deeply  penetrated  with 
the  conception  of  noble  blood,  the  sacred  character  of  nobility,  and 
the  numerous  feudal  ideas  interwoven  with  these  conceptions.  And 
in  adopting  the  outward  forms  of  a  foreign  culture  the  nobles  did 
not,  it  seems,  gain  much  in  true  dignity.  "  The  old  pride  of  the 
nobles  has  fallen !  "  exclaims  one  wdio  had  more  genuine  aristo- 
cratic feeling  than  his  fellows.*  "  There  are  no  longer  any  hon- 
ourable families,  but  merely  official  rank  and  personal  merits.  All 
seek  official  rank,  and  as  all  cannot  render  direct  services,  distinc- 
tions are  sought  by  every  possible  means — by  flattering  the  ilon- 
arch  and  toadying  the  important  personages."  There  was  con- 
siderable truth  in  this  complaint,  but  the  voice  of  this  solitary 
aristocrat  was  as  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness.  The  whole  of 
the  educated  classes — men  of  old  family  and  parvenus  alike — were, 
with  few  exceptions,  too  much  engrossed  with  place-hunting  to 
attend  to  such  sentimental  wailing. 

*  I»rince  Shtcherbatof. 


276  EUSSIA 

If  the  Eussian  Noblesse  was  thus  in  its  new  form  but  a  very 
imperfect  imitation  of  its  French  model,  it  was  still  more  unlike 
the  English  aristocracy.  Notwithstanding  the  liberal  phrases  in 
which  Catherine  habitually  indulged,  she  never  had  the  least  in- 
tention of  ceding  one  jot  or  tittle  of  her  autocratic  power,  and  the 

■  Noblesse  as  a  class  never  obtained  even  a  shadow  of  political  in- 
fluence. There  was  no  real  independence  under  the  new  airs  of 
dignity  and  hauteur.  In  all  their  acts  and  openly  expressed 
opinions  the  courtiers  were  guided  by  the  real  or  supposed  wishes 
of  the  Sovereign,  and  much  of  their  political  sagacity  was  employed 
in  endeavouring  to  discover  what  would  please  her.  "  People 
never  talk  politics  in  the  salons,"  says  a  contemporary  witness,* 
"not  even  to  praise  the  Government.  Fear  has  produced  habits 
of  prudence,  and  the  Frondeurs  of  the  Capital  express  their 
opinions  only  in  the  confidence  of  intimate  friendship  or  in  a 
relationship  still  more  confidential.  Those  who  cannot  bear  this 
constraint  retire  to  Moscow,  which  cannot  be  called  the  centre  of 
opposition,  for  there  is  no  such  thing  as  opposition  in  a  country 
with  an  autocratic  Government,  but  which  is  the  capital  of  the 
discontented."  And  even  there  the  discontent  did  not  venture  to 
show  itself  in  the  Imperial  presence.  "  In  Moscow,"  says  another 
witness,  accustomed  to  the  obsequiousness  of  Versailles,  "  you 
might  believe  yourself  to  be  among  republicans  who  have  just 
thrown  olf  the  yoke  of  a  tyrant,  but  as  soon  as  the  Court  arrives 
you  see  nothing  but  abject  slaves."  t 

Though  thus  excluded  from  direct  influence  in  political  affairs 
the  Noblesse  might  still  have  acquired  a  certain  political  signifi- 
cance in  the  State,  by  means  of  the  Provincial  Assemblies,  and  by 
the  part  they  took  in  local  administration;  but  in  reality  they  had 
neither  the  requisite  political  experience  nor  the  requisite  patience, 
nor  even  the  desire  to  pursue  such  a  policy.  The  majority  of  the 
proprietors  preferred  the  chances  of  promotion  in  the  Imperial 

^  service  to  the  tranquil  life  of  a  country  gentleman;  and  those  who 
resided  permanently  on  their  estates  showed  indifference  or  posi- 
tive antipathy  to  everything  connected  with  the  local  administra- 
tion. What  was  officially  described  as  "a  privilege  conferred  on 
the  nobles  for  their  fidelity,  and  for  the  generous  sacrifice  of  their 
lives  in  their  country's  cause,"  was  regarded  by  those  who  enjoyed 
it  as  a  new  kind  of  obligatory  service — an  obligation  to  supply 
judges  and  ofiBcers  of  rural  police. 

*  Segur,  long  Ambassador  of  France  at  the  Court  of  Catherine. 

t  Sabathier  de  Cab  res,  "  Catherine  II.  et  la  Cour  de  Russie  en  1772," 


THE    NOBLESSE  277 

If  we  require  any  additional  proof  that  the  nobles  amidst  all 
these  changes  were  still  as  dependent  as  ever  on  the  arbitrary  will 
or  caprice  of  the  Monarch,  wo  have  only  to  glance  at  their  posi- 
tion in  the  time  of  Paul  I.,  the  capricious,  eccentric,  violent  son 
and  successor  of  Catherine.  The  autobiographical  memoirs  of 
the  time  depict  in  vivid  colours  the  humiliating  position  of  even  the 
leading  men  in  the  State,  in  constant  fear  of  exciting  by  act,  word, 
or  look  the  wrath  of  the  Sovereign.  As  we  read  these  contempo- 
rary records  we  seem  to  have  before  us  a  picture  of  ancient  Rome 
under  the  most  despotic  and  capricious  of  her  Emperors.  Irritated 
and  embittered  before  his  accession  to  the  throne  by  the  haughty 
demeanour  of  his  mother's  favourites,  Paul  lost  no  opportunity  of 
showing  his  contempt  for  aristocratic  pretensions,  and  of  humilia- 
ting those  who  were  supposed  to  harbour  them.  "  Apprenez, 
Monsieur,"  he  said  angrily  on  one  occasion  to  Dumouriez,  who  had 
accidentally  referred  to  one  of  the  "  considerable  "  personages  of 
the  Court,  "Apprenez  qu'il  n'y  a  pas  de  considerable  ici,  que  la- 
personne  a  laquelle  je  parle  et  pendant  le  temps  que  je  lui  parte!  "  * 

From  the  time  of  Catherine  down  to  the  accession  of  Alexander 
II.  in  1855  no  important  change  was  made  in  the  legal  status- 
of  the  Noblesse,  but  a  gradual  change  took  place  in  its  social' 
character  by  the  continual  influx  of  Western  ideas  and  Western 
culture.  The  exclusively  French  culture  in  vogue  at  the  Court 
of  Catherine  assumed  a  more  cosmopolitan  colouring,  and  per- 
meated downwards  till  all  who  had  any  pretensions  to  being 
civilises  spoke  French  with  tolerable  fluency  and  possessed  at  least 
a  superficial  acquaintance  with  the  literature  of  Western  Europe. 
What  chiefly  distinguished  them  in  the  eye  of  the  law  from  the 
other  classes  was  the  privilege  of  possessing  "  inhabited  estates  " — 
that  is  to  say,  estates  with  serfs.  By  the  emancipation  of  the  serfs 
in  1861  this  valuable  privilege  was  abolished,  and  about  one-half 
of  their  landed  property  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  peasantry. 
By  the  administrative  reforms  which  have  since  taken  place,  any 
little  significance  which  the  provincial  corporations  may  have 
possessed  has  been  annihilated.  Thus  at  the  present  day  the  nobles 
are  on  a  level  with  the  other  classes  with  regard  to  the  right  of 
possessing  landed  property  and  the  administration  of  local  afi'airs. 

From  this  rapid  sketch  the  reader  will  easily  perceive  that  the 
Russian  ISToblesse  has  had  a  peculiar  historical  development.  In 
Germany,  France,  and  England  the  nobles  were  early  formed  into 

*  This  saying  is  often  falsely  attributed  to  Nicholas.  The  anecdote 
is  related  by  Segur. 


278  EUSSIA 

a  homogeneous  organised  body  by  the  political  conditions  in  which 
they  were  placed.  They  had  to  repel  the  encroaching  tendencies 
of  the  Monarchy  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  the  bourgeoisie  on  the 
other;  and  in  this  long  struggle  with  powerful  rivals  they  instinc- 
tively held  together  and  developed  a  vigorous  esprit  de  corps. 
]N"ew  members  penetrated  into  their  ranks,  but  these  intruders  were 
so  few  in  number  that  they  were  rapidly  assimilated  without  modi- 
fying the  general  character  or  recognised  ideals  of  the  class,  and 
without  rudely  disturbing  the  fiction  of  purity  of  blood.  The  class 
thus  assumed  more  and  more  the  nature  of  a  caste  with  a  peculiar 
intellectual  and  moral  culture,  and  stoutly  defended  its  position 
and  privileges  till  the  ever-increasing  power  of  the  middle  classes 
undermined  its  influence.  Its  fate  in  different  countries  has  been 
different. ''  In  Germany  it  clung  to  its  feudal  traditions,  and  still  / 
preserves  its  social  exclusiveness.  In  France  it  was  deprived  of  its 
political  influence  by  the  Monarchy  and  crushed  by  the  Eevolution. 
In  England  it  moderated  its  pretensions,  allied  itself  with  the 
middle  classes,  created  under  the  disguise  of  constitutional  mon- 
archy an  aristocratic  republic,  and  conceded  inch  by  inch,  as  neces- 
sity demanded,  a  share  of  its  political  influence  to  the  ally  that  had 
helped  it  to  curb  the  Eoyal  power.  Thus  the  German  baron,  the 
French  gentilliomme,  and  the  English  nobleman  represent  three 
distinct,  well-marked  types;  but  amidst  all  their  diversities  they 
have  much  in  common.  They  have  all  preserved  to  a  greater  or 
less  extent  a  haughty  consciousness  of  innate  inextinguishable 
superiority  over  the  lower  orders,  together  with  a  more  or  less  care- 
fully disguised  dislike  for  the  class  which  has  been,  and  still  is, 
an  aggressive  rival. 

The  Eussian  Noblesse  has  not  these  characteristics.  It  was 
formed  out  of  more  heterogeneous  materials,  and  these  materials 
did  not  spontaneously  combine  to  form  an  organic  whole,  but  were 
crushed  into  a  conglomerate  mass  by  the  weight  of  the  autocratic 
power.  It  never  became  a  semi-independent  factor  in  the  State. 
What  rights  and  privileges  it  possesses  it  received  from  the  ^Mon- 
archy,  and  consequently  it  has  no  deep-rooted  jealousy  or  hatred 
of  the  Imperial  prerogative.  On  the  other  hand,  it  has  never  had 
to  struggle  with  the  other  social  classes,  and  therefore  it  harbours 
towards  them  no  feelings  of  rivalry  or  hostility.  If  we  hear  a 
Eussian  noble  speak  with  indignation  of  autocracy  or  with  acri- 
mony of  the  bourgeoisie,  we  may  be  sure  that  these  feelings  have 
their  source,  not  in  traditional  conceptions,  but  in  principles 
learned  from  the  modern  schools  of  social  and  political  philosophy. 


THE    NOBLESSE  279 

The  class  to  which  he  belongs  has  undergone  so  many  transforma- 
tions that  it  has  no  hoary  traditions  or  deep-rooted  prejudices,  and 
always  willingly  adapts  itself  to  existing  conditions.  Indeed,  it 
may  be  said  in  general  that  it  looks  more  to  the  future  than  the 
past,  and  is  ever  ready  to  accept  any  new  ideas  that  wear  the  badge 
of  progress.  Its  freedom  from  traditions  and  prejudices  makes  it 
singularly  susceptible  of  generous  enthusiasm  and  capable  of 
vigorous  spasmodic  action,  but  calm  moral  courage  and  tenacity 
of  purpose  are  not  among  its  prominent  attributes.  In  a  word,  we 
find  in  it  neither  the  peculiar  virtues  nor  the  peculiar  vices  which 
are  engendered  and  fostered  by  an  atmosphere  of  political  liberty. 

However  we  may  explain  the  fact,  there  is  no  doubt  that  the 
Russian  Noblesse  has  little  or  nothing  of  what  we  call  aristocratic 
feeling — little  or  nothing  of  that  haughty,  domineering,  exclusive 
spirit  which  we  are  accustomed  to  associate  with  the  word  aris- 
tocracy. We  find  plenty  of  Russians  who  are  proud  of  their  wealth, 
of  their  culture,  or  of  their  official  position,  but  we  rarely  find  a 
Russian  who  is  proud  of  his  birth  or  imagines  that  the  fact  of  his 
having  a  long  pedigree  gives  him  any  right  to  political  privileges 
or  social  consideration.  Hence  there  is  a  certain  amount  of  truth 
in  the  oft-repeated  saying  that  there  is  in  reality  no  aristocracy  in 
Russia. 

Certainly  the  Noblesse  as  a  whole  cannot  be  called  an  aris- 
tocracy. If  the  term  is  to  be  used  at  all,  it  must  be  applied  to  a 
group  of  families  which  cluster  around  the  Court  and  form  the^ 
highest  ranks  of  the  Noblesse.  This  social  aristocracy  contains 
many  old  families,  but  its  real  basis  is  official  rank  and  general  cul- 
ture rather  than  pedigree  or  blood.  The  feudal  conceptions  of 
noble  birth,  good  family,  and  the  like  have  been  adopted  by  some 
of  its  members,  but  do  not  form  one  of  its  conspicuous  features. 
Though  habitually  practising  a  certain  exclusiveness,  it  has  none 
of  those  characteristics  of  a  caste  which  we  find  in  the  German 
A  del,  and  is  utterly  unable  to  understand  such  institutions  as 
TafelfdliigTceit,  by  which  a  man  who  has  not  a  pedigree  of  a  cer- 
tain length  is  considered  unworthy  to  sit  down  at  a  royal  table.^ 
It  takes  rather  the  English  aristocracy  as  its  model,  and  harbours 
the  secret  hope  of  one  day  obtaining  a  social  and  political  position 
similar  to  that  of  the  nobility  and  gentry  of  England,  Though 
it  has  no  peculiar  legal  privileges,  its  actual  position  in  the  Ad-  l  -J 
ministration  and  at  Court  gives  its  members  great  facilities  for 
advancement  in  the  public  service.  On  the  other  hand,  its  semi- 
bureaucratic  character,  together  with  the  law  and  custom  of  divid- 


280  EUSSIA 

ing  landed  property  among  the  children  at  the  death  of  their 
parents,  deprives  it  of  stability.  New  men  force  their  way  into 
it  by  official  distinction,  whilst  many  of  the  old  families  are  com- 
pelled by  poverty  to  retire  from  its  ranks.  The  son  of  a  small 
proprietor,  or  even  of  a  parish  priest,  may  rise  to  the  highest  offices 
of  State,  whilst  the  descendants  of  the  half-mythical  Eurik  may 
descend  to  the  position  of  peasants.  It  is  said  that  not  very  long 
ago  a  certain  Prince  Krapotkin  gained  his  living  as  a  cabman  in 
St.  Petersburg! 

It  is  evident,  then,  that  this  social  aristocracy  must  not  be  con- 
founded with  the  titled  families.  Titles  do  not  possess  the  same 
value  in  Eussia  as  in  Western  Europe.  They  are  very  common — 
because  the  titled  families  are  numerous,  and  all  the  children  bear 
the  titles  of  the  parents  even  while  the  parents  are  still  alive — 
and  they  are  by  no  means  always  associated  with  official  rank, 
wealth,  social  position,  or  distinction  of  any  kind.  There  are 
hundreds  of  princes  and  princesses  who  have  not  the  right  to 
appear  at  Court,  and  who  would  not  be  admitted  into  what  is 
called  in  St.  Petersburg  la  societe,  or  indeed  into  refined  society  in 
any  country. 

The  only  genuine  Eussian  title  is  Knyaz,  commonly  translated 
"  Prince."  It  is  borne  by  the  descendants  of  Eurik,  of  the 
Lithuanian  Prince  Ghedimin,  and  of  the  Tartar  Khans  and  Murzi 
officially  recognised  by  the  Tsars.  Besides  these,  there  are  fourteen 
families  who  have  adopted  it  by  Imperial  command  during  the  last 
two  centuries.  The  titles  of  count  and  baron  are  modern  importa- 
tions, beginning  with  the  time  of  Peter  the  Great.  From  Peter 
and  his  successors  about  seventy  families  have  received  the  title 
of  count  and  ten  that  of  baron.  The  latter  are  all,  with  two  ex- 
ceptions, of  foreign  extraction,  and  are  mostly  descended  from 
Court  bankers.* 

There  is  a  very  common  idea  that  Eussian  nobles  are  as  a  rule 
enormously  rich.  This  is  a  mistake.  The  majority  of  them  are 
poor.  At  the  time  of  the  Emancipation,  in  1861,  there  were  100,- 
247  landed  proprietors,  and  of  these,  more  than  41,000  were  pos- 
sessors of  less  than  twenty-one  male  serfs — that  is  to  say,  were  in 
a  condition  of  poverty.  A  proprietor  who  was  owner  of  500  serfs 
was  not  considered  as  by  any  means  very  rich,  and  yet  there  were 
only  3,803  proprietors  belonging  in  that  category.  There  were 
a  few,  indeed,  whose  possessions  were  enormous.     Count  Shere- 

*  Besides  these,  there  are  of  course  the  German  counts  and  barons 
of  the  Baltic  Provinces,  who  are  Russian  subjects. 


THE    XOBLESSE  281 

metief,  for  instance,  possessed  more  than  150,000  male  serfs,  or 
in  other  words  more  than  300,000  souls;  and  thirty  years  ago 
Count  Orloff-Davydof  owned  considerably  more  than  half  a  million 
of  acres.  The  Demidof  family  derive  colossal  revenues  from  their 
mines,  and  the  Strogonofs  have  estates  which,  if  put  togetlier, 
would  be  sufficient  in  extent  to  form  a  good-sized  independent 
State  in  Western  Europe.  The  very  rich  families,  however,  are 
not  numerous.  The  lavish  expenditure  in  which  Russian  nobles 
often  indulge  indicates  too  frequently  not  large  fortune,  but 
simply  foolish  ostentation  and  reckless  improvidence. 

Perhaps,  after  having  spoken  so  much  about  the  past  history  of 
the  Noblesse,  I  ought  to  endeavour  to  cast  its  horoscope,  or  at  least 
to  say  something  of  its  probable  future.  Though  predictions  are 
always  hazardous,  it  is  sometimes  possible,  by  tracing  the  great 
lines  of  history  in  the  past,  to  follow  them  for  a  little  distance  into 
the  future.  If  it  be  allowable  to  apply  this  method  of  prediction  in 
the  present  matter,  I  should  say  that  the  Eussian  Dvorydnstvo  will 
assimilate  with  the  other  classes,  rather  than  form  itself  into  an 
exclusive  corporation.  Hereditary  aristocracies  may  be  preserved — 
or  at  least  their  decomposition  may  be  retarded — where  they  hap- 
pen to  exist,  but  it  seems  that  they  can  no  longer  be  created.  In 
Western  Europe  there  is  a  large  amount  of  aristocratic  sentiment, 
both  in  the  nobles  and  in  the  people;  but  it  exists  in  spite  of, 
rather  than  in  consequence  of,  actual  social  conditions.  It  is  not 
a  product  of  modern  society,  but  an  heirloom  that  has  come 
down  to  us  from  feudal  times,  when  power,  wealth,  and  culture 
were  in  the  hands  of  a  privileged  few.  If  there  ever  was  in  Russia 
a  period  corresponding  to  the  feudal  times  in  Western  Europe, 
it  has  long  since  been  forgotten.  There  is  very  little  aristocratic 
sentiment  either  in  the  people  or  in  the  nobles,  and  it  is  difficult 
to  imagine  any  source  from  which  it  could  now  be  derived.  More 
than  this,  the  nobles  do  not  desire  to  make  such  an  acquisition. 
In  so  far  as  they  have  any  political  aspirations,  they  aim  at  secur- 
ing the  political  liberty  of  the  people  as  a  whole,  and  not  at  ac- 
quiring exclusive  rights  and  privileges  for  their  own  class. 

In  that  section  which  I  have  called  a  social  aristocracy  there  are 
a  few  individuals  who  desire  to  gain  exclusive  political  influence  for 
the  class  to  which  they  belong,  but  there  is  very  little  chance  of 
their  succeeding.  If  their  desires  were  ever  by  chance  realised,  we 
should  probably  have  a  repetition  of  the  scene  which  occurred  in 
1730.  When  in  that  year  some  of  the  great  families  raised  the 
Duchess  of  Courland  to  the  throne  on  condition  of  her  ceding  part 


282  EUSSIA 

of  her  power  to  a  supreme  council,  the  lower  ranks  of  the  Noblesse 
compelled  her  to  tear  up  the  constitution  which  she  had  signed  1 
Those  who  dislike  the  autocratic  power  dislike  the  idea  of  an 
aristocratic  oligarchy  infinitely  more.  Nobles  and  people  alike 
seem  to  hold  instinctively  the  creed  of  the  French  philosopher,  who 
thought  it  better  to  be  governed  by  a  lion  of  good  family  than  by  a 
hundred  rats  of  his  own  species. 

Of  the  present  condition  of  the  Noblesse  I  shall  again  have 
occasion  to  speak  when  I  come  to  consider  the  consequences  of  the 
Emancipation. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

LANDED  PROPRIETORS  OF  THE  OLD  SCHOOL 

Russian  Hospitality — A  Country-House — Its  Owner  Described — His 
Life,  Past  and  Present — Winter  Eveninj^s — Books — Conne<-tion  with 
tlie  Outer  World — The  Crimean  War  and  the  Eniancii)ation — A 
Drunken,  Dissolute  Proprietor — An  Old  (ieneral  and  his  Wife — 
"Name  Days" — A  Legendary  Monster — A  Retired  Judge — A  Clever 
Scribe — Social  Leniency — Cause  of  Demoralisation. 

OF  all  the  foreign  countries  in  which  I  have  travelled,  Russia 
certainly  bears  off  the  palm  in  the  matter  of  hospitality. 
Every  spring  I  found  myself  in  possession  of  a  large  number  of 
invitations  from  landed  proprietors  in  different  parts  of  the 
country — far  more  than  I  could  possibly  accept — and  a  great  part 
of  the  simimer  was  generally  spent  in  wandering  about  from  one 
country-house  to  another.  I  have  no  intention  of  asking  the  reader 
to  accompany  me  in  all  these  expeditions — for  though  pleasant  in 
reality,  they  might  be  tedious  in  description — but  I  wish  to  intro- 
duce him  to  some  typical  examples  of  the  landed  proprietors. 
Among  them  are  to  be  found  nearly  all  ranks  and  conditions  of 
men,  from  the  rich  magnate,  surrounded  with  the  refined  luxury 
of  West-European  civilisation,  to  the  poor,  ill-clad,  ignorant  owner 
of  a  few  acres  which  barely  supply  him  with  the  necessaries  of  life. 
Let  us  take,  first  of  all,  a  few  specimens  from  the  middle  ranks. 

In  one  of  the  central  provinces,  near  the  bank  of  a  sluggish, 
meandering  stream,  stands  an  irregular  group  of  wooden  construc- 
tions— old,  unpainted,  blackened  by  time,  and  surmounted  by  high, 
sloping  roofs  of  moss-covered  planks.  The  principal  building  is 
a  long,  one-storied  dwelling-house,  constructed  at  right  angles  to 
the  road.  At  the  front  of  the  house  is  a  spacious,  ill-kept  yard, 
and  at  the  back  an  equally  spacious  shady  garden,  in  which  art 
carries  on  a  feeble  conflict  with  encroaching  nature.  At  the  other 
side  of  the  yard,  and  facing  the  front  door — or  rather  the  front 
doors,  for  there  are  two — stand  the  stables,  hay-shed,  and  granary, 
and  near  to  that  end  of  the  house  which  is  farthest  from  the  road 
are  two  smaller  houses,  one  of  which  is  the  kitchen,  and  the  other 
the  Lyudskdya,  or  servants'  apartments.  Beyond  these  we  can 
perceive,  through  a  single  row  of  lime-trees,   another  group  of 

283 


284  EUSSIA 

time-blackened  wooden  constructions  in  a  still  more  dilapidated 
condition.    That  is  the  farmyard. 

There  is  certainly  not  much  symmetry  in  the  disposition  of  these 
buildings,  but  there  is  nevertheless  a  certain  order  and  meaning 
in  the  apparent  chaos.  All  the  buildings  which  do  not  require 
stoves  are  built  at  a  considerable  distance  from  the  dwelling-house 
and  kitchen,  which  are  more  liable  to  take  fire;  and  the  kitchen 
stands  by  itself,  because  the  odour  of  cookery  where  oil  is  used 
is  by  no  means  agreeable,  even  for  those  whose  olfactory  nerves 
are  not  very  sensitive.  The  plan  of  the  house  is  likewise  not  with- 
out a  certain  meaning.  The  rigorous  separation  of  the  sexes, 
which  formed  a  characteristic  trait  of  old  Kussian  society,  has 
long  since  disappeared,  but  its  influence  may  still  be  traced  in 
houses  built  on  the  old  model.  The  house  in  question  is  one  of 
these,  and  consequently  it  is  composed  of  three  sections — at  the  one 
end  the  male  apartments,  at  the  other  the  female  apartments,  and 
in  the  middle  the  neutral  territory,  comprising  the  dining-room 
and  the  salon.  This  arrangement  has  its  conveniences,  and  ex- 
plains the  fact  that  the  house  ha^  two  front  doors.  At  the  back 
is  a  third  door,  which  opens  from  the  neutral  territory  into  a 
spacious  verandah  overlooking  the  garden. 

Here  lives,  and  has    lived    for    many    years,  Ivan    Ivanovitch 

K ,  a  gentleman  of  the  old  school,  and  a  very  worthy  man  of 

his  kind.  If  we  look  at  him  as  he  sits  in  his  comfortable  arm- 
chair, with  his  capacious  dressing-gown  hanging  loosely  about  him, 
we  shall  be  able  to  read  at  a  glance  something  of  his  character. 
Nature  endowed  him  with  large  bones  and  broad  shoulders,  and 
evidently  intended  him  to  be  a  man  of  great  muscular  power,  but 
he  has  contrived  to  frustrate  this  benevolent  intention,  and  has 
now  more  fat  than  muscle.  His  close-cropped  head  is  round  as  a 
bullet,  and  his  features  are  massive  and  heavy,  but  the  heaviness 
is  relieved  by  an  expression  of  calm  contentment  and  imperturbable 
good-nature,  which  occasionally  blossoms  into  a  broad  grin.  His 
face  is  one  of  those  on  which  no  amount  of  histrionic  talent  could 
produce  a  look  of  care  and  anxiety,  and  for  this  it  is  not  to  blame, 
for  such  an  expression  has  never  been  demanded  of  it.  Like  other 
mortals,  he  sometimes  experiences  little  annoyances,  and  on  such 
occasions  his  small  grey  eyes  sparkle  and  his  face  becomes  suf- 
fused with  a  crimson  glow  that  suggests  apoplexy;  but  ill-fortune 
has  never  been  able  to  get  sufficiently  firm  hold  of  him  to  make 
him  understand  what  such  words  as  care  and  anxiety  mean.  Of 
struggle,  disappointment,  hope,  and  all  the  other  feelings  which 


LANDED  PROPRIETORS  OF  THE  OLD  SCHOOL  285 

give  to  human  life  a  dramatic  interest,  he  knows  little  hy  hearsay 
and  nothing  by  experience.  He  has,  in  fact,  always  lived  outside 
of  that  struggle  for  existence  which  modern  philosophers  declare 
to  be  the  law  of  nature. 

Somewhere  about  seventy  years  ago  Ivan  Ivan'itch  was  born 
in  the  house  where  he  still  lives.  His  first  lessons  he  received  from 
the  parish  priest,  and  afterwards  he  was  taught  by  a  deacon's  son, 
who  had  studied  in  the  ecclesiastical  seminary  to  so  little  purpose 
that  he  was  unable  to  pass  the  final  examination.  By  both  of 
these  teachers  he  was  treated  with  extreme  leniency,  and  was 
allowed  to  learn  as  little  as  he  chose.  His  father  wished  him  to 
study  hard,  but  his  mother  was  afraid  that  study  might  injure  his 
health,  and  accordingly  gave  him  several  holidays  every  week. 
Under  these  circumstances  his  progress  was  naturally  not  very 
rapid,  and  he  was  still  very  slightly  acquainted  with  the  elementary 
rules  of  arithmetic,  when  his  father  one  day  declared  that  he  was 
already  eighteen  years  of  age,  and  must  at  once  enter  the  service. 
But  what  kind  of  service?  Ivan  had  no  natural  inclination  for 
any  kind  of  activity.  The  project  of  entering  him  as  a  Junlcer 
in  a  cavalry  regiment,  the  colonel  of  which  was  an  old  friend  of 
the  family,  did  not  at  all  please  him.  He  had  no  love  for  military 
service,  and  positively  disliked  the  prospect  of  an  examination. 
Whilst  seeming,  therefore,  to  bow  implicitly  to  the  paternal 
authority,  he  induced  his  mother  to  oppose  the  scheme. 

The  dilemma  in  which  Ivan  found  himself  was  this :  in  deference 
to  his  father  he  wished  to  be  in  the  service  and  gain  that  official 
rank  which  every  Russian  noble  desires  to  possess,  and  at  the 
same  time,  in  deference  to  his  mother  and  his  own  tastes,  he  wished 
to  remain  at  home  and  continue  his  indolent  mode  of  life.  The 
Marshal  of  the  Noblesse,  who  happened  to  call  one  day,  helped 
him  out  of  the  difficulty  by  offering  to  inscribe  him  as  secretary  in 
the  Dvorydnsl-aya  Optica,  a  bureau  which  acts  as  curator  for  the 
estates  of  minors.  All  the  duties  of  this  office  could  be  fulfilled  by 
a  paid  secretary,  and  the  nominal  occupant  would  be  periodically 
promoted  as  if  he  were  an  active  official.  This  was  precisely  what 
Ivan  required.  He  accepted  eagerly  the  proposal,  and  obtained, 
in  the  course  of  seven  years,  without  any  effort  on  his  part,  the 
rank  of  "collegiate  secretary,"  corresponding  to  the  "  capitaine- 
en-second  "  of  the  military  hierarchy.  To  mount  higher  he  would 
have  had  to  seek  some  place  where  he  could  not  have  fulfilled  his 
duty  by  proxy,  so  he  determined  to  rest  on  his  laurels,  and  sent  in 
his  resignation. 


286  RUSSIA 

Immediately  after  the  termination  of  his  official  life  his  mar- 
ried life  began.  Before  his  resignation  had  been  accepted  he  sud- 
denly found  himself  one  morning  on  the  high  road  to  matrimony. 
Here  again  there  was  no  effort  on  his  part.  The  course  of  true 
love,  which  is  said  never  to  run  smooth  for  ordinary  mortals,  ran 
smooth  for  him.  He  never  had  even  the  trouble  of  proposing. 
The  whole  affair  was  arranged  by  his  parents,  who  chose  as  bride 
for  their  son  the  only  daughter  of  their  nearest  neighbour.  The 
young  lady  was  only  about  sixteen  years  of  age,  and  was  not 
remarkable  for  beauty,  talent,  or  any  other  peculiarity,  but  she 
had  one  very  important  qualification — she  was  the  daughter  of  a 
man  who  had  an  estate  contiguous  to  their  own,  and  who  might 
give  as  a  dowry  a  certain  bit  of  land  which  they  had  long  desired 
to  add  to  their  own  property.  The  negotiations,  being  of  a  delicate 
nature,  were  entrusted  to  an  old  lady  who  had  a  great  reputation 
for  diplomatic  skill  in  such  matters,  and  she  accomplished  her 
mission  with  such  success  that  in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks  the 
preliminaries  were  arranged  and  the  day  fixed  for  the  wedding. 
Thus  Ivan  Ivan'itch  won  his  bride  as  easily  as  he  had  won  his 
tchin  of  "  collegiate  secretary." 

Though  the  bridegroom  had  received  rather  than  taken  to  him- 
self a  wife,  and  did  not  imagine  for  a  moment  that  he  was  in  love, 
he  had  no  reason  to  regret  the  choice  that  was  made  for  him. 
Maria  Petrovna  was  exactly  suited  by  character  and  education  to 
be  the  wife  of  a  man  like  Ivan  Ivan'itch.  She  had  grown  up  at 
home  in  the  society  of  nurses  and  servant-maids,  and  had  never 
learned  an}i;hing  more  than  could  be  obtained  from  the  parish 
priest  and  from  "  Ma'mselle,"  a  personage  occupying  a  position 
midway  between  a  servant-maid  and  a  governess.  The  first  events 
of  her  life  were  the  announcement  that  she  was  to  be  married  and 
the  preparations  for  the  wedding.  She  still  remembers  the  delight 
which  the  purchase  of  her  trousseau  afforded  her,  and  keeps  in  her 
memory  a  full  catalogue  of  the  articles  bought.  The  first  years 
of  her  married  life  were  not  very  happy,  for  she  was  treated  by 
her  mother-in-law  as  a  naughty  child  who  required  to  be  fre- 
quently snubbed  and  lectured;  but  she  bore  the  discipline  with 
exemplary  patience,  and  in  due  time  became  her  own  mistress  and 
autocratic  ruler  in  all  domestic  affairs.  From  that  time  she  has 
lived  an  active,  uneventful  life.  Between  her  and  her  husband 
there  is  as  much  mutual  attachment  as  can  reasonably  be  expected 
in  phlegmatic  natures  after  half  a  century  of  matrimony.  She 
has  always  devoted  her  energies  to  satisfying  his  simple  material 


LANDED  PROPRIETORS  OF  THE  OLD  SCHOOL  287 

wants — of  intellectual  wants  he  has  none — and  securing  his  com- 
fort in  every  possible  way.  Under  this  fostering  care  he  "  ef['enii- 
nated  himself"  (ohdbUsya),  as  he  is  wont  to  say.  His  love  of 
shooting  died  out,  he  cared  less  and  less  to  visit  his  neighbours,  and 
each  successive  year  he  spent  more  and  more  time  in  his  com- 
fortable arm-chair. 

The  daily  life  of  this  worthy  couple  is  singularly  regular  and 
monotonous,  varying  only  with  the  changing  seasons.  In  summer 
Ivan  Ivan'itch  gets  up  about  seven  o'clock,  and  puts  on,  with  the 
assistance  of  his  valet  de  chamhre,  a  simple  costume,  consisting 
chiefly  of  a  faded,  plentifully  stained  dressing-gown.  Having 
nothing  particular  to  do,  he  sits  down  at  the  open  window  and  looks 
into  the  yard.  As  the  servants  pass  he  stops  and  questions  them, 
and  then  gives  them  orders,  or  scolds  them,  as  circumstances  de- 
mand. Towards  nine  o'clock  tea  is  announced,  and  he  goes  into 
the  dining-room — a  long,  narrow  apartment  with  bare  wooden  floor 
and  no  furniture  but  a  table  and  chairs,  all  in  a  more  or  less 
rickety  condition.  Here  he  finds  his  wife  with  the  tea-urn  before 
her.  In  a  few  minutes  the  grandchildren  come  in,  kiss  their 
grandpapa's  hand,  and  take  their  places  round  the  table.  As  this 
morning  meal  consists  merely  of  bread  and  tea,  it  does  not  last 
long;  and  all  disperse  to  their  several  occupations.  The  head  of 
the  house  begins  the  labours  of  the  day  by  resuming  his  seat  at  the 
open  window.  When  he  has  smoked  some  cigarettes  and  indulged 
in  a  porportionate  amount  of  silent  contemplation,  he  goes  out 
with  the  intention  of  visiting  the  stables  and  farmyard,  but 
generally  before  he  has  crossed  the  court  he  finds  the  heat  un- 
bearable, and  returns  to  his  former  position  by  the  open  window. 
Here  he  sits  tranquilly  till  the  sun  has  so  far  moved  round  that 
the  verandah  at  the  back  of  the  house  is  completely  in  the  shade, 
when  he  has  his  arm-chair  removed  thither,  and  sits  there  till 
dinner-time. 

Maria  Petrovna  spends  her  morning  in  a  more  active  way.  As 
soon  as  the  breakfast  table  has  been  cleared  she  goes  to  the  larder, 
takes  stock  of  the  provisions,  arranges  the  fnenu  du  jour,  and  gives 
to  the  cook  the  necessary  materials,  with  detailed  instructions  as 
to  how  they  are  to  be  prepared.  The  rest  of  the  morning  she 
devotes  to  her  other  household  duties. 

Towards  one  o'clock  dinner  is  announced,  and  Ivan  Ivan'itch 
prepares  his  appetite  by  swallowing  at  a  gulp  a  wineglassful  of 
home-made  bitters.  Dinner  is  the  great  event  of  the  day.  The 
food  is  abundant  and  of  good  quality,  but  mushrooms,  onions,  and 


288  KUSSIA 

fat  play  a  rather  too  important  part  in  the  repast,  and  the  whole 
is  prepared  with  very  little  attention  to  the  recognised  principles 
of  culinary  hygiene.  Many  of  the  dishes,  indeed,  would  make  a 
British  valetudinarian  stand  aghast,  but  they  seem  to  produce 
no  bad  effect  on  those  Eussian  organisms  which  have  never 
been  weakened  by  town  life,  nervous  excitement,  or  intellectual 
exertion. 

No  sooner  has  the  last  dish  been  removed  than  a  deathlike  still- 
ness falls  upon  the  house:  it  is  the  time  of  the  after-dinner  siesta. 
The  young  folks  go  into  the  garden,  and  all  the  other  members  of 
the  household  give  way  to  the  drowsiness  naturally  engendered  by 
a  heavy  meal  on  a  hot  summer  day.  Ivan  Ivan'itch  retires  to  his 
ovra  room,  from  which  the  flies  have  been  carefully  expelled. 
Maria  Petrovna  dozes  in  an  arm-chair  in  the  sitting-room,  with 
a  pocket-handkerchief  spread  over  her  face.  The  servants  snore 
in  the  corridors,  the  garret,  or  the  hay-shed;  and  even  the  old 
watch-dog  in  the  corner  of  the  yard  stretches  himself  out  at  full 
length  on  the  shady  side  of  his  kennel. 

In  about  two  hours  the  house  gradually  re-awakens.  Doors 
begin  to  creak;  the  names  of  various  servants  are  bawled  out  in 
all  tones,  from  bass  to  falsetto;  and  footsteps  are  heard  in  the 
yard.  Soon  a  man-servant  issues  from  the  kitchen  bearing  an 
enormous  tea-urn,  which  puffs  like  a  little  steam-engine.  The 
family  assembles  for  tea.  In  Russia,  as  elsewhere,  sleep  after  a 
heavy  meal  produces  thirst,  so  that  the  tea  and  other  beverages  are 
very  acceptable.  Then  some  little  delicacies  are  served — such  as 
fruit  and  wild  berries,  or  cucumbers  with  honey,  or  something 
else  of  the  kind,  and  the  family  again  disperses.  Ivan  Ivan'itch 
takes  a  turn  in  the  fields  on  his  iegovuiya  drosliM — an  extremely 
light  vehicle  composed  of  two  pairs  of  wheels  joined  together  by  a 
single  board,  on  which  the  driver  sits  stride-legged;  and  Maria 
Petrovna  probably  receives  a  visit  from  the  Popadya  (the  priest's 
wife),  who  is  the  chief  gossipmonger  of  the  neighbourhood.  There 
is  not  much  scandal  in  the  district,  but  what  little  there  is  the 
Popadya  carefully  collects,  and  distributes  among  her  acquain- 
tances with  undiscriminating  generosity. 

In  the  evening  it  often  happens  that  a  little  group  of  peasants 
come  into  the  court,  and  ask  to  see  the  "master."  The  master 
goes  to  the  door,  and  generally  finds  that  they  have  some  favour 
to  request.  In  reply  to  his  question,  "Well,  children,  what  do 
you  want?"  they  tell  their  story  in  a  confused,  rambling  way, 
several  of  them  speaking  at  a  time,  and  he  has  to  question  and 


LANDED  PROPEIETOES  OF  THE  OLD  SCHOOL  289 

cross-question  them  before  he  comes  to  understand  clearly  what 
they  desire.  If  he  tells  them  he  cannot  grant  it,  they  probably 
do  not  accept  a  first  refusal,  but  endeavour  by  means  of  supplica- 
tion to  make  him  reconsider  his  decision.  Stepping  forward  a 
little,  and  bowing  low,  one  of  the  group  begins  in  a  half-respectful, 
half-familiar,  caressing  tone :  "  T^ittle  Father,  Ivan  Ivan'itch,  be 
gracious ;  you  are  our  father,  and  we  are  your  children  " — and  so 
on.  Ivan  Ivan'itch  good-naturedly  listens,  and  again  explains 
that  he  cannot  grant  what  they  ask;  but  they  have  still  hopes 
of  gaining  their  point  by  entreaty,  and  continue  their  suppli- 
cations till  at  last  his  patience  is  exhausted  and  he  says  to 
them  in  a  paternal  tone,  "  Now,  enough !  enough !  you  are  block- 
heads— blockheads  all  round !  There's  no  use  talking ;  it  can't  be 
done."  And  with  these  words  he  enters  the  house,  so  as  to  prevent 
all  further  discussion. 

A  regular  part  of  tlie  evening's  occupation  is  the  interview  with 
the  steward.  The  work  that  has  just  been  done,  and  the  programme 
for  the  morrow,  are  always  discussed  at  great  length;  and  much 
time  is  spent  in  speculating  as  to  the  weather  during  the  next  few 
days.  On  this  latter  point  the  calendar  is  always  carefully  con- 
sulted, and  great  confidence  is  placed  in  its  predictions,  though 
past  experience  has  often  shown  that  they  are  not  to  be  implicitly 
trusted.  The  conversation  drags  on  till  supper  is  announced,  and 
immediately  after  that  meal,  which  is  an  abridged  repetition  of 
dinner,  all  retire  for  the  night. 

Thus  pass  the  days  and  weeks  and  months  in  the  house  of  Ivan 
Ivan'itch,  and  rarely  is  there  any  deviation  from  the  ordinary 
programme.  The  climate  necessitates,  of  course,  some  slight  modi- 
fications. When  it  is  cold,  the  doors  and  windows  have  to  be  kept 
shut,  and  after  heavy  rains  those  who  do  not  like  to  wade  in  mud 
have  to  remain  in  the  house  or  garden.  In  the  long  winter  even- 
ings the  family  assembles  in  the  sitting-room,  and  all  kill  time  as 
best  they  can.  Ivan  Ivan'itch  smokes  and  meditates  or  listens 
to  the  barrel-organ  played  by  one  of  the  children.  Maria  Petrovna 
knits  a  stocking.  The  old  aunt,  who  commonly  spends  the  winter 
with  them,  plays  Patience,  and  sometimes  draws  from  the  game 
conclusions  as  to  the  future.  Her  favourite  predictions  are  that 
a  stranger  will  arrive,  or  that  a  marriage  will  take  place,  and  she 
can  determine  the  sex  of  the  stranger  and  the  colour  of  the  bride- 
groom's hair;  but  beyond  this  her  art  does  not  go,  and  she  cannot 
satisfy  the  young  ladies'  curiosity  as  to  further  details. 

Books  and  newspapers  are  rarely  seen  in  the  sitting-room,  but  for 


290  EUSSIA 

those  who  wish  to  read  there  is  a  book-case  full  of  miscellaneous 
literature,  which  gives  some  idea  of  the  literary  tastes  of  the  family 
during  several  generations.  The  oldest  volumes  were  bought  by 
Ivan  Ivan'itch's  grandfather — a  man  who,  according  to  the  family 
traditions,  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  the  great  Catherine.  Though 
wholly  overlooked  by  recent  historians,  he  was  evidently  a  man 
who  had  some  pretensions  to  culture.  He  had  his  portrait  painted 
by  a  foreign  artist  of  considerable  talent — it  still  hangs  in  the 
sitting-room — and  he  bought  several  pieces  of  Sevres  ware,  the  last 
of  which  stands  on  a  commode  in  the  corner  and  contrasts  strangely 
with  the  rude  home-made  furniture  and  squalid  appearance  of  the 
apartment.  Among  the  books  which  bear  his  name  are  the  trag- 
edies of  Sumarokof,  who  imagined  himself  to  be  "the  Eussian 
Voltaire";  the  amusing  comedies  of  Von-Wisin,  some  of  which 
still  keep  the  stage;  the  loud-sounding  odes  of  the  courtly  Derz- 
havin;  two  or  three  books  containing  the  mystic  wisdom  of  Free- 
masonry as  interpreted  by  Schwarz  and  ISTovikoff;  Eussian  transla- 
tions of  Eichardson's  "  Pamela,"  "  Sir  Charles  Grandison,"  and 
"  Clarissa  Harlowe  " ;  Eousseau's  "  ISTouvelle  Heloi'se,"  in  Eussian 
garb ;  and  three  or  four  volumes  of  Voltaire  in  the  original.  Among 
the  works  collected  at  a  somewhat  later  period  are  translations  of 
Ann  Eadcliffe,  of  Scott's  early  novels,  and  of  Ducray  Dumenil, 
whose  stories,  "  Lolotte  et  Fanfan  "  and  "  Victor,"  once  enjoyed  a 
great  reputation.  At  this  point  the  literary  tastes  of  the  family 
appear  to  have  died  out,  for  the  succeeding  literature  is  repre- 
sented exclusively  by  Kryloff's  Fables,  a  farmer's  manual,  a  hand- 
book of  family  medicine,  and  a  series  of  calendars.  There  are, 
however,  some  signs  of  a  revival,  for  on  the  lowest  shelf  stand  recent 
editions  of  Pushkin,  Lermontof,  and  Gogol,  and  a  few  works  by 
living  authors. 

Sometimes  the  monotony  of  the  winter  is  broken  by  visiting 
neighbours  and  receiving  visitors  in  return,  or  in  a  more  decided 
way  by  a  visit  of  a  few  days  to  the  capital  of  the  province.  In  the 
latter  case  Maria  Petrovna  spends  nearly  all  her  time  in  shopping, 
and  brings  home  a  large  collection  of  miscellaneous  articles.  The 
inspection  of  these  by  the  assembled  famil}^  -iorms  an  important 
domestic  event,  which  completely  throws  into  the  shade  the  occa- 
sional visits  of  peddlers  and  colporteurs.  Then  there  are  the  festiv- 
ities at  Christmas  and  Easter,  and  occasionally  little  incidents  of 
a  less  agreeable  kind.  It  may  be  that  there  is  a  heavy  fall  of 
snow,  so  that  it  is  necessary  to  cut  roads  to  the  kitchen  and 
stables;  or  wolves  enter  the  courtyard  at  night  and  have  a  fight 


LANDED  TEOPRIETOES  OF  THE  OLD  SCHOOL  291 

witli  tlic  watch-dogs ;  or  the  news  is  1)rought  that  a  peasant  who  had 
been  drinking  in  a  neighbouring  village  has  been  found  frozen  to 
death  on  the  road. 

Altogether  the  family  live  a  very  isolated  life,  but  they  have  one 
bond  of  connection  with  the  great  outer  world.  Two  of  the  sons 
are  officers  in  the  army  and  both  of  them  write  home  occasionally 
to  their  mother  and  sisters.  To  these  two  youths  is  devoted  all 
the  little  stock  of  sentimentality  which  IMaria  Petrovna  possesses. 
She  can  talk  of  them  by  the  hour  to  any  one  who  will  listen  to  her, 
and  has  related  to  the  Popadyd  a  hundred  times  every  trivial  inci- 
dent of  their  lives.  Though  they  have  never  given  her  much  cause 
for  anxiety,  and  they  are  now  men  of  middle  age,  she  lives  in 
constant  fear  that  some  evil  may  befall  them.  'WTiat  she  most 
fears  is  that  they  may  be  sent  on  a  campaign  or  may  fall  in  love 
with  actresses.  War  and  actresses  are,  in  fact,  the  two  bug- 
bears of  her  existence,  and  whenever  she  has  a  disquieting  dream 
she  asks  the  priest  to  offer  up  a  moleben  for  the  safety  of  her 
absent  ones.  Sometimes  she  ventures  to  express  her  anxiety  to 
her  husband,  and  recommends  him  to  write  to  them ;  but  he  con- 
siders writing  a  letter  a  very  serious  bit  of  work,  and  always  replies 
evasively,  "  Well,  well,  we  must  think  about  it." 

During  the  Crimean  AVar  Ivan  Ivan'itch  half  awoke  from  his 
habitual  lethargy,  and  read  occasionally  the  meagre  official  reports 
published  by  the  Government.  He  was  a  little  surprised  that  no 
great  victories  were  reported,  and  that  the  army  did  not  at  once 
advance  on  Constantinople.  As  to  causes  he  never  speculated. 
Some  of  his  neighbours  told  him  that  the  army  was  disorganised, 
and  the  whole  system  of  JSTicholas  had  been  proved  to  be  utterly 
worthless.  That  might  all  be  very  true,  but  he  did  not  understand 
military  and  political  matters.  No  doubt  it  would  all  come  right 
in  the  end.  All  did  come  right,  after  a  fashion,  and  he  again  gave 
up  reading  newspapers;  but  ere  long  he  was  startled  by  reports 
much  more  alarming  than  any  rumours  of  war.  People  began  to 
talk  about  the  peasant  question,  and  to  say  openly  that  the  serfs 
must  soon  be  emancipated.  For  once  in  his  life  Ivan  Ivan'itch 
asked  explanations.  Finding  one  of  his  neighbours,  who  had 
always  been  a  respectable,  sensible  man,  and  a  severe  disciplinarian, 
talking  in  this  way,  he  took  him  aside  and  asked  what  it  all  meant. 
The  neighbour  explained  that  the  old  order  of  things  had  shown 
itself  bankrupt  and  was  doomed,  that  a  new  epoch  was  opening, 
that  everything  was  to  be  reformed,  and  that  the  Emperor,  in 
accordance  with  a  secret  clause  of  the  Treaty  with  the  Allies,  was 


293  EUSSIA 

about  to  grant  a  Constitution !  Ivan  Ivan'itch  listened  for  a  little 
in  silence,  and  then,  with  a  gesture  of  impatience,  interrupted  the 
speaker :  "  Polno  duratchitsya !  enough  of  fun  and  tomfoolery. 
Vassili  Petrovitch,  tell  me  seriously  what  you  mean." 

When  Vassili  Petrovitch  vowed  that  he  spoke  in  all  seriousness, 
his  friend  gazed  at  him  with  a  look  of  intense  compassion,  and 
remarked,  as  he  turned  away,  "So  you,  too,  have  gone  out  of  your 
mind ! " 

The  utterances  of  Vassili  Petrovitch,  which  his  lethargic,  sober- 
minded  friend  regarded  as  indicating  temporary  insanity  in  the 
speaker,  represented  fairly  the  mental  condition  of  very  many 
Russian  nobles  at  that  time,  and  were  not  without  a  certain 
foundation.  The  idea  about  a  secret  clause  in  the  Treaty  of  Paris 
was  purely  imaginary,  but  it  was  quite  true  that  the  country  was 
entering  on  an  epoch  of  great  reforms,  among  which  the  Emanci- 
pation question  occupied  the  chief  place.  Of  this  even  the  scep- 
tical Ivan  Ivan'itch  was  soon  convinced.  The  Emperor  formally 
declared  to  the  Noblesse  of  the  province  of  Moscow  that  the  actual 
state  of  things  could  not  continue  forever,  and  called  on  the 
landed  proprietors  to  consider  by  what  means  the  condition  of  their 
serfs  might  be  ameliorated.  Provincial  committees  were  formed 
for  the  purpose  of  preparing  definite  projects,  and  gradually  it 
became  apparent  that  the  emancipation  of  the  serfs  was  really 
at  hand. 

Ivan  Ivan'itch  was  alarmed  at  the  prospect  of  losing  his  author- 
ity over  his  serfs.  Though  he  had  never  been  a  cruel  taskmaster, 
he  had  not  spared  the  rod  when  he  considered  it  necessary,  and 
he  believed  birch  twigs  to  be  a  necessary  instrument  in  the  Eussian 
system  of  agriculture.  For  some  time  he  drew  consolation  from 
the  thought  that  peasants  were  not  birds  of  the  air,  that  they  must 
under  all  circumstances  require  food  and  clothing,  and  that  they 
would  be  ready  to  serve  him  as  agricultural  labourers;  but  when 
he  learned  that  they  were  to  receive  a  large  part  of  the  estate  for 
their  own  use,  his  hopes  fell,  and  he  greatly  feared  that  he  would 
be  inevitably  ruined. 

These  dark  forebodings  have  not  been  by  any  means  realised. 
His  serfs  were  emancipated  and  received  about  a  half  of  the  estate, 
but  in  return  for  the  land  ceded  they  paid  him  annually  a  consid- 
erable sum,  and  they  were  always  ready  to  cultivate  his  fields  for 
a  fair  remuneration.  The  yearly  outlay  was  considerably  greater, 
but  the  price  of  grain  rose,  and  this  counterbalanced  the  addi- 
tional yearly  expenditure.     The  administration  of  the  estate  has 


LANDED    PEOPEIETOES    OF    THE    OLD    SCHOOL     293 

become  much  less  patriarchal ;  much  that  was  formerly  left  to 
custom  and  tacit  understanding  is  now  regulated  by  express  agree- 
ment on  purely  commercial  principles;  a  great  deal  more  money  is 
paid  out  and  a  great  deal  more  received;  there  is  much  less  author- 
ity in  the  hands  of  the  master,  and  his  responsibilities  are  pro- 
portionately diminished;  but  in  spite  of  all  these  changes,  Ivan 
Ivan'itch  would  have  great  difficulty  in  deciding  whether  he  is 
a  richer  or  a  poorer  man.  He  has  fewer  horses  and  fewer  servants, 
but  he  has  still  more  than  he  requires,  and  his  mode  of  life  has 
undergone  no  perceptible  alteration.  Maria  Petrovna  complains 
that  she  is  no  longer  supplied  with  eggs,  chickens,  and  homespun 
linen  by  the  peasants,  and  that  everything  is  three  times  as  dear  as 
it  used  to  be;  but  somehow  the  larder  is  still  full,  and  abundance 
reigns  in  the  house  as  of  old. 

Ivan  Ivan'itch  certainly  does  not  possess  transcendent  qualities 
of  any  kind.  It  would  be  impossible  to  make  a  hero  out  of  him, 
even  though  his  own  son  should  be  his  biographer.  Muscular 
Christians  may  reasonably  despise  him,  an  active,  energetic 
man  may  fairly  condemn  him  for  his  indolence  and  apathy. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  he  has  no  very  bad  qualities.  His 
vices  are  of  the  passive,  negative  kind.  He  is  a  respectable  if 
not  a  distinguished  member  of  society,  and  appears  a  very  worthy 
man  when  compared  with  many  of  his  neighbours  who  have  been 
brought  up  in  similar  conditions.  Take,  for  instance,  his  younger 
brother  Dimitri,  who  lives  a  short  way  off. 

Dimitri  Ivanovitch,  like  his  brother  Ivan,  had  been  endowed  by 
nature  with  a  very  decided  repugnance  to  prolonged  intellectual 
exertion,  but  as  he  was  a  man  of  good  parts  he  did  not  fear  a 
Junker's  examination — especially  when  he  could  count  on  the  colo- 
nel's protection — and  accordingly  entered  the  army.  In  his  regi- 
ment were  a  number  of  jovial  young  officers  like  himself,  always 
ready  to  relieve  the  monotony  of  garrison  life  by  boisterous  dissi- 
pation, and  among  these  he  easily  acquired  the  reputation  of  being 
a  thoroughly  good  fellow.  In  drinking  bouts  he  could  hold  his 
own  with  the  best  of  them,  and  in  all  mad  pranks  invariably  played 
the  chief  part.  By  this  means  he  endeared  himself  to  his  com- 
rades, and  for  a  time  all  went  well.  The  colonel  had  himself  sown 
wild  oats  plentifully  in  his  youth,  and  was  quite  disposed  to  over- 
look, as  far  as  possible,  the  bacchanalian  peccadilloes  of  his  subor- 
dinates. But  before  many  years  had  passed,  the  regiment  sud- 
denly changed  its  character.  Certain  rumours  had  reached  head- 
quarters, and  the  Emperor  Nicholas  appointed  as  colonel  a  stern 


294  RUSSIA 

disciplinarian  of  German  origin,  who  aimed  at  making  the  regi- 
ment a  kind  of  machine  that  should  work  with  the  accuracy  of  a 
chronometer. 

This  change  did  not  at  all  suit  the  tastes  of  Dimitri  Ivan'itch. 
He  chafed  under  the  new  restraints,  and  as  soon  as  he  had  gained 
the  rank  of  lieutenant  retired  from  the  service  to  enjoy  the  freedom 
of  country  life.  Shortly  afterwards  his  father  died,  and  he  thereby 
became  owner  of  an  estate,  with  two  hundred  serfs.  He  did  not, 
like  his  elder  brother,  marry,  and  "  effeminate  himself,"  but  he  did 
worse.  In  his  little  independent  kingdom — for  such  was  prac- 
tically a  Eussian  estate  in  the  good  old  times — he  was  lord  of  aU 
he  surveyed,  and  gave  full  scope  to  his  boisterous  humour,  his 
passion  for  sport,  and  his  love  of  drinking  and  dissipation.  Many 
of  the  mad  pranks  in  which  he  indulged  will  long  be  preserved 
by  popular  tradition,  but  they  cannot  well  be  related  here. 

Dimitri  Ivan'itch  is  now  a  man  long  past  middle  age,  and  still 
continues  his  wild,  dissipated  life.  His  house  resembles  an  ill- 
kept,  disreputable  tavern.  The  floor  is  filthy,  the  furniture  chipped 
and  broken,  the  servants  indolent,  slovenly,  and  in  rags.  Dogs 
of  all  breeds  and  sizes  roam  about  the  rooms  and  corridors.  The 
master,  when  not  asleep,  is  always  in  a  more  or  less  complete  state 
of  intoxication.  Generally  he  has  one  or  two  guests  staying  with 
him — men  of  the  same  type  as  himself — and 'days  and  nights  are 
spent  in  drinking  and  card-playing.  When  he  cannot  have  his 
usual  boon-companions  he  sends  for  one  or  two  small  proprietors 
who  live  near — men  who  are  legally  nobles,  but  who  are  so  poor 
that  they  differ  little  from  peasants.  Formerly,  when  ordinary 
resources  failed,  he  occasionally  had  recourse  to  the  violent  expe- 
dient of  ordering  his  servants  to  stop  the  first  passing  travellers, 
whoever  they  might  be,  and  bring  them  in  by  persuasion  or  force,  as 
circumstances  might  demand.  If  the  travellers  refused  to  accept 
such  rough,  undesired  hospitality,  a  wheel  would  be  taken  off  their 
tarantass,  or  some  indispensable  part  of  the  harness  would  be 
secreted,  and  they  might  consider  themselves  fortunate  if  they 
succeeded  in  getting  away  next  morning.* 

In  the  time  of  serfage  the  domestic  serfs  had  much  to  bear 
from  their  capricious,  violent  master.     They  lived  in  an  atmos- 

*  This  custom  has  fortunately  gone  out  of  fashion  even  in  outlying 
districts,  but  an  incident  of  the  kind  happened  to  a  friend  of  mine  as 
late  as  1871.  He  was  detained  against  his  will  for  two  whole  days  by 
a  man  whom  he  had  never  seen  before,  and  at  last  effected  his  escape 
by  bribing  the  servants  of  his  tyrannical  host. 


LANDED  PROPRIETORS  OF  THE  OLD  SCHOOL  295 

phere  of  abusive  language,  and  were  subjected  not  unfrequently 
to  corporal  punishment.  Worse  than  this,  their  master  was  con- 
stantly threatening  to  "  shave  their  forehead  " — that  is  to  say,  to 
give  them  as  recruits — and  occasionally  he  put  his  threat  into 
execution,  in  spite  of  the  wailings  and  entreaties  of  the  culprit  and 
his  relations.  And  yet,  strange  to  say,  nearly  all  of  them  remained 
with  him  as  free  servants  after  the  Emancipation, 

In  justice  to  the  Russian  landed  proprietors,  I  must  say  that 
the  class  represented  by  Dimitri  Ivan'itch  has  now  almost  disap- 
peared. It  was  the  natural  result  of  serfage  and  social  stagna- 
tion— of  a  state  of  society  in  which  there  were  few  legal  and  moral 
restraints,  and  few  inducements  to  honourable  activity. 

Among  the  other  landed  proprietors  of  the  district,  one  of  the 

best  known  is  Nicolai  Petrovitch  B ,  an  old  military  man  with 

the  rank  of  general.  Like  Ivan  Ivan'itch,  he  belongs  to  the  old 
school;  but  the  two  men  must  be  contrasted  rather  than  compared. 
The  difference  in  their  lives  and  characters  is  reflected  in  their 
outward  appearance.  Ivan  Ivan'itch,  as  we  know,  is  portly  in  form 
and  heavy  in  all  his  movements,  and  loves  to  loll  in  his  arm-chair 
or  to  loaf  about  the  house  in  a  capacious  dressing-gown.  The 
General,  on  the  contrary,  is  thin,  wiry,  and  muscular,  wears  habitu- 
ally a  close-buttoned  military  tunic,  and  always  has  a  stern  ex- 
pression, the  force  of  which  is  considerably  augmented  by  a  bristly 
moustache  resembling  a  shoe-brush.  As  he  paces  up  and  down 
the  room,  knitting  his  brows  and  gazing  at  the  floor,  he  looks  as 
if  he  were  forming  combinations  of  the  first  magnitude;  but  those 
who  know  him  well  are  aware  that  this  is  an  optical  delusion,  of 
which  he  is  himself  to  some  extent  a  victim.  He  is  quite  inno- 
cent of  deep  thought  and  concentrated  intellectual  effort.  Though 
he  frowns  so  fiercely  he  is  by  no  means  of  a  naturally  ferocious 
temperament.  Had  he  passed  all  his  life  in  the  country  he  would 
probably  have  been  as  good-natured  and  phlegmatic  as  Ivan  Ivan- 
'itch himself,  but,  unlike  that  worshipper  of  tranquillity,  he  had 
aspired  to  rise  in  the  service,  and  had  adopted  the  stern,  formal 
bearing  which  the  Emperor  Nicholas  considered  indispensable  in 
an  officer.  The  manner  which  he  had  at  first  put  on  as  part  of  his 
uniform  became  by  the  force  of  habit  almost  a  part  of  his  nature, 
and  at  the  age  of  thirty  he  was  a  stern  disciplinarian  and  uncom- 
promising formalist,  who  confined  his  attention  exclusively  to  drill 
and  other  military  duties.  Thus  he  rose  steadily  by  his  own 
merit,  and  reached  the  goal  of  his  early  ambition — the  rank  of 
general. 


296  EUSSIA 

As  soon  as  this  point  was  reached  he  determined  to  leave  the 
service  and  retire  to  his  property.  Many  considerations  urged  him 
to  take  this  step.  He  enjoyed  the  title  of  Excellency  which  he 
had  long  coveted,  and  when  he  put  on  his  full  uniform  his  breast 
was  bespangled  with  medals  and  decorations.  Since  the  death  of 
his  father  the  revenues  of  his  estate  had  been  steadily  decreasing, 
and  report  said  that  the  best  wood  in  his  forest  was  rapidly  disap- 
pearing. His  wife  had  no  love  for  the  country,  and  would  have 
preferred  to  settle  in  Moscow  or  St.  Petersburg,  but  they  found 
that  with  their  small  income  they  could  not  live  in  a  large  town 
in  a  style  suitable  to  their  rank. 

The  General  determined  to  introduce  order  into  his  estate,  and 
become  a  practical  farmer;  but  a  little  experience  convinced  him 
that  his  new  functions  were  much  more  difiBcult  than  the  command- 
ing of  a  regiment.  He  has  long  since  given  over  the  practical  man- 
agement of  the  property  to  a  steward,  and  he  contents  himself  with 
exercising  what  he  imagines  to  be  an  eflBcient  control.  Though  he 
wishes  to  do  much,  he  finds  small  scope  for  his  activity,  and  spends 
his  days  in  pretty  much  the  same  way  as  Ivan  Ivan'itch,  with  this 
difference,  that  he  plays  cards  whenever  he  gets  an  opportunity, 
and  reads  regularly  the  Moscow  Gazette  and  RussJci  Invalid,  the 
oflBcial  military  paper.  What  specially  interests  him  is  the  list  of 
promotions,  retirements,  and  Imperial  rewards  for  merit  and 
seniority.  When  he  sees  the  announcement  that  some  old  comrade 
has  been  made  an  officer  of  his  Majesty's  suite  or  has  received  a 
grand  cordon,  he  frowns  a  little  more  than  usual,  and  is  tempted  to 
regret  that  he  retired  from  the  service.  Had  he  waited  patiently, 
perhaps  a  bit  of  good  fortune  might  have  fallen  likewise  to  his  lot. 
This  idea  takes  possession  of  him,  and  during  the  remainder  of 
the  day  he  is  taciturn  and  morose.  His  wife  notices  the  change, 
and  knows  the  reason  of  it,  but  has  too  much  good  sense  and  tact 
to  make  any  allusion  to  the  subject. 

Anna  Alexandrovna — as  the  good  lady  is  called — is  an  elderly 
dame  who  does  not  at  all  resemble  the  wife  of  Ivan  Ivan'itch.  She 
was  long  accustomed  to  a  numerous  military  society,  with  dinner- 
parties, dancing,  promenades,  card-playing,  and  all  the  other 
amusements  of  garrison  life,  and  she  never  contracted  a  taste  for 
domestic  concerns.  Her  knowledge  of  culinary  affairs  is  extremely 
vague,  and  she  has  no  idea  of  how  to  make  preserves,  nalivl-a,  and 
other  home-made  delicacies,  though  Maria  Petrovna,  who  is  uni- 
versally acknowledged  to  be  a  great  adept  in  such  matters,  has 
proposed  a  hundred  times  to  give  her  some  choice  recipes.    In  short, 


LANDED    PEOPEIETORS    OF    THE    OLD    SCHOOL     297 

domestic  affairs  are  a  burden  to  her,  and  she  entrusts  them  as  far 
as  possible  to  the  housekeeper.  Altogether  she  finds  country  life 
very  tiresome,  but,  possessing  that  placid,  philosophical  tempera- 
ment which  seems  to  have  some  casual  connection  with  corpulence, 
she  sul)mits  without  murmuring,  and  tries  to  lighten  a  little  the 
unavoidable  monotony  by  paying  visits  and  receiving  visitors.  The 
neighbours  within  a  radius  of  twenty  miles  are,  with  few  excep- 
tions, more  or  less  of  the  Ivan  Ivan'itch  and  ]\Iaria  Petrovna  type 
— decidedly  rustic  in  their  manners  and  conceptions;  but  their 
company  is  better  than  absolute  solitude,  and  they  have  at  least 
the  good  quality  of  being  always  able  and  willing  to  play  cards 
for  any  number  of  hours.  Besides  this,  Anna  Alexandrovna  has 
the  satisfaction  of  feeling  that  amongst  them  she  is  almost  a  great 
personage,  and  unquestionably  an  authority  in  all  matters  of  taste 
and  fashion;  and  she  feels  specially  well  disposed  towards  those 
of  them  who  frequently  address  her  as  "  Your  Excellency." 

The  chief  festivities  take  place  on  the  "  name-days  "  of  the  Gen- 
eral and  his  spouse — that  is  to  say,  the  days  sacred  to  St.  Nicholas 
and  St.  Anna.  On  these  occasions  all  the  neighbours  come  to 
offer  their  congratulations,  and  remain  to  dinner  as  a  matter  of 
course.  After  dinner  the  older  visitors  sit  down  to  cards,  and  the 
young  people  extemporise  a  dance.  The  fete  is  specially  success- 
ful when  the  eldest  son  comes  home  to  take  part  in  it,  and  brings  a 
brother  officer  with  him.  He  is  now  a  general  like  his  father.*  In 
days  gone  by  one  of  his  comrades  was  expected  to  offer  his  hand 
to  Olga  Nekola'vna,  the  second  daughter,  a  delicate  young  lady 
who  had  been  educated  in  one  of  the  great  Instituis — gigantic 
boarding-schools,  founded  and  kept  up  by  the  Government,  for  the 
daughters  of  those  who  are  supposed  to  have  deserved  well  of  their 
country.  Unfortunately  the  expected  offer  was  never  made,  and 
she  and  her  sister  live  at  home  as  old  maids,  bewailing  the  absence 
of  "civilised"  society,  and  killing  time  in  a  harmless,  elegant 
way  by  means  of  music,  needlework,  and  light  literature. 

At  these  "name-day"  gatherings  one  used  to  meet  still  more 
interesting  specimens  of  the  old  school.  One  of  them  I  remember 
particularly.  He  was  a  tall,  corpulent  old  man,  in  a  threadbare 
frock-coat,  which  wrinkled  up  about  his  waist.  His  shaggy  eyebrows 
almost  covered  his  small,  dull  eyes,  his  heavy  moustache  partially 

*  Generals  are  much  more  common  in  Russia  than  in  other  countries. 
A  few  years  ago  there  was  an  old  lady  in  Moscow  who  had  a  family  of 
ten  sons,  all  of  whom  were  generals !  The  rank  may  be  obtained  in  the 
civil  as  well  as  the  military  service. 


298  RUSSIA 

concealed  a  large  mouth  strongly  indicating  sensuons  tendencies. 
His  hair  was  cut  so  short  that  it  was  difficult  to  say  what  its 
colour  would  be  if  it  were  allowed  to  grow.  He  always  arrived  in 
his  tarantass  just  in  time  for  the  zdkuska — the  appetising  col- 
lation that  is  served  shortly  before  dinner — grunted  out  a  few 
congratulations  to  the  host  and  hostess  and  monosyllabic  greet- 
ings to  his  acquaintances,  ate  a  copious  meal,  and  immediately 
afterwards  placed  himself  at  a  card-table,  where  he  sat  in  silence 
as  long  as  he  could  get  any  one  to  play  with  him.  People  did  not 
like,  however,  to  play  with  Andrei  Vassil'itch,  for  his  society  was 
not  agreeable,  and  he  always  contrived  to  go  home  with  a  well- 
filled  purse. 

Andrei  Vassil'itch  was  a  noted  man  in  the  neighbourhood.  He 
was  the  centre  of  a  whole  cycle  of  legends,  and  I  have  often  heard 
that  his  name  was  used  with  effect  by  nurses  to  frighten  naughty 
children.  I  never  missed  an  opportunity  of  meeting  him,  for  I 
was  curious  to  see  and  study  a  legendary  monster  in  the  flesh. 
How  far  the  numerous  stories  told  about  him  were  true  I  cannot 
pretend  to  say,  but  they  were  certainly  not  without  foundation. 
In  his  youth  he  had  served  for  some  time  in  the  army,  and  was 
celebrated,  even  in  an  age  when  martinets  had  always  a  good  chance 
of  promotion,  for  his  brutality  to  his  subordinates.  His  career 
was  cut  short,  however,  when  he  had  only  the  rank  of  captain. 
Having  compromised  himself  in  some  way,  he  found  it  advisable 
to  send  in  his  resignation  and  retire  to  his  estate.  Here  he  organ- 
ised his  house  on  Mahometan  rather  than  Christian  principles,  and 
ruled  his  servants  and  peasants  as  he  had  been  accustomed  to  rule 
his  soldiers — using  corporal  punishment  in  merciless  fashion.  His 
wife  did  not  venture  to  protest  against  the  Mahometan  arrange- 
ments, and  any  peasant  who  stood  in  the  way  of  their  realisation 
was  at  once  given  as  a  recruit,  or  transported  to  Siberia,  in  accord- 
ance with  his  master's  demand.*  At  last  his  tyranny  and  extor- 
tion drove  his  serfs  to  revolt.  One  night  his  house  was  surrounded 
and  set  on  fire,  but  he  contrived  to  escape  the  fate  that  was  pre- 
pared for  him,  and  caused  all  who  had  taken  part  in  the  revolt  to 
be  mercilessly  punished.  This  was  a  severe  lesson,  but  it  had  no 
effect  upon  him.     Taking  precautions  against  a  similar  surprise, 

*  When  a  proprietor  considered  any  of  his  serfs  unruly  he  could, 
according  to  law,  have  them  transported  to  Siberia  without  trial,  on 
condition  of  paying  the  expenses  of  transport.  Arrived  at  their  des- 
tination, they  received  land,  and  lived  as  free  colonists,  with  the  single 
restriction  that  they  were  not  allowed  to  leave  the  locality  where  they 
settled. 


LANDED  PROPEIETOES  OF  THE  OLD  SCHOOL  299 

he  continued  to  tyrannise  and  extort  as  before,  until  in  1861  the 
serfs  were  emancipated,  and  his  authority  came  to  an  end. 

A  very  different  sort  of  man  was  Pavel  Trophim'itch,  who  like- 
wise came  regularly  to  pay  his  respects  and  present  his  congratula- 
tions to  the  General  and  "  Gheneralsha."  *  It  was  pleasant  to 
turn  from  the  hard,  wrinkled,  morose  features  of  the  legendary 
monster  to  the  soft,  smooth,  jovial  face  of  this  man,  who  had  been 
accustomed  to  look  at  the  bright  side  of  things,  till  his  face  had 
caught  something  of  their  brightness.  "A  good,  jovial,  honest 
face ! "  a  stranger  might  exclaim  as  he  looked  at  him.  Ejiow- 
ing  something  of  his  character  and  history,  I  could  not  endorse 
such  an  opinion.  Jovial  he  certainly  was,  for  few  men  were 
more  capable  of  making  and  enjoying  mirth.  Good  he  might  be 
also  called,  if  the  word  were  taken  in  the  sense  of  good-natured, 
for  he  never  took  offence,  and  was  always  ready  to  do  a  kindly 
action  if  it  did  not  cost  him  any  trouble.  But  as  to  his  honesty, 
that  required  some  qualification.  Wholly  untarnished  his  reputa- 
tion certainly  could  not  be,  for  he  had  been  a  judge  in  the  District 
Court  before  the  time  of  the  judicial  reforms;  and,  not  being  a 
Cato,  he  had  succumbed  to  the  usual  temptations.  He  had  never 
studied  law,  and  made  no  pretensions  to  the  possession  of  great 
legal  knowledge.  To  all  who  would  listen  to  him  he  declared 
openly  that  he  knew  much  more  about  pointers  and  setters  than 
about  legal  formalities.  But  his  estate  was  very  small,  and  he 
could  not  afford  to  give  up  his  appointment. 

Of  these  unreformed  Courts,  which  are  happily  among  the  things 
of  the  past,  I  shall  have  occasion  to  speak  in  the  sequel.  For  the 
present  I  wish  merely  to  say  that  they  were  thoroughly  corrupt,  and 
I  hasten  to  add  that  Pavel  Trophim'itch  was  by  no  means  a  judge  of 
the  worst  kind.  He  had  been  known  to  protect  widows  and  orphans 
against  those  who  wished  to  despoil  them,  and  no  amount  of  money 
would  induce  him  to  give  an  unjust  decision  against  a  friend  who 
had  privately  explained  the  case  to  him ;  but  when  he  knew  nothing 
of  the  case  or  of  the  parties  he  readily  signed  the  decision  prepared 
by  the  secretary,  and  quietly  pocketed  the  proceeds,  without  feeling 
any  very  disagreeable  twinges  of  conscience.  All  judges,  he  knew, 
did  likewise,  and  he  had  no  pretension  to  being  better  than  his 
fellows. 

When  Pavel  Trophim'itch  played  cards  at  the  General's  house 
or  elsewhere,  a  small,  awkward,  clean-shaven  man,  with  dark  eyes 
and  a  Tartar  cast  of  countenance,  might  generally  be  seen  sitting 
*  The  female  form  of  the  word  General. 


300  RUSSIA 

at  the   same  table.     His  name  was   Alexei   Petrovitch    T- 


Whether  he  really  had  any  Tartar  blood  in  him  it  is  impossible 
to  say,  but  certainly  his  ancestors  for  one  or  two  generations  were 
all  good  orthodox  Christians.  His  father  had  been  a  poor  mili- 
tary surgeon  in  a  marching  regiment,  and  he  himself  had  become 
at  an  early  age  a  scribe  in  one  of  the  bureaux  of  the  district  town. 
He  was  then  very  poor,  and  had  great  difficulty  in  supporting  life 
on  the  miserable  pittance  which  he  received  as  a  salary;  but  he 
was  a  sharp,  clever  youth,  and  soon  discovered  that  even  a  scribe 
had  a  great  many  opportunities  of  extorting  money  from  the  ignor- 
ant public. 

These  opportunities  Alexei  Petrovitch  used  with  great  ability,  and 
became  known  as  one  of  the  most  accomplished  bribe-takers  (vzyd- 
totchniki)  in  the  district.  His  position,  however,  was  so  very 
subordinate  that  he  would  never  have  become  rich  had  he  not  fallen 
upon  a  very  ingenious  expedient  which  completely  succeeded. 
Hearing  that  a  small  proprietor,  who  had  an  only  daughter,  had 
come  to  live  in  the  town  for  a  few  weeks,  he  took  a  room  in  the 
inn  where  the  newcomers  lived,  and  when  he  had  made  their 
acquaintance  he  fell  dangerously  ill.  Feeling  his  last  hours  ap- 
proaching, he  sent  for  a  priest,  confided  to  him  that  he  had  amassed 
a  large  fortune,  and  requested  that  a  will  should  be  drawn  up.  In 
the  will  he  bequeathed  large  sums  to  all  his  relations,  and  a  con- 
siderable sum  to  the  parish  church.  The  whole  affair  was  to  be 
kept  a  secret  till  after  his  death,  but  his  neighbour — the  old  gen- 
tleman with  the  daughter — was  called  in  to  act  as  a  witness. 
When  all  this  had  been  done  he  did  not  die,  but  rapidly  recovered, 
and  now  induced  the  old  gentleman  to  whom  he  had  confided  his 
secret  to  grant  him  his  daughter's  hand.  The  daughter  had  no 
objections  to  marry  a  man  possessed  of  such  wealth,  and  the  mar- 
riage was  duly  celebrated.  Shortly  after  this  the  father  died — 
without  discovering,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  the  hoax  that  had  been 
perpetrated — and  Alexei  Petrovitch  became  virtual  possessor  of  a 
very  comfortable  little  estate.  With  the  change  in  his  fortunes 
he  completely  changed  his  principles,  or  at  least  his  practice.  In 
\y  all  his  dealings  he  was  strictly  honest.  He  lent  money,  it  is  true, 
at  from  ten  to  fifteen  per  cent.,  but  that  was  considered  in  these 
parts  not  a  very  exorbitant  rate  of  interest,  nor  was  he  unnecessarily 
hard  upon  his  debtors. 

It  may  seem  strange  that  an  honourable  man  like  the  General 
should  receive  in  his  house  such  a  motley  company,  comprising 
men  of  decidedly  tarnished  reputation;  but  in  this  respect  he  was 


LANDED  PEOPRIETOES  OF  THE  OLD  SCHOOL  301 

not  at  all  peculiar.  One  constantly  meets  in  Russian  society 
persons  who  are  known  to  have  been  guilty  of  flagrant  dishonesty, 
and  we  find  that  men  who  are  themselves  honourable  enough  as- 
sociate with  them  on  friendly  terms.  This  social  leniency,  moral 
laxity,  or  whatever  else  it  may  be  called,  is  the  result  of  various 
causes.  Several  concurrent  influences  have  tended  to  lower  the 
moral  standard  of  the  Noblesse.  Formerly,  when  the  noble  lived 
on  his  estate,  he  could  play  with  impunity  the  petty  tyrant,  and 
could  freely  indulge  his  legitimate  and  illegitimate  caprices  with- 
out any  legal  or  moral  restraint.  I  do  not  at  all  mean  to  assert 
that  all  proprietors  abused  their  authority,  but  I  venture  to  say  that 
no  class  of  men  can  long  possess  such  enormous  arbitrary  power 
over  those  around  them  without  being  thereby  more  or  less  demoral- 
ised. When  the  noble  entered  the  service  he  had  not  the  same 
immunity  from  restraint — on  the  contrary,  his  position  resembled 
rather  that  of  the  serf — but  he  breathed  an  atmosphere  of  pecula- 
tion and  jobbery,  little  conducive  to  moral  purity  and  uprightness. 
If  an  official  had  refused  to  associate  with  those  who  were  tainted 
with  the  prevailing  vices,  he  would  have  found  himself  completely 
isolated,  and  would  have  been  ridiculed  as  a  modern  Don  Quixote. 
Add  to  this  that  all  classes  of  the  Russian  people  have  a  certain 
kindly,  apathetic  good-nature  which  makes  them  very  charitable 
towards  their  neighbours,  and  that  they  do  not  always  distinguish 
between  forgiving  private  injury  and  excusing  public  delinquencies. 
If  we  bear  all  this  in  mind,  we  may  readily  understand  that  in  the 
time  of  serfage  and  maladministration  a  man  could  be  guilty  of 
very  reprehensible  practises  without  incurring  social  excommuni- 
cation. 

During  the  period  of  moral  awakening,  after  the  Crimean  War 
and  the  death  of  Nicholas  I.,  society  revelled  in  virtuous  indignation 
against  the  prevailing  abuses,  and  placed  on  the  pillory  the  most 
prominent  delinquents;  but  the  intensity  of  the  moral  feeling  has 
declined,  and  something  of  the  old  apathy  has  returned.  This 
might  have  been  predicted  by  any  one  well  acquainted  with  the 
character  and  past  history  of  the  Russian  people.  Russia  ad- 
vances on  the  road  of  progress,  not  in  that  smooth,  gradual,  prosaic 
way  to  which  we  are  accustomed,  but  by  a  series  of  unconnected, 
frantic  efforts,  each  of  which  is  naturally  followed  by  a  period  of 
temporary  exhaustion. 


^e^' 


\^^^ 


)^^'  y^  CHAPTER   XXII 

^        PROPRIETORS  OF  THE  MODERN  SCHOOL 

A  Russian  Petit  Maitre — His  House  and  Surroundings — Abortive  At- 
tempts 'to  Improve  Agriculture  and  the  Condition  of  the  Serfs — 
A  Comparison — A  "  Liberal  "  Tchinovnik — His  Idea  of  Progress — A 
Justice  of  the  Peace — His  Opinion  of  Russian  Literature,  Tchinov- 
niks,  and  Pet  its  Maitres — His  Supposed  and  Real  Character — An 
Extreme  Radical — Disorders  in  the  Universities — Administrative 
Procedure — Russia's  Capacity  for  Accomplishing  Political  and  Social 
Evolutions — A  Court  Dignitary  in  his  Country  House. 

HITHEETO  I  have  presented  to  the  reader  old-fashioned  tj^pes 
which  were  common  enough  thirty  years  ago,  when  I  first 
resided  in  Eussia,  but  which  are  rapidly  disappearing.  Let  me 
now  present  a  few  of  the  modern  school. 

In  the  same  district  as  Ivan  Ivan'itch  and  the  General  lives 

Victor  Alexandr'itch  L .     As  we  approach  his  house  we  can 

at  once  perceive  that  he  differs  from  the  majority  of  his  neigh- 
bours. The  gate  is  painted  and  moves  easily  on  its  hinges,  the 
fence  is  in  good  repair,  the  short  avenue  leading  up  to  the  front 
door  is  well  kept,  and  in  the  garden  we  can  perceive  at  a  glance 
that  more  attention  is  paid  to  flowers  than  to  vegetables.  The 
house  is  of  wood,  and  not  large,  but  it  has  some  architectural  pre- 
tensions in  the  form  of  a  great,  pseudo-Doric  wooden  portico  that 
covers  three-fourths  of  the  fagade.  In  the  interior  we  remark 
everywhere  the  influence  of  Western  civilisation.  Victor  Alexan- 
dr'itch is  by  no  means  richer  than  Ivan  Ivan'itch,  but  his  rooms 
are  much  more  luxuriously  furnished.  The  furniture  is  of  a 
lighter  model,  more  comfortable,  and  in  a  much  better  state  of 
preservation.  Instead  of  the  bare,  scantily  furnished  sitting-room, 
with  the  old-fashioned  barrel-organ  which  played  only  six  airs,  we 
find  an  elegant  drawing-room,  with  a  piano  by  one  of  the  most 
approved  makers,  and  numerous  articles  of  foreign  manufacture, 
comprising  a  small  buhl  table  and  two  bits  of  genuine  old  Wedg- 
wood. The  servants  are  clean,  and  dressed  in  European  costume. 
The  master,  too,  is  very  different  in  appearance.  He  pays  great 
attention  to  his  toilette,  wearing  a  dressing-gown  only  in  the  early 
morning,  and  a  fashionable  lounging  coat  during  the  rest  of  the 

302 


PEOPEIETOES    OF   THE    MODERX    SCHOOL      303 

day.  The  Turkish  pipes  which  his  grandfather  loved  he  holds 
in  abhorrence,  and  habitually  smokes  cigarettes.  With  his  wife  and 
daughters  he  always  speaks  French,  and  calls  them  by  French  or 
English  names. 

But  the  part  of  the  house  which  most  strikingly  illustrates 
the  difference  between  old  and  new  is  "  le  cabinet  de  monsieur." 
In  the  cabinet  of  Ivan  Ivan'itch  the  furniture  consists  of  a  broad 
sofa  which  serves  as  a  bed,  a  few  deal  chairs,  and  a  clumsy  deal 
table,  on  which  are  generally  to  be  found  a  bundle  of  greasy 
papers,  an  old  chipped  ink-bottle,  a  pen,  and  a  calendar.  The  cabi- 
net of  Victor  Alexandr'itch  has  an  entirely  different  appearance. 
It  is  small,  but  at  once  comfortable  and  elegant.  The  principal 
objects  which  it  contains  are  a  library-table,  with  ink-stand,  presse- 
papier,  paper-knives,  and  other  articles  in  keeping,  and  in  the 
opposite  corner  a  large  bookcase.  The  collection  of  books  is  re- 
markable, not  from  the  number  of  volumes  or  the  presence  of  rare 
editions,  but  from  the  variety  of  the  subjects.  History,  art,  fic- 
tion, the  drama,  political  economy,  and  agriculture  are  represented 
in  about  equal  proportions.  Some  of  the  works  are  in  Eussian, 
others  in  German,  a  large  number  in  French,  and  a  few  in  Italian. 
The  collection  illustrates  the  former  life  and  present  occupations 
of  the  owner. 

The  father  of  Victor  Alexandr'itch  was  a  landed  proprietor 
who  had  made  a  successful  career  in  the  civil  service,  and  desired 
that  his  son  should  follow  the  same  profession.  For  this  purpose 
Victor  was  first  carefully  trained  at  home,  and  then  sent  to. the 
University  of  Moscow,  where  he  spent  four  years  as  a  student  of 
law.  From  the  University  he  passed  to  the  Ministry  of  the  In- 
terior in  St.  Petersburg,  but  he  found  the  monotonous  routine  of 
official  life  not  at  all  suited  to  his  taste,  and  very  soon  sent  in  his 
resignation.  The  death  of  his  father  had  made  him  proprietor  of 
an  estate,  and  thither  he  retired,  hoping  to  find  there  plenty  of 
occupation  more  congenial  than  the  writing  of  official  papers. 

At  the  University  of  Moscow  he  had  attended  lectures  on  history 
and  philosophy,  and  had  got  through  a  large  amount  of  desultory 
reading.  The  chief  result  of  his  studies  was  the  acquisition  of 
many  ill-digested  general  principles,  and  certain  vague,  generous, 
humanitarian  aspirations.  With  this  intellectual  capital  he  hoped 
to  lead  a  useful  life  in  the  country.  When  he  had  repaired  and 
furnished  the  house  he  set  himself  to  improve  the  estate.  In  the 
course  of  his  promiscuous  reading  he  had  stumbled  on  some 
descriptions  of  English  and  Tuscan  agriculture,  and  had  there 


1/ 


304  EUSSIA 

learned  what  wonders  might  be  effected  by  a  rational  system  of 
farmino-.  "Why  should  not  Russia  follow  the  example  of  Eng- 
land and  Tuscany?  By  proper  drainage,  plentiful  manure,  good 
ploughs,  and  the  cultivation  of  artificial  grasses,  the  production 
might  be  multiplied  tenfold;  and  by  the  introduction  of  agricul- 
tural machines  the  manual  labour  might  be  greatly  diminished. 
All  this  seemed  as  simple  as  a  sum  in  arithmetic,  and  Victor 
Alexandr'itch,  more  scJiolarum  rei  familiaris  ignarus,  without 
a  moment's  hesitation  expended  his  ready  money  in  procuring 
from  England  a  threshing-machine,  ploughs,  harrows,  and  other 
implements  of  the  newest  model. 

The  arrival  of  these  was  an  event  that  was  long  remembered. 
The  peasants  examined  them  with  attention,  not  unmixed  with 
wonder,  but  said  nothing.  When  the  master  explained  to  them 
the  advantages  of  the  new  instruments,  they  still  remained  silent. 
Only  one  old  man,  gazing  at  the  threshing-machine,  remarked,  in 
an  audible  "  aside,"  "  A  cunning  people,  these  Germans !  "  *  On 
being  asked  for  their  opinion,  they  replied  vaguely,  "  How  should 
we  know?  It  ought  to  be  so."  But  when  their  master  had  re- 
tired, and  was  explaining  to  his  wife  and  the  French  governess 
that  the  chief  obstacle  to  progress  in  Eussia  was  the  apathetic 
indolence  and  conservative  spirit  of  the  peasantry,  they  expressed 
their  opinions  more  freely.  "  These  may  be  all  very  well  for  the 
Germans,  but  they  won't  do  for  us.  How  are  our  little  horses  to 
drag  these  big  ploughs?  And  as  for  that  [the  threshing- 
machine],  it's  of  no  use."  Further  examination  and  reflection 
confirmed  this  first  impression,  and  it  was  unanimously  decided 
that  no  good  would  come  of  the  new-fangled  inventions. 

These  apprehensions  proved  to  be  only  too  well  founded.  The 
ploughs  were  much  too  heavy  for  the  peasants'  small  horses,  and 
the  threshing-machine  broke  down  at  the  first  attempt  to  use  it. 
For  the  purchase  of  lighter  implements  or  stronger  horses  there 
was  no  ready  money,  and  for  the  repairing  of  the  threshing- 
machine  there  was  not  an  engineer  within  a  radius  of  a  hundred 
and  fifty  miles.  The  experiment  was,  in  short,  a  complete  failure, 
and  the  new  purchases  were  put  away  out  of  sight. 

For  some  weeks  after  this  incident  Victor  Alexandr'itch  felt  very 
despondent,  and  spoke  more  than  usual  about  the  apathy  and 

*The  Russian  peasant  comprehends  all  the  inhabitants  of  Western 
Europe  under  the  term  Nyemtsi,  which  in  the  language  of  the  educated 
designates  only  Germans.  The  rest  of  humanity  is  composed  of  Pravo- 
slavniye  (Greek  Orthodox),  Busurmanye  (Mahometans),  and  Poliacki 
(Poles). 


PEOPEIETOES  OF  THE  MODERN  SCHOOL   305 

stupidity  of  the  peasantry.  His  faith  in  infallible  science  was 
somewhat  shaken,  and  his  l)enevolent  aspirations  were  for  a  time 
laid  aside.  But  this  eclipse  of  faith  was  not  of  long  duration. 
Gradually  he  recovered  his  normal  condition,  and  began  to  form 
new  schemes.  From  the  study  of  certain  works  on  political  econ- 
omy he  learned  that  the  system  of  communal  property  was  ruinous 
to  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  and  that  free  labour  was  always  more 
productive  than  serfage.  By  the  light  of  these  principles  he 
discovered  why  the  peasantry  in  Russia  were  so  poor,  and  by  what 
means  their  condition  could  be  ameliorated.  The  Communal  land 
should  be  divided  into  family  lots,  and  the  serfs,  instead  of  being 
forced  to  work  for  the  proprietor,  should  pay  a  yearly  sum  as  rent. 
The  advantages  of  this  change  he  perceived  clearly — as  clearly  as 
he  had  formerly  perceived  the  advantages  of  English  agricultural 
implements — and  he  determined  to  make  the  experiment  on  his 
own  estate. 

His  first  step  was  to  call  together  the  more  intelligent  and 
influential  of  his  serfs,  and  to  explain  to  them  his  project;  but  his 
efforts  at  explanation  were  eminently  unsuccessful.  Even  with 
regard  to  ordinary  current  affairs  he  could  not  express  himself  in 
that  simple,  homely  language  with  which  alone  the  peasants  are 
familiar,  and  when  he  spoke  on  abstract  subjects  he  naturally 
became  quite  unintelligible  to  his  uneducated  audience.  The  serfs 
listened  attentively,  but  understood  nothing.  He  might  as  well 
have  spoken  to  them,  as  he  often  did  in  another  kind  of  society, 
about  the  comparative  excellence  of  Italian  and  German  music. 
At  a  second  attempt  he  had  rather  more  success.  The  peasants 
came  to  understand  that  what  he  wished  was  to  break  up  the 
Mir,  or  rural  Commune,  and  to  put  them  all  on  ohroh — that 
is  to  say,  make  them  pay  a  yearly  sum  instead  of  giving  him 
a  certain  amount  of  agricultural  labour.  Much  to  his  astonish- 
ment, his  scheme  did  not  meet  with  any  sympathy.  As  to  being 
put  on  ohroh,  the  serfs  did  not  much  object,  though  tliey  pre- 
ferred to  remain  as  they  were;  but  his  proposal  to  break  up  the 
Mir  astonished  and  bewildered  them.  They  regarded  it  as  a 
sea-captain  might  regard  the  proposal  of  a  scientific  wiseacre  to 
knock  a  hole  in  the  ship's  bottom  in  order  to  make  her  sail  faster. 
Though  they  did  not  say  much,  he  was  intelligent  enough  to  see 
that  they  would  offer  a  strenuous  passive  resistance,  and  as  he  did 
not  wish  to  act  tyrannically,  he  let  the  matter  drop.  Thus  a  second 
benevolent  scheme  was  shipwrecked.  Many  other  schemes  had  a 
similar  fate,  and  Victor  Alexandr'itch  began  to  perceive  that  it 


306  EUSSIA 

was  very  difficult  to  do  good  in  this  world,  especially  when  the 
persons  to  be  benefited  were  Eussian  peasants. 

In  reality  the  fault  lay  less  with  the  serfs  than  with  their  master. 
Victor  Alexandr'itch  was  by  no  means  a  stupid  man.  On  the 
contrary,  he  had  more  than  average  talents.  Few  men  were  more 
capable  of  grasping  a  new  idea  and  forming  a  scheme  for  its  reali- 
sation, and  few  men  could  play  more  dexterously  with  abstract 
principles.  What  he  wanted  was  the  power  of  dealing  with  con- 
crete facts.  The  principles  which  he  had  acquired  from  Univer- 
sity lectures  and  desultory  reading  were  far  too  vague  and  abstract 
for  practical  use.  He  had  studied  abstract  science  without  gain- 
ing any  technical  knowledge  of  details,  and  consequently  when  he 
stood  face  to  face  with  real  life  he  was  like  a  student  who,  having 
studied  mechanics  in  text-books,  is  suddenly  placed  in  a  workshop 
and  ordered  to  construct  a  machine.  Only  there  was  one  differ- 
ence: Victor  Alexandr'itch  was  not  ordered  to  do  anything. 
Voluntarily,  without  any  apparent  necessity,  he  set  himself  to  work 
with  tools  which  he  could  not  handle.  It  was  this  that  chiefly 
puzzled  the  peasants.  Why  should  he  trouble  himself  with  these 
new  schemes,  when  he  might  live  comfortably  as  he  was?  In 
some  of  his  projects  they  could  detect  a  desire  to  increase  the 
revenue,  but  in  others  they  could  discover  no  such  motive.  In 
these  latter  they  attributed  his  conduct  to  pure  caprice,  and  put  it 
into  the  same  category  as  those  mad  pranks  in  which  proprietors 
of  jovial  humour  sometimes  indulged. 

In  the  last  years  of  serfage  there  were  a  good  many  landed 
proprietors  like  Victor  Alexandr'itch — men  who  wished  to  do 
something  beneficent,  and  did  not  know  how  to  do  it.  When  serf- 
age was  being  abolished  the  majority  of  these  men  took  an  active 
part  in  the  great  work  and  rendered  valuable  service  to  their 
country.  Victor  Alexandr'itch  acted  otherwise.  At  first  he  sym- 
pathised warmly  with  the  proposed  emancipation  and  wrote  sev- 
eral articles  on  the  advantages  of  free  labour,  but  when  the  Govern- 
ment took  the  matter  into  its  own  hands  he  declared  that  the 
officials  had  deceived  and  slighted  the  Noblesse,  and  he  went  over 
to  the  opposition.  Before  the  Imperial  Edict  was  signed  he  went 
abroad,  and  travelled  for  three  years  in  Germany,  France,  and 
Italy.  Shortly  after  his  return  he  married  a  pretty,  accomplished 
young  lady,  the  daughter  of  an  eminent  official  in  St.  Petersburg, 
and  since  that  time  he  has  lived  in  his  country-house. 
>  /  Though  a  man  of  education  and  culture,  Victor  Alexandr'itch 
spends  his  time  in  almost  as  indolent  a  way  as  the  men  of  the  old 


PEOPEIETOKS  OF  THE  MODERX  SCHOOL   307 

school.  He  rises  somewhat  later,  and  instead  of  sitting  by  the 
open  window  and  gazing  into  the  courtyard,  he  turns  over  the 
pages  of  a  book  or  periodical.  Instead  of  dining  at  midday  and 
supping  at  nine  o'clock,  he  takes  dejeuner  at  twelve  and  dines  at 
five.  He  spends  less  time  in  sitting  in  the  verandah  and  pacing 
up  and  doA\Ti  with  his  hands  behind  his  back,  for  he  can  vary  the 
operation  of  time-killing  by  occasionally  writing  a  letter,  or  by 
standing  behind  his  wife  at  the  piano  while  she  plays  selections 
from  Mozart  and  Beethoven.  But  these  peculiarities  are  merely 
variations  in  detail.  If  there  is  any  essential  difference  between 
the  lives  of  Victor  Alexandr'itch  and  of  Ivan  Ivan'itch,  it  is  in  the 
fact  that  the  former  never  goes  out  into  the  fields  to  see  how 
the  work  is  done,  and  never  troubles  himself  with  the  state  of  the 
weather,  the  condition  of  the  crops,  and  cognate  subjects.  He 
leaves  the  management  of  his  estate  entirely  to  his  steward,  and 
refers  to  that  personage  all  peasants  who  come  to  him  with  com- 
plaints or  petitions.  Though  he  takes  a  deep  interest  in  the  peas- 
ant as  an  impersonal,  abstract  entity,  and  loves  to  contemplate 
concrete  examples  of  the  genus  in  the  works  of  certain  popular 
authors,  he  does  not  like  to  have  any  direct  relations  with  peasants 
in  the  flesh.  If  he  has  to  speak  with  them  he  always  feels  awk- 
ward, and  suffers  from  the  odour  of  their  sheepskins.  Ivan 
Ivan'iteh  is  ever  ready  to  talk  with  the  peasants,  and  give  them 
sound,  practical  advice  or  severe  admonitions;  and  in  the  old 
times  he  was  apt,  in  moments  of  irritation,  to  supplement  his 
admonitions  by  a  free  use  of  his  fists.  Victor  Alexandr'itch,  on 
the  contrary,  never  could  give  any  advice  except  vague  common- 
place, and  as  to  using  his  fist,  he  would  have  shrunk  from  that, 
not  only  from  respect  to  humanitarian  principles,  but  also  from 
motives  which  belong  to  the  region  of  aesthetic  sensitiveness. 

This  difference  between  the  two  men  has  an  important  influence 
on  their  pecuniary  affairs.  The  stewards  of  both  steal  from  their 
masters;  but  that  of  Ivan  Ivan'iteh  steals  with  difficulty,  and  to 
a  very  limited  extent,  whereas  that  of  Victor  Alexandr'itch  steals 
regularly  and  methodically,  and  counts  his  gains,  not  by  kopecks, 
but  by  roubles.  Though  the  two  estates  are  of  about  the  same 
size  and  value,  they  give  a  very  different  revenue.  The  rough, 
practical  man  has  a  much  larger  income  than  his  elegant,  well- 
educated  neighbour,  and  at  the  same  time  spends  very  much  less. 
The  consequences  of  this,  if  not  at  present  visible,  must  some  day 
become  painfully  apparent.  Ivan  Ivan'iteh  will  doubtless  leave 
to  his  children  an  unencumbered  estate  and  a  certain  amount  of 


308  EUSSIA 

capital.  The  children  of  Victor  Alexandr'itch  have  a  different 
prospect.  He  has  already  begun  to  mortgage  his  property  and 
to  cut  down  the  timber,  and  he  always  finds  a  deficit  at  the  end  of 
the  year.  "Wliat  will  become  of  his  wife  and  children  when  the 
estate  comes  to  be  sold  for  payment  of  the  mortgage,  it  is  difficult 
to  predict.  He  thinks  very  little  of  that  eventuality,  and  when 
his  thoughts  happen  to  wander  in  that  direction  he  consoles  him- 
self with  the  thought  that  before  the  crash  comes  he  will  have 
inherited  a  fortune  from  a  rich  uncle  who  has  no  children. 

The  proprietors  of  the  old  school  lead  the  same  uniform,  monot- 
onous life  year  after  year,  with  very  little  variation.  Victor 
Alexandr'itch,  on  the  contrary,  feels  the  need  of  a  periodical  return 
to  "  civilised  society,"  and  accordingly  spends  a  few  weeks  every 
winter  in  St.  Petersburg.  During  the  summer  months  he  has 
the  society  of  his  brother — un  homnie  tout  a  fait  civilise — who 
possesses  an  estate  a  few  miles  off. 

This  brother,  Vladimir  x\lexandr'itch,  was  educated  in  the 
School  of  Law  in  St.  Petersburg,  and  has  since  risen  rapidly  in 
the  service.  He  holds  now  a  prominent  position  in  one  of  the 
Ministries,  and  has  the  honourary  court  title  of  "  Chambellan  de  sa 
Majeste."  He  is  a  marked  man  in  the  higher  circles  of  the  Ad- 
ministration, and  will,  it  is  thought,  some  day  become  Minister. 
Though  an  adherent  of  enlightened  views,  and  a  professed  "  Lib- 
eral," he  contrives  to  keep  on  very  good  terms  with  those  who 
imagine  themselves  to  be  "Conservatives."  In  this  he  is  as- 
sisted by  his  soft,  oily  manner.  If  you  express  an  opinion  to  him 
he  will  always  begin  by  telling  you  that  you  are  quite  right;  and 
if  he  ends  by  showing  you  that  you  are  quite  wrong,  he  will  at 
least  make  you  feel  that  your  error  is  not  only  excusable,  but  in 
some  way  highly  creditable  to  your  intellectual  acuteness  or  good- 
ness of  heart.  In  spite  of  his  Liberalism  he  is  a  staunch  Monarch- 
ist, and  considers  that  the  time  has  not  yet  come  for  the  Emperor 
to  grant  a  Constitution.  He  recognises  that  the  present  order  of 
things  has  its  defects,  but  thinks  that,  on  the  whole,  it  acts  very 
well,  and  would  act  much  better  if  certain  high  officials  were 
removed,  and  more  energetic  men  put  in  their  places.  Like  all 
genuine  St.  Petersburg  tcliinovniks  (officials),  he  has  great  faith 
in  the  miraculous  power  of  Imperial  ukazes  and  Ministerial  cir- 
culars, and  believes  that  national  progress  consists  in  multiplying 
these  documents,  and  centralising  the  Administration,  so  as  to  give 
them  more  effect.  As  a  supplementary  means  of  progress  he 
highly  approves  of  aesthetic  culture,  and  he  can  speak  with  some 


PEOPEIETOES    OF    THE    MODEEX    SCHOOL      309 

eloquence  of  the  humanising  influence  of  the  fine  arts.  For  his 
own  part  ho  is  well  acquainted  with  French  and  English  classics, 
and  particularly  admires  Macaulay,  whom  he  declares  to  have  been 
not  only  a  great  writer,  but  also  a  great  statesman.  Among 
writers  of  fiction  he  gives  the  palm  to  George  Eliot,  and  speaks  of 
the  novelists  of  his  own  country,  and,  indeed,  of  Eussian  literature 
as  a  whole,  in  the  most  disparaging  terms. 

A  very  difrerent  estimate  of  Eussian  literature  is  held  by  Alex- 
ander Ivan'itch  N ,  formerly  arbiter  in  peasant  affairs,  and 

afterwards  justice  of  the  peace.  Discussions  on  this  subject  often 
take  place  between  the  two.  The  admirer  of  Macaulay  declares 
that  Eussia  has,  properly  speaking,  no  literature  whatever,  and 
that  the  works  which  bear  the  names  of  Eussian  authors  are 
nothing  but  a  feeble  echo  of  the  literature  of  Western  Europe. 
"  Imitators,"  he  is  wont  to  say,  "  skilful  imitators,  we  have  pro- 
duced in  abundance.  But  where  is  there  a  man  of  original 
genius?  What  is  our  famous  poet  Zhukofski?  A  translator. 
What  is  Pushkin?  A  clever  pupil  of  the  romantic  school.  What 
is  Lermontoft'  ?     A  feeble  imitator  of  Byron.     What  is  Gogol  ?  " 

At  this  point  Alexander  Ivan'itch  invariable  intervenes.  He 
is  ready  to  sacrifice  all  the  pseudo-classic  and  romantic  poetry, 
and,  in  fact,  the  whole  of  Eussian  literature  anterior  to  about  the 
year  1840,  but  he  wdll  not  allow  anything  disrespectful  to  be  said 
of  Gogol,  who  about  that  time  founded  the  Eussian  realistic  school. 
"  Gogol,"  he  holds,  "  w^as  a  great  and  original  genius.  Gogol  not 
only  created  a  new  kind  of  literature;  he  at  the  same  time  trans- 
formed the  reading  public,  and  inaugurated  a  new  era  in  the 
intellectual  development  of  the  nation.  By  his  humorous,  satirical 
sketches  he  swept  away  the  metaphysical  dreaming  and  foolish 
romantic  affectation  then  in  fashion,  and  taught  men  to  see  their 
country  as  it  was,  in  all  its  hideous  ugliness.  With  his  help  the 
young  generation  perceived  the  rottenness  of  the  Administration, 
and  the  meanness,  stupidity,  dishonesty,  and  w^orthlessness  of  the 
landed  proprietors,  whom  he  made  the  special  butt  of  his  ridicule. 
The  recognition  of  defects  produced  a  desire  for  reform.  From 
laughing  at  the  proprietors  there  was  but  one  step  to  despising 
them,  and  when  we  learned  to  despise  the  proprietors  we  naturally 
came  to  sympathise  with  the  serfs.  Thus  the  Emancipation  was 
prepared  by  the  literature;  and  when  the  great  question  had  to 
be  solved,  it  was  the  literature  that  discovered  a  satisfactory 
solution." 

This   is   a    subject   on   which   Alexander   Ivan'itch   feels   very 


310  RUSSIA 

strongly,  and  on  which  he  always  speaks  with  warmth.     He  knows 

a  good  deal  regarding  the  intellectual  movement  which  began  about 

/1840,  and  culminated  in  the  great  reforms  of  the  sixties.     As  a 

University  student  he  troubled  himself  very  little  with  serious 

/  academic  work,  but  he  read  with  intense  interest  all  the  leading 
periodicals,  and  adopted  the  doctrine  of  Belinski  that  art  should 
not  be  cultivated  for  its  own  sake,  but  should  be  made  subservient 

i  to  social  progress.  This  belief  was  confirmed  by  a  perusal  of 
some  of  George  Sand's  earlier  works,  which  were  for  him  a  kind 
of  revelation.  Social  questions  engrossed  his  thoughts,  and  all 
other  subjects  seemed  puny  by  comparison.  When  the  Emanci- 
pation question  was  raised  he  saw  an  opportunity  of  applying 
some  of  his  theories,  and  threw  himself  enthusiastically  into  the 
new  movement  as  an  ardent  abolitionist.  When  the  law  was  passed 
he  helped  to  put  it  into  execution  by  serving  for  three  years  as  an 
Arbiter  of  the  Peace.  Now  he  is  an  old  man,  but  he  has  preserved 
some  of  his  youthful  enthusiasm,  attends  regularly  the  annual 
assemblies  of  the  Zemstvo,  and  takes  a  lively  interest  in  all  public 
affairs. 

As  an  ardent  partisan  of  local  self-government  he  habitually 
scoffs  at  the  centralised  bureaucracy,  which  he  proclaims  to  be  the 
great  bane  of  his  unhappy  country.  "  These  tchinovniks,"  he  is 
wont  to  say  in  moments  of  excitement,  "  who  live  in  St.  Petersburg 
and  govern  the  Empire,  know  about  as  much  of  Russia  as  they  do 
of  China.  They  live  in  a  world  of  official  documents,  and  are 
hopelessly  ignorant  of  the  real  wants  and  interests  of  the  people. 
So  long  as  all  the  required  formalities  are  duly  observed  they  are 
perfectly  satisfied.  The  people  may  be  allowed  to  die  of  starva- 
tion if  only  the  fact  do  not  appear  in  the  official  reports.  Power- 
less to  do  any  good  themselves,  they  are  powerful  enough  to  pre- 
vent others  from  working  for  the  public  good,  and  are  extremely 
Jealous  of  all  private  initiative.  How  have  they  acted,  for  in- 
stance, towards  the  Zemstvo?  The  Zemstvo  is  really  a  good  in- 
stitution, and  might  have  done  great  things  if  it  had  been  left 
alone,  but  as  soon  as  it  began  to  show  a  little  independent  energy 
the  officials  at  once  clipped  its  wings  and  then  strangled  it. 
Towards  the  Press  they  have  acted  in  the  same  way.  They  are 
afraid  of  the  Press,  because  they  fear  above  all  things  a  healthy 
public  opinion,  which  the  Press  alone  can  create.  Everything  that 
disturbs  the  habitual  routine  alarms  them.  Russia  cannot  make 
any  real  progress  so  long  as  she  is  ruled  by  these  cursed 
tchinovniks.'' 


PEOPEIETORS  OF  THE  MODERN  SCHOOL   311 

Scarcely  less  pernicious  than  the  tchinovnil-,  in  the  eyes  of  our 
would-be  reformer,  is  the  baritch — that  is  to  say,  the  pampered, 
capricious,  spoiled  child  of  mature  years,  whose  life  is  spent  in 
elegant  indolence  and  fine  talking.  Our  friend  Victor  Alexan- 
dr'itch  is  commonly  selected  as  a  representative  of  this  type. 
"  I^ook  at  him  !  "  exclaims  Alexander  Ivan'itch.  "  What  a  useless, 
contemptible  member  of  society !  In  spite  of  his  generous  aspira- 
tions he  never  succeeds  in  doing  anything  useful  to  himself  or 
to  others.  When  the  peasant  question  was  raised  and  there  was 
work  to  be  done,  ho  went  abroad  and  talked  liberalism  in  Paris 
and  Baden-Baden.  Though  he  reads,  or  at  least  professes  to 
read,  books  on  agriculture,  and  is  always  ready  to  discourse  on 
the  best  means  of  preventing  the  exhaustion  of  the  soil,  he  knows 
less  of  farming  than  a  peasant-boy  of  twelve,  and  when  he  goes  into 
the  fields  he  can  hardly  distinguish  rye  from  oats.  Instead  of 
babbling  about  German  and  Italian  music,  he  would  do  well  to 
learn  a  little  about  practical  farming,  and  look  after  his  estate." 

Whilst  Alexander  Ivan'itch  thus  censures  his  neighbours,  he  is 
himself  not  without  detractors.  Some  staid  old  proprietors  regard 
him  as  a  dangerous  man,  and  quote  expressions  of  his  which  seem 
to  indicate  that  his  notions  of  property  are  somewhat  loose. 
Many  consider  that  his  liberalism  is  of  a  very  violent  kind,  and  that 
he  has  strong  republican  sympathies.  In  his  decisions  as  Justice 
he  often  leaned,  it  is  said,  to  the  side  of  the  peasants  against  the 
proprietors.  Then  he  was  always  trying  to  induce  the  peasants 
of  the  neighbouring  villages  to  found  schools,  and  he  had  wonder- 
ful ideas  about  the  best  method  of  teaching  children.  These  and 
similar  facts  make  many  people  believe  that  he  has  very  advanced 
ideas,  and  one  old  gentleman  habitually  calls  him — half  in  joke 
and  half  in  earnest — "  our  friend  the  communist." 

In  reality  Alexander  Ivan'itch  has  nothing  of  the  communist 
about  him.  Though  he  loudly  denounces  the  tchinovnik  spirit — 
or,  as  we  should  say,  red-tape  in  all  its  forms — and  is  an  ardent 
partisan  of  local  self-government,  he  is  one  of  the  last  men  in  the 
world  to  take  part  in  any  revolutionary  movement.  He  would  like 
to  see  the  Central  Government  enlightened  and  controlled  by 
public  opinion  and  by  a  national  representation,  but  he  believes 
that  this  can  only  be  effected  by  voluntary  concessions  on  the  part 
of  the  autocratic  power.  He  has,  perhaps,  a  sentimental  love  of 
the  peasantry,  and  is  always  ready  to  advocate  its  interests ;  but  he 
has  come  too  much  in  contact  with  individual  peasants  to  accept 
those  idealised  descriptions  in  which  some  popular  ^\Titers  indulge, 


312  RUSSIA 

and  it  may  safely  be  asserted  that  the  accusation  of  his  voluntarily 
favouring  peasants  at  the  expense  of  the  proprietors  is  wholly 
unfounded.  Alexander  Ivan'itch  is,  in  fact,  a  quiet,  sensible  man, 
who  is  capable  of  generous  enthusiasm,  and  is  not  at  all  satisfied 
with  the  existing  state  of  things;  but  he  is  not  a  dreamer  and  a 
revolutionnaire,  as  some  of  his  neighbours  assert. 

I  am  afraid  I  cannot  say  as  much  for  his  younger  brother 
Nikolai,  who  lives  with  him.  ISTikolai  Ivan'itch  is  a  tall,  slender 
man,  about  sixty  years  of  age,  with  emaciated  face,  bilious  com- 
plexion and  long  black  hair — evidently  a  person  of  excitable, 
nervous  temperament.  When  he  speaks  he  articulates  rapidly, 
and  uses  more  gesticulation  than  is  common  among  his  country- 
men. His  favourite  subject  of  conversation,  or  rather  of  discourse, 
for  he  more  frequently  preaches  than  talks,  is  the  lamentable  state 
of  the  country  and  the  worthlessness  of  the  Government.  Against 
the  Government  he  has  a  great  many  causes  for  complaint,  and  one 
or  two  of  a  personal  kind.  In  1861  he  was  a  student  in  the 
University  of  St.  Petersburg.  At  that  time  there  was  a  great  deal 
of  public  excitement  all  over  Russia,  and  especially  in  the  capital. 
The  serfs  had  just  been  emancipated,  and  other  important  reforms 
had  been  undertaken.  There  was  a  general  conviction  among  the 
young  generation — and  it  must  be  added  among  many  older  men — 
that  the  autocratic,  paternal  system  of  government  was  at  an  end, 
and  that  Russia  was  about  to  be  reorganised  according  to  the  most 
advanced  principles  of  political  and  social  science.  The  students, 
sharing  this  conviction,  wished  to  be  freed  from  all  academical 
authority,  and  to  organise  a  kind  of  academic  self-government. 
They  desired  especially  the  right  of  holding  public  meetings  for 
the  discussion  of  their  common  affairs.  The  authorities  would  not 
allow  this,  and  issued  a  list  of  rules  prohibiting  meetings  and 
raising  the  class-fees,  so  as  practically  to  exclude  many  of  the 
poorer  students.  This  was  felt  to  be  a  wanton  insult  to  the  spirit 
of  the  new  era.  In  spite  of  the  prohibition,  indignation  meetings 
were  held,  and  fiery  speeches  made  by  male  and  female  orators, 
first  in  the  class-rooms,  and  afterwards  in  the  courtyard  of  the 
University.  On  one  occasion  a  long  procession  marched  through 
the  principal  streets  to  the  house  of  the  Curator.  Never  had  such 
a  spectacle  been  seen  before  in  St.  Petersburg.  Timid  people  feared 
that  it  was  the  commencement  of  a  revolution,  and  dreamed  about 
barricades.  At  last  the  authorities  took  energetic  measures ;  about 
three  hundred  students  were  arrested,  and  of  these,  thirty-two  were 
expelled  from  the  University. 


PKOPEIETOES    OF    THE    MODERX    SCHOOL      313 

Among  those  who  -WGre  expelled  was  Nicolai  Ivan'itch.  All  his 
hopes  of  Ijccoming  a  professor,  as  he  had  intended,  were  thereby 
shipwrecked,  and  he  had  to  look  out  for  some  other  profession. 
A  literary  career  now  seemed  the  most  promising,  and  certainly 
the  most  congenial  to  his  tastes.  It  would  enable  him  to  gratify 
his  ambition  of  being  a  public  man,  and  give  him  opportunities 
of  attacking  and  annoying  his  persecutors.  He  had  already  writ- 
ten occasionally  for  one  of  the  leading  periodicals,  and  now  he 
became  a  regular  contributor.  His  stock  of  positive  knowledge 
was  not  very  large,  but  he  had  the  power  of  writing  fluently  and 
of  making  his  readers  believe  that  he  had  an  unlimited  store  of 
political  wisdom  which  the  Press-censure  prevented  him  from 
publishing.  Besides  this,  he  had  the  talent  of  saying  sharp,  satir- 
ical things  about  those  in  authority,  in  such  a  way  that  even  a 
Press  censor  could  not  easily  raise  objections.  Articles  written  in 
this  style  were  sure  at  that  time  to  be  popular,  and  his  had  a  very 
great  success.  He  became  a  known  man  in  literary  circles,  and 
for  a  time  all  went  well.  But  gradually  he  became  less  cautious, 
whilst  the  authorities  became  more  viligant.  Some  copies  of  a 
violent  seditious  proclamation  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  police,  and 
it  was  generally  believed  that  the  document  proceeded  from  the 
coterie  to  which  he  belonged.  From  that  moment  he  was  carefully 
watched,  till  one  night  he  was  unexpectedly  roused  from  his  sleep 
by  a  gendarme  and  conveyed  to  the  fortress. 

When  a  man  is  arrested  in  this  way  for  a  real  or  supposed 
political  offence,  there  are  two  modes  of  dealing  with  him.  He 
may  be  tried  before  a  regular  tribunal,  or  he  may  be  dealt  with 
"by  administrative  procedure"  (administrativnym  ponjadlcom). 
In  the  former  case  he  will,  if  convicted,  be  condemned  to  imprison- 
ment for  a  certain  term ;  or,  if  the  offence  be  of  a  graver  nature,  he 
may  be  transported  to  Siberia  either  for  a  fixed  period  or  for  life. 
By  the  administrative  procedure  he  is  simply  removed  without  a 
trial  to  some  distant  towm,  and  compelled  to  live  there  under  police 
supervision  during  his  Majesty's  pleasure.  Nikolai'  Ivan'itch  was 
treated  "  administratively,"  because  the  authorities,  though  con- 
vinced that  he  was  a  dangerous  character,  could  not  find  sufficient 
evidence  to  procure  his  conviction  before  a  court  of  justice.  For 
five  years  he  lived  under  police  supervision  in  a  small  town  near 
the  White  Sea,  and  then  one  day  he  was  informed,  without  any 
explanation,  that  he  might  go  and  live  anywhere  he  pleased  except 
in  St.  Petersburg  and  Moscow. 

Since  that  time  he  has  lived  with  his  brother,  and  spends  his 


314  EUSSIA 

time  in  brooding  over  his  grievances  and  bewailing  his  shattered 
illusions.  He  has  lost  none  of  that  fluency  which  gained  him  an 
ephemeral  literary  reputation,  and  can  speak  by  the  hour  on  politi- 
cal and  social  questions  to  any  one  who  will  listen  to  him.  It  is 
extremely  difficult,  however,  to  follow  his  discourses,  and  utterly 
impossible  to  retain  them  in  the  memory.  They  belong  to  what 
may  be  called  political  metaphysics — for  though  he  professes  to  hold 
metaphysics  in  abhorrence,  he  is  himself  a  thorough  metaphysician 
in  his  modes  of  thought.  He  lives,  indeed,  in  a  world  of  abstract 
conceptions,  in  which  he  can  scarcely  perceive  concrete  facts,  and 
his  arguments  are  always  a  kind  of  clever  juggling  with  such 
equivocal,  conventional  terms  as  aristocracy,  bourgeoisie,  monarchy, 
and  the  like.  At  concrete  facts  he  arrives,  not  directly  by  observa- 
tion, but  iDy  deductions  from  general  principles,  so  that  his  facts 
can  never  by  any  possibility  contradict  his  theories.  Then  he  has 
certain  axioms  which  he  tacitly  assumes,  and  on  which  all  his  argu- 
ments are  based ;  as,  for  instance,  that  everything  to  which  the  term 
"  liberal "  can  be  applied  must  necessarily  be  good  at  all  times  and 
under  all  conditions. 

Among  a  mass  of  vague  conceptions  which  it  is  impossible  to 
reduce  to  any  clearly  defined  form  he  has  a  few  ideas  which  are 
perhaps  not  strictly  true,  but  which  are  at  least  intelligible.  Among 
these  is  his  conviction  that  Eussia  has  let  slip  a  magnificent  op- 
portunity of  distancing  all  Europe  on  the  road  of  progress.  She 
might,  he  thinks,  at  the  time  of  the  Emancipation,  have  boldly 
accepted  all  the  most  advanced  principles  of  political  and  social 
science,  and  have  completely  reorganised  the  political  and  social 
structure  in  accordance  with  them.  Other  nations  could  not  take 
such  a  step,  because  they  are  old  and  decrepit,  filled  with  stub- 
born, hereditary  prejudices,  and  cursed  with  an  aristocracy  and  a 
bourgeoisie;  but  Eussia  is  young,  knows  nothing  of  social  castes, 
and  has  no  deep-rooted  prejudices  to  contend  with.  The  popula- 
tion is  like  potter's  clay,  which  can  be  made  to  assume  any  form 
that  science  may  recommend.  Alexander  II.  began  a  magnificent 
sociological  experiment,  but  he  stopped  half-way. 

Some  day,  he  believes,  the  experiment  will  be  completed,  but  not 
by  the  autocratic  power.  In  his  opinion  autocracy  is  "  played  out," 
and  must  give  way  to  Parliamentary  institutions.  For  him  a  Con- 
stitution is  a  kind  of  omnipotent  fetish.  You  may  try  to  explain  to 
him  that  a  Parliamentary  regime,  whatever  its  advantages  may  be, 
necessarily  produces  political  parties  and  political  confiicts,  and 
is  not  nearly  so  suitable  for  grand  sociological  experiments  as  a 


PEOPEIETORS    OF    THE    MODERN"    SCHOOL      315 

good  paternal  despotism.  You  may  tr)'  to  convince  him  that, 
though  it  may  be  difficult  to  convert  an  autocrat,  it  is  infinitely 
more  difficult  to  convert  a  House  of  Commons.  But  all  your  efforts 
will  be  in  vain.  He  will  assure  you  that  a  Russian  Parliament  would 
be  something  quite  different  from  what  Parliaments  commonly 
are.  It  would  contain  no  parties,  for  Russia  has  no  social  castes, 
and  would  be  guided  entirely  by  scientific  considerations — as  free 
from  prejudice  and  personal  influences  as  a  philosopher  speculat- 
ing on  the  nature  of  the  Infinite !  In  short,  he  evidently  imagines 
that  a  national  Parliament  would  be  composed  of  himself  and 
his  friends,  and  that  the  nation  would  calmly  submit  to  their 
ukazes,  as  it  has  hitherto  submitted  to  the  ukazes  of  the  Tsars. 

Pending  the  advent  of  this  political  ^Millennium,  when  unimpas- 
sioned  science  is  to  reign  supreme,  Xikolai  Ivan'itch  allows  him- 
self the  luxury  of  indulging  in  some  very  decided  political  ani- 
mosities, and  he  hates  with  the  fervour  of  a  fanatic.  Firstly  and 
chiefly,  he  hates  what  he  calls  the  hourgeoisie — he  is  obliged  to 
use  the  French  word,  because  his  native  language  does  not  contain 
an  equivalent  term — and  especially  capitalists  of  all  sorts  and  di- 
mensions. Next,  he  hates  aristocracy,  especially  a  form  of  aris- 
tocracy called  Feudalism.  To  these  abstract  terms  he  does  not  at- 
tach a  very  precise  meaning,  but  he  hates  the  entities  which  they  are 
supposed  to  represent  quite  as  heartily  as  if  they  were  personal 
enemies.  Among  the  things  which  he  hates  in  his  own  country, 
the  Autocratic  Power  holds  the  first  place.  Next,  as  an  emana- 
tion from  the  Autocratic  Power,  come  the  tchinovniJcs,  and  espe- 
cially the  gendarmes.  Then  come  the  landed  proprietors.  Though 
he  is  himself  a  landed  proprietor,  he  regards  the  class  as  cum- 
berers  of  the  ground,  and  thinks  that  all  their  land  should  be 
confiscated  and  distributed  among  the  peasantry. 

All  proprietors  have  the  misfortune  to  come  under  his  sweeping 
denunciations,  because  they  are  inconsistent  with  his  ideal  of  a 
peasant  Empire,  but  he  recognises  amongst  them  degrees  of  de- 
pravity. Some  are  simply  obstructive,  whilst  others  are  actively 
prejudicial  to  the  public  welfare.     Among  these  latter  a  special 

object  of  aversion  is  Prince  S ,  because  he  not  only  possesses 

very  large  estates,  but  at  the  same  time  has  aristocratic  pretensions, 
and  calls  himself  a  Conservative. 

Prince  S is  by  far  the  most  important  man  in  the  district. 

His  family  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  the  country,  but  he  does 
not  owe  his  influence  to  his  pedigree,  for  pedigree  pure  and  sim- 
ple does  not  count  for  much  in  Russia.     He  is  influential  and 


316  EUSSIA 

respected  because  he  is  a  great  land-holder  with  a  high  official 
position,  and  belongs  by  birth  to  that  group  of  families  which 
forms  the  permanent  nucleus  of  the  ever-changing  Court  society. 
His  father  and  grandfather  were  important  personages  in  the 
Administration  and  at  Court,  and  his  sons  and  grandsons  will 
probably  in  this  respect  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  their  ancestors. 
Though  in  the  eye  of  the  law  all  nobles  are  equal,  and,  theoreti- 
cally speaking,  promotion  is  gained  exclusively  by  personal  merit, 
yet,  in  reality,  those  who  have  friends  at  Court  rise  more  easily 
and  more  rapidly. 

The  Prince  has  had  a  prosperous  but  not  very  eventful  life.  He 
was  educated,  first  at  home,  under  an  English  tutor,  and  after- 
wards in  the  Corps  des  Pages.  On  leaving  this  institution  he 
entered  a  regiment  of  the  Guards,  and  rose  steadily  to  high  mili- 
tary rank.  His  activity,  however,  has  been  chiefly  in  the  civil  ad- 
ministration, and  he  now  has  a  seat  in  the  Council  of  State. 
Though  he  has  always  taken  a  certain  interest  in  public  affairs, 
he  did  not  play  an  important  part  in  any  of  the  great  reforms. 
When  the  peasant  question  was  raised  he  sympathised  with  the 
idea  of  Emancipation,  but  did  not  at  all  sympathise  with  the  idea 
of  giving  land  to  the  emancipated  serfs  and  preserving  the  Com- 
munal institutions.  What  he  desired  was  that  the  proprietors 
should  liberate  their  serfs  without  any  pecuniary  indemnity,  and 
should  receive  in  return  a  certain  share  of  political  power.  His 
scheme  was  not  adopted,  but  he  has  not  relinquished  the  hope 
that  the  great  landed  proprietors  may  somehow  obtain  a  social 
and  political  position  similar  to  that  of  the  great  land-owners  in 
England. 

Official  duties  and  social  relations  compel  the  Prince  to  live  for 
a  large  part  of  the  year  in  the  capital.  He  spends  only  a  few  weeks 
yearly  on  his  estate.  The  house  is  large,  and  fitted  up  in  the 
English  style,  with  a  view  to  combining  elegance  and  comfort. 
It  contains  several  spacious  apartments,  a  library,  and  a  billiard- 
room.  There  is  an  extensive  park,  an  immense  garden  with  hot 
houses,  numerous  horses  and  carriages,  and  a  legion  of  servants. 
In  the  drawing-room  is  a  plentiful  supply  of  English  and  French 
books,  newspapers,  and  periodicals,  including  the  Journal  de  St. 
Petershourg,  which  gives  the  news  of  the  day. 

The  family  have,  in  short,  all  the  conveniences  and  comforts 
which  money  and  refinement  can  procure,  but  it  cannot  be  said  that 
they  greatly  enjoy  the  time  spent  in  the  country.  The  Princess  has 
no  decided  objection  to  it.    She  is  devoted  to  a  little  grandchild, 


PROPEIETOES  OF  THE  MODEEX  SCHOOL   317 

is  fond  of  reading  and  correspondence,  amuses  herself  with  a  scliool 
and  hospital  which  she  has  founded  for  the  peasantry,  and  occasion- 
ally drives  over  to  see  her  friend,  the  Countess  N ,  who  lives 

about  fifteen  miles  off. 

The  Prince,  however,  finds  country  life  excessively  dull.  He 
does  not  care  for  riding  or  shooting,  and  he  finds  nothing  else  to 
do.  He  knows  nothing  about  the  management  of  his  estate,  and 
holds  consultations  with  the  steward  merely  pro  forma — this 
estate  and  the  others  which  he  possesses  in  different  provinces 
being  ruled  by  a  head-steward  in  St.  Petersburg,  in  whom  he  has 
the  most  complete  confidence.  In  the  vicinity  there  is  no  one 
with  whom  he  cares  to  associate.  Naturally  he  is  not  a  sociable 
man,  and  he  has  acquired  a  stiff,  formal,  reserved  manner  that  is 
rarely  met  with  in  Eussia.  This  manner  repels  the  neighbouring 
proprietors — a  fact  that  he  does  not  at  all  regret,  for  they  do  not 
belong  to  his  monde,  and  they  have  in  their  manners  and  habits  a 
free-and-easy  rusticity  which  is  positively  disagreeable  to  him. 
His  relations  with  them  are  therefore  confined  to  formal  calls. 
The  greater  part  of  the  day  he  spends  in  listless  loitering,  fre- 
quently yawTiing,  regretting  the  routine  of  St.  Petersburg  life — 
the  pleasant  chats  with  his  colleagues,  the  opera,  the  ballet,  the 
French  theatre,  and  the  quiet  rubber  at  the  Club  Anglais.  His 
spirits  rise  as  the  day  of  his  departure  approaches,  and  when  he 
drives  off  to  the  station  he  looks  bright  and  cheerful.  If  he  con- 
sulted merely  his  own  tastes  he  would  never  visit  his  estates  at  all, 
and  would  spend  his  summer  holidays  in  Germany,  France,  or 
Switzerland,  as  he  did  in  his  bachelor  days;  but  as  a  large  land- 
owner he  considers  it  right  to  sacrifice  his  personal  inclinations  to 
the  duties  of  his  position. 

There  is,  by  the  way,  another  princely  magnate  in  the  district, 
and  I  ought  perhaps  to  introduce  him  to  my  readers,  because  he 

represents  worthily  a  new  type.     Like  Prince  S ,  of  whom  I 

have  just  spoken,  he  is  a  great  land-owner  and  a  descendant  of  the 
half-mythical  Rurik;  but  he  has  no  official  rank,  and  does  not 
possess  a  single  grand  cordon.  In  that  respect  he  has  followed  in 
the  footsteps  of  his  father  and  grandfather,  who  had  something  of 
the  frondeur  spirit,  and  preferred  the  position  of  a  grand  seigneur 
and  a  country  gentleman  to  that  of  a  tcliinovnih  and  a  courtier. 
In  the  Liberal  camp  he  is  regarded  as  a  Conservative,  but  he  has 
little  in  common  with  the  Krepostnil-,  who  declares  that  the  re- 
forms of  the  last  half-century  were  a  mistake,  that  everything  is 
going  to  the  bad,  that  the  emancipated  serfs  are  all  sluggards, 


318  RUSSIA 

drunkards,  and  thieves,  that  the  local  self-government  is  an  ingen- 
ious machine  for  wasting  money,  and  that  the  reformed  law-courts 
have  conferred  benefits  only  on  the  lawyers.  On  the  contrary,  he 
recognises  the  necessity  and  beneficent  results  of  the  reforms,  and 
with  regard  to  the  future  he  has  none  of  the  despairing  pessimism 
of  the  incorrigible  old  Tory. 

But  in  order  that  real  progress  should  be  made,  he  thinks 
that  certain  current  and  fashionable  errors  must  be  avoided,  and 
among  these  errors  he  places,  in  the  first  rank,  the  views  and 
principles  of  the  advanced  Liberals,  who  have  a  blind  admira- 
tion for  Western  Europe,  and  for  what  they  are  pleased  to  call 
the  results  of  science.  Like  the  Liberals  of  the  West,  these  gentle- 
men assume  that  the  best  form  of  government  is  constitutional- 
ism, monarchical  or  republican,  on  a  broad  democratic  basis, 
and  towards  the  realisation  of  this  ideal  all  their  efforts  are 
directed.  ISTot  so  our  Conservative  friend.  While  admitting 
that  democratic  Parliamentary  institutions  may  be  the  best  form 
of  government  for  the  more  advanced  nations  of  the  West,  he 
maintains  that  the  only  firm  foundation  for  the  Eussian  Em- 
pire, and  the  only  solid  guarantee  of  its  future  prosperity,  is  the 
Autocratic  Power,  which  is  the  sole  genuine  representative  of  the 
national  spirit.  Looking  at  the  past  from  this  point  of  view,  he 
perceives  that  the  Tsars  have  ever  identified  themselves  with  the 
nation,  and  have  always  understood,  in  part  instinctively  and  in 
part  by  reflection,  what  the  nation  really  required.  Whenever  the 
infiltration  of  Western  ideas  threatened  to  swamp  the  national 
individuality,  the  Autocratic  Power  intervened  and  averted  the 
danger  by  timely  precautions.  Something  of  the  kind  may  be  ob- 
served, he  believes,  at  present,  when  the  Liberals  are  clamouring 
for  a  Parliament  and  a  Constitution;  but  the  Autocratic  Power  is 
on  the  alert,  and  is  making  itself  acquainted  with  the  needs  of  the 
people  by  means  far  more  effectual  than  could  be  supplied  by  ora- 
torical politicians. 

With  the  efforts  of  the  Zemstvo  in  this  direction,  and  with 
the  activity  of  the  Zemstvo  generally,  the  Prince  has  little  sjon- 
pathy,  partly  because  the  institution  is  in  the  hands  of  the  Lib- 
erals and  is  guided  by  their  unpractical  ideas,  and  partly  because 
it  enables  some  ambitious  outsiders  to  acquire  the  influence  in 
local  affairs  which  ought  to  be  exercised  by  the  old-established 
noble  families  of  the  neighbourhood.  What  he  would  like  to  see 
is  an  enlightened,  influential  gentry  working  in  conjunction  with 
the  Autocratic  Power  for  the  good  of  the  country.     If  Eussia 


PEOPRIETOES    OF   THE   MODERN    SCHOOL      319 

could  produce  a  few  hundred  thousand  men  like  himself,  his  ideal 
might  perhaps  be  realised.  For  the  present,  such  men  are  ex- 
tremely rare — I  should  have  difficulty  in  naming  a  dozen  of  them 
— and  aristocratic  ideas  are  extremely  unpopular  among  the  great 
majority  of  the  educated  classes.  When  a  Russian  indulges  in 
political  speculation,  he  is  pretty  sure  to  show  himself  thoroughly 
democratic,  with  a  strong  leaning  to  socialism. 

The  Prince  belongs  to  the  highest  rank  of  the  Russian  Noblesse, 
If  we  wish  to  get  an  idea  of  the  lowest  rank,  we  can  find  in  the 
neighbourhood  a  number  of  poor,  uneducated  men,  who  live  in 
small,  squalid  houses,  and  are  not  easily  to  be  distinguished  from 
peasants.  They  are  nobles,  like  his  Highness;  but,  unlike  him,  they 
enjoy  no  social  consideration,  and  their  landed  property  consists 
of  a  few  acres  of  land  which  barely  supply  them  with  the  first 
necessaries  of  life.  If  we  went  to  other  parts  of  the  country  we 
might  find  men  in  this  condition  bearing  the  title  of  Prince !  This 
is  the  natural  result  of  the  Russian  law  of  inheritance,  which  does 
not  recognise  the  principle  of  primogeniture  with  regard  to  titles 
and  estates.  All  the  sons  of  a  Prince  are  Princes,  and  at  his  death 
his  property,  movable  and  immovable,  is  divided  amongst  them. 


CHAPTEE   XXllI 

SOCIAL    CLASSES 

Do  Social  Classes  or  Castes  Exist  in  Russia? — Well-marked  Social  Types 
— Classes  Recognised  by  the  Legislation  and  the  Official  Statistics — 
Origin  and  Gradual  Formation  of  these  Classes — Peculiarity  in  the 
Historical  Development  of  Russia — Political  Life  and  Political 
Parties. 

I'R  the  preceding  pages  I  have  repeatedly  used  the  expression 
*  "social  classes,"  and  probably  more  than  once  the  reader  has 
felt  inclined  to  ask,  What  are  social  classes  in  the  Eussian  sense  of 
the  term?  It  may  be  well,  therefore,  before  going  farther,  to 
answer  this  question. 

If  the  question  were  put  to  a  Eussian  it  is  not  at  all  unlikely  that 
he  would  reply  somewhat  in  this  fashion :  "  In  Eussia  there  are  no 
social  classes,  and  there  never  have  been  any.  That  fact  consti- 
tutes one  of  the  most  striking  peculiarities  of  her  historical  devel- 
opment, and  one  of  the  surest  foundations  of  her  future  greatness. 
We  know  nothing,  and  have  never  known  anything,  of  those  class 
distinctions  and  class  enmities  which  in  Western  Europe  have  often 
rudely  shaken  society  in  past  times,  and  imperil  its  existence  in 
the  future.'' 

This  statement  will  not  be  readily  accepted  by  the  traveller  who 
visits  Eussia  with  no  preconceived  ideas  and  forms  his  opinions 
from  his  own  observations.  To  him  it  seems  that  class  distinctions 
form  one  of  the  most  prominent  characteristics  of  Eussian  society. 
In  a  few  days  he  learns  to  distinguish  the  various  classes  by  their 
outward  appearance.  He  easily  recognises  the  French-speaking 
nobles  in  West-European  costume;  the  burly,  bearded  merchant  in 
black  cloth  cap  and  long,  shiny,  double-breasted  coat;  the  priest 
with  his  uncut  hair  and  flowing  robes;  the  peasant  with  his  full, 
fair  beard  and  imsavoury,  greasy  sheepskin.  Meeting  everywhere 
those  well-marked  types,  he  naturally  assumes  that  Eussian  society 
is  composed  of  exclusive  castes;  and  this  first  impression  will  be 
fully  confirmed  by  a  glance  at  the  Code.  On  examining  that 
monumental  work,  he  finds  that  an  entire  volume — and  by  no 

320 


SOCIAL    CLASSES 


321 


means  the  smallest — is  devoted  to  the  rights  and  obligations  of  the 
various  classes.  From  this  he  concludes  that  the  classes  have  a 
legal  as  well  as  an  actual  existence.  To  make  assurance  doubly 
sure  he  turns  to  official  statistics,  and  there  he  finds  the  following 
table : 


Hereditary  nobles 
Personal  nobles 
Clerical    classes 
Town  classes 
Rural  classes 
Military  classes 
Foreigners 


052,887 
374,307 
Oijr>,'.>(J;j 

7,l!)t>,(J<J5 
G3,84<).2ni 

4,7(>7,7U3 
153,135 

77,080,293  * 


Armed  with  these  materials,  the  traveller  goes  to  his  Eussian 
friends  who  have  assured  him  that  their  country  knows  nothing  of 
class  distinctions.  He  is  confident  of  being  able  to  convince  them 
that  they  have  been  labouring  under  a  strange  delusion,  but  he 
will  be  disappointed.  Tliey  will  tell  him  that  these  laws  and  sta- 
tistics prove  nothing,  and  that  the  categories  therein  mentioned 
are  mere  administrative  fictions. 

This  apparent  contradiction  is  to  be  explained  by  the  equivo- 
cal meaning  of  the  Russian  terms  Sosloviya  and  Sostoyaniya, 
wliieh  are  commonly  translated  "  social  classes."  If  by  these 
terms  are  meant  "  castes  "  in  the  Oriental  sense,  then  it  may  be 
confidently  asserted  that  such  do  not  exist  in  Russia.  Between  the 
nobles,  the  clergy,  the  burghers,  and  the  peasants  there  are  no 
distinctions  of  race  and  no  impassable  barriers.  The  peasant  often 
becomes  a  merchant,  and  there  are  many  cases  on  record  of  peas- 
ants and  sons  of  parish  priests  becoming  nobles.  Until  very 
recently  the  parish  clergy  composed,  as  we  have  seen,  a  peculiar  and 
exclusive  class,  with  many  of  the  characteristics  of  a  caste ;  but  this 
has  been  changed,  and  it  may  now  be  said  that  in  Russia  there  are 
no  castes  in  the  Oriental  sense. 

If  the  word  Sosloviya  be  taken  to  mean  an  organised  political 
unit  with  an  esprit  de  corps  and  a  clearly  conceived  political  aim, 
it  may  likewise  be  admitted  that  there  are  none  in  Russia.  As 
there  has  been  for  centuries  no  political  life  among  the  subjects  of 
the  Tsars,  there  have  been  no  political  parties. 

On  the  other  hand,  to  say  that  social  classes  have  never  existed  in 

*  Livron :  "  Statistitcheskoe  Obozrenie  Rossiiskoi  Imperii."  St.  Peters- 
burg, 1875.  The  above  figures  include  the  whole  Empire.  The  figures 
according  to  the  latest  census  (1897)  are  not  yet  available. 


322  EUSSIA 

Russia  and  that  the  categories  which  appear  in  the  legislation  and 
in  the  oflBcial  statistics  are  mere  administrative  fictions,  is  a  piece 
of  gross  exaggeration. 

From  the  very  beginning  of  Eussian  history  we  can  detect  un- 
mistakably the  existence  of  social  classes,  such  as  the  Princes,  the 
Boijars,  the  armed  followers  of  the  Princes,  the  peasantry,  the 
slaves,  and  various  others;  and  one  of  the  oldest  legal  documents 
which  we  possess — the  "  Eussian  Eight "  {Eusskaya  Pravda)  of 
the  Grand  Prince  Yaroslaff  (1019 — 1054) — contains  irrefragable 
proof,  in  the  penalties  attached  to  various  crimes,  that  these  classes 
were  formally  recognised  by  the  legislation.  Since  that  time  they 
have  frequently  changed  their  character,  but  they  have  never  at 
any  period  ceased  to  exist. 

In  ancient  times,  when  there  was  very  little  administrative  regu- 
lation, the  classes  had  perhaps  no  clearly  defined  boundaries,  and 
the  peculiarities  which  distinguished  them  from  each  other  were 
actual  rather  than  legal — lying  in  the  mode  of  life  and  social  posi- 
tion rather  than  in  peculiar  obligations  and  privileges.  But  as 
the  autocratic  power  developed  and  strove  to  transform  the  nation 
into  a  State  with  a  highly  centralised  administration,  the  legal 
element  in  the  social  distinctions  became  more  and  more  promi- 
nent. Por  financial  and  other  purposes  the  people  had  to  be 
divided  into  various  categories.  The  actual  distinctions  were  of 
course  taken  as  the  basis  of  the  legal  classification,  but  the  classify- 
ing had  more  than  a  merely  formal  significance.  The  necessity  of 
clearly  defining  the  different  groups  entailed  the  necessity  of  ele- 
vating and  strengthening  the  barriers  which  already  existed  be- 
tween them,  and  the  difficulty  of  passing  from  one  group  to 
another  was  thereby  increased. 

In  this  work  of  classification  Peter  the  Great  especially  distin- 
guished himself.  With  his  insatiable  passion  for  regulation,  he 
raised  formidable  barriers  between  the  different  categories,  and 
defined  the  obligations  of  each  with  microscopic  minuteness. 
After  his  death  the  work  was  carried  on  in  the  same  spirit,  and  the 
tendency  reached  its  climax  in  the  reign  of  Nicholas,  when  the 
number  of  students  to  be  received  in  the  universities  was  deter- 
mined by  Imperial  ukaz! 

In  the  reign  of  Catherine  a  new  element  was  introduced  into 
the  official  conception  of  social  classes.  Down  to  her  time  the 
Government  had  thought  merely  of  class  obligations;  under  the 
influence  of  Western  ideas  she  introduced  the  conception  of  class 
rights.     She  wished,  as  we  have  seen,  to  have  in  her  Empire  a 


SOCIAL    CLASSES  323 

Noblesse  and  tiers-Hat  like  those  which  existed  in  France,  and 
for  this  purpose  she  granted,  first  to  the  Dvorydnstvo  and  after- 
wards to  the  towns,  an  Imperial  Charter,  or  Bill  of  Rights.  Suc- 
ceeding sovereigns  have  acted  in  the  same  spirit,  and  the  Code 
now  confers  on  each  class  numerous  privileges  as  well  as  numerous 
obligations. 

Thus,  we  see,  the  oft-repeated  assertion  that  the  Eussian  social 
classes  are  simply  artificial  categories  created  by  the  legislature  is 
to  a  certain  extent  true,  but  is  by  no  means  accurate.  The  social 
groups,  such  as  peasants,  landed  proprietors,  and  the  like,  came 
into  existence  in  Eussia,  as  in  other  countries,  by  the  simple  force 
of  circumstances.  The  legislature  merely  recognised  and  devel- 
oped the  social  distinctions  which  already  existed.  The  legal 
status,  obligations,  and  rights  of  each  group  were  minutely  defined 
and  regulated,  and  legal  barriers  were  added  to  the  actual  barriers 
which  separated  the  groups  from  each  other. 

What  is  peculiar  in  the  historical  development  of  Eussia  is  this : 
until  lately  she  remained  an  almost  exclusively  agricultural  Em- 
pire with  abundance  of  unoccupied  land.  Her  history  presents, 
therefore,  few  of  those  conflicts  which  result  from  the  variety  of 
social  conditions  and  the  intensified  struggle  for  existence.  Cer- 
tain social  groups  were,  indeed,  formed  in  the  course  of  time,  but 
they  were  never  allowed  to  fight  out  their  own  battles.  The  irre- 
sistible autocratic  power  kept  them  always  in  check  and  fashioned 
them  in.to  whatever  form  it  thought  proper,  defining  minutely  and 
carefully  their  obligations,  their  rights,  their  mutual  relations, 
and  their  respective  positions  in  the  political  organisation.  Hence 
we  find  in  the  history  of  Eussia  almost  no  trace  of  those  class 
hatreds  which  appear  so  conspicuously  in  the  history  of  Western 
Europe.* 

The  practical  consequence  of  all  this  is  that  in  Eussia  at  the 
present  day  there  is  very  little  caste  spirit  or  caste  prejudice. 
Within  half-a-dozen  years  after  the  emancipation  of  the  serfs, 
proprietors  and  peasants,  forgetting  apparently  their  old  relation- 
ship of  master  and  serf,  were  working  amicably  together  in  the 
new  local  administration,  and  not  a  few  similar  curious  facts 
might  be  cited.  The  confident  anticipation  of  many  Eussians 
that  their  country  will  one  day  enjoy  political  life  without  political 
parties  is,  if  not  a  contradicJtion  in  terms,  at  least  a  Utopian  ab- 

*  This  is,  I  believe,  the  true  explanation  of  an  important  fact,  which 
the  Slavophils  endeavoured  to  explain  by  an  ill-authenticated  legend 
{vide  supra  p.  151). 


324  EUSSIA 

surdity ;  but  we  may  be  sure  that  when  political  parties  do  appear 
they  will  be  very  different  from  those  which  exist  in  Germany, 
France,  and  England. 

Meanwhile,  let  us  see  how  the  country  is  governed  without 
political  parties  and  without  political  life  in  the  West-European 
sense  of  the  term.     This  will  form  the  subject  of  our  next  chapter. 


CHAPTEK   XXIV 

THE    IMPERIAL    ADMINISTRATION    AND    THE    OFFICIALS 

The  Officials  in  Novgorod  Assist  Me  in  My  Studies— The  Modern  Im- 
perial Administration  Created  by  Peter  tlie  Great,  and  Developed 
by  his  Successors— A  Slavophil's  View  of  the  Administration — 
The  Administration  Briefly  Described — The  Tchinovniks,  or  Offi- 
cials—Official Titles,  and  Their  Real  Significance — What  the 
Administration  Has  Done  for  Russia  in  the  Past— Its  Character 
Determined  by  the  Peculiar  Relation  between  the  Government 
and  the  People — Its  Radical  Vices — Bureaucratic  Remedies — 
Complicated  Formal  Procedure — The  Gendarmerie:  My  Personal 
Relations  with  this  Branch  of  the  Administration :  Arrest  and 
Release — A  Strong,  Healthy  Public  Opinion  the  Only  Effectual 
Remedy  for  Bad  Administration. 

MY  administrative  studies  were  begun  in  Novgorod.  One  of 
my  reasons  for  spending  a  winter  in  that  provincial  capital 
was  that  I  might  study  the  provincial  administration,  and  as  soon 
as  I  had  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  leading  officials  I  explained 
to  them  the  object  I  had  in  view.  With  the  kindly  honliomie 
which  distinguishes  the  Russian  educated  classes,  they  all  volun- 
teered to  give  me  every  assistance  in  their  power,  but  some  of  them, 
on  mature  reflection,  evidently  saw  reason  to  check  their  first  gen- 
erous impulse.  Among  these  was  the  Vice-Governor,  a  gentleman 
of  German  origin,  and  therefore  more  inclined  to  be  pedantic  than 
a  genuine  Eussian.  When  I  called  on  him  one  evening  and  re- 
minded him  of  his  friendly  offer,  I  found  to  my  surprise  that  he 
had  in  the  meantime  changed  his  mind.  Instead  of  answering  my 
first  simple  inquiry,  he  stared  at  me  fixedly,  as  if  for  the  purpose 
of  detecting  some  covert,  malicious  design,  and  then,  putting  on  an 
air  of  official  dignity,  informed  me  that  as  I  had  not  been  author- 
ised by  the  Minister  to  make  these  investigations,  he  could  not 
assist  me,  and  would  certainly  not  allow  me  to  examine  the 
archives. 

This  was  not  encouraging,  but  it  did  not  prevent  me  from  apply- 
ing to  the  Governor,  and  I  found  him  a  man  of  a  very  different 
stamp.  Delighted  to  meet  a  foreigner  who  seemed  anxious  to  study 
seriously  in  an  unbiassed  frame  of  mind  the  institutions  of  his 

325 


326  EUSSIA 

much-maligned  native  country,  he  willingly  explained  to  me  the 
mechanism  of  the  administration  which  he  directed  and  controlled, 
and  kindly  placed  at  my  disposal  the  books  and  documents  in 
which  I  could  find  the  historical  and  practical  information  which  I 
required. 

This  friendly  attitude  of  his  Excellency  towards  me  soon  be- 
came generally  known  in  the  town,  and  from  that  moment  my 
diificulties  were  at  an  end.  The  minor  officials  no  longer  hesi- 
tated to  initiate  me  into  the  mysteries  of  their  respective  depart- 
ments, and  at  last  even  the  Vice-Governor  threw  off  his  reserve  and 
followed  the  example  of  his  colleagues.  The  elementary  informa- 
tion thus  acquired  I  had  afterwards  abundant  opportunities  of 
completing  by  observation  and  study  in  other  parts  of  the  Empire, 
and  I  now  propose  to  communicate  to  the  reader  a  few  of  the  more 
general  results. 

The  gigantic  administrative  machine  which  holds  together  all 
the  various  parts  of  the  vast  Empire  has  been  gradually  created  by 
successive  generations,  but  we  may  say  roughly  that  it  was  first 
designed  and  constructed  by  Peter  the  Great.  Before  his  time 
the  country  was  governed  in  a  rude,  primitive  fashion.  The  Grand 
Princes  of  IMoscow,  in  subduing  their  rivals  and  annexing  the 
surrounding  principalities,  merely  cleared  the  ground  for  a  great 
homogeneous  State.  Wily,  practical  politicians,  rather  than  states- 
men of  the  doctrinaire  type,  they  never  dreamed  of  introducing 
uniformity  and  .symmetry  into  the  administration  as  a  whole. 
They  developed  the  ancient  institutions  so  far  as  these  were  useful 
and  consistent  with  the  exercise  of  autocratic  power,  and  made  only 
such  alterations  as  practical  necessity  demanded.  And  these  neces- 
sary alterations  were  more  frequently  local  than  general.  Special 
decisions,  instruction  to  particular  officials,  and  charters  for  par- 
ticular communes  of  proprietors  were  much  more  common  than 
general  legislative  measures. 

In  short,  the  old  Muscovite  Tsars  practised  a  hand-to-mouth 
policy,  destroying  whatever  caused  temporary  inconvenience,  and 
giving  little  heed  to  what  did  not  force  itself  upon  their  attention. 
Hence,  under  their  rule  the  administration  presented  not  only  terri- 
torial peculiarities,  but  also  an  ill-assorted  combination  of  different 
systems  in  the  same  district — a  conglomeration  of  institutions 
belonging  to  different  epochs,  like  a  fleet  composed  of  triremes, 
three-deckers,  and  iron-clads. 

This  irregular  system,  or  rather  want  of  system,  seemed  highly 
unsatisfactory  to  the  logical  mind  of  Peter  the  Great,  and  he  con- 


IMPERIAL  ADMINISTRATION  AND  OFFICIALS    337 

ceived  the  grand  design  of  sweeping  it  away,  and  putting  in  its 
place  a  symmetrical  bureaucratic  machine.  It  is  scarcely  necessary 
to  say  that  this  magnificent  project,  so  foreign  to  the  traditional 
ideas  and  customs  of  the  people,  was  not  easily  realised.  Imagine  a 
man,  without  technical  knowledge,  without  skilled  workmen,  with- 
out good  tools,  and  with  no  better  material  than  soft,  crumbling 
sandstone,  endeavouring  to  build  a  palace  on  a  marsh !  The  under- 
taking would  seem  to  reasonable  minds  utterly  absurd,  and  yet  it 
must  be  admitted  that  Peter's  project  was  scarcely  more  feasible.  He 
had  neither  technical  knowledge,  nor  the  requisite  materials,  nor  a 
firm  foundation  to  build  on.  With  his  usual  Titanic  energy  he  de- 
molished the  old  structure,  but  his  attempts  to  construct  were  little 
more  than  a  series  of  failures.  In  his  numerous  ukazes  he  has  left  us 
a  graphic  description  of  his  efforts,  and  it  is  at  once  instructive 
and  pathetic  to  watch  the  great  worker  toiling  indefatigably  at  his 
self-imposed  task.  His  instruments  are  constantly  breaking  in  his 
hands.  '  The  foundations  of  the  building  are  continually  giving 
way,  and  the  lower  tiers  crumbling  under  the  superincumbent 
weight.  Now  and  then  a  wdiole  section  is  found  to  be  unsuitable, 
and  is  ruthlessly  pulled  down,  or  falls  of  its  own  accord.  And 
yet  the  builder  toils  on,  with  a  perseverance  and  an  energy  of 
purpose  that  compel  admiration,  frankly  confessing  his  mistakes 
and  failures,  and  patiently  seeking  the  means  of  remedying  them, 
never  allowing  a  word  of  despondency  to  escape  him,  and  never 
despairing  of  ultimate  success.  And  at  length  death  comes,  and 
the  mighty  builder  is  snatched  away  suddenly  in  the  midst  of  his 
unfinished  labours,  bequeathing  to  his  successors  the  task  of  carry- 
ing on  the  great  work. 

None  of  these  successors  possessed  Peter's  genius  and  energy — 
with  the  exception  perhaps  of  Catherine  II. — ^but  they  were  all 
compelled  by  the  force  of  circumstances  to  adopt  his  plans,  A  re- 
turn to  the  old  rough-and-ready  rule  of  the  local  Voyevods  was 
impossible.  As  the  Autocratic  Power  became  more  and  more 
imbued  with  Western  ideas,  it  felt  more  and  more  the  need  of  new 
means  for  carrying  them  out,  and  accordingly  it  strove  to  system- 
atise and  centralise  the  administration. 

In  this  change  we  may  perceive  a  certain  analogy  with  the  his- 
tory of  the  French  administration  from  the  reign  of  Philippe  le 
Bel  to  that  of  Louis  XIV,  In  both  countries  we  see  the  central 
power  bringing  the  local  administrative  organs  more  and  more 
under  its  control,  till  at  last  it  succeeds  in  creating  a  thoroughly 
centralised  bureaucratic  organisation.     But  under  this  superficial 


338  EUSSIA 

resemblance  lie  profound  differences.  The  French  kings  had  to 
struggle  with  provincial  sovereignties  and  feudal  rights,  and  when 
they  had  annihilated  this  opposition  they  easily  found  materials 
with  which  to  build  up  the  bureaucratic  structure.  The  Eussian 
sovereigns,  on  the  contrary,  met  with  no  such  opposition,  but  they 
had  great  difficulty  in  finding  bureaucratic  material  amongst  their 
uneducated,  undisciplined  subjects,  notwithstanding  the  numerous 
schools  and  colleges  which  were  founded  and  maintained  simply 
for  the  purpose  of  preparing  men  for  the  public  service. 

The  administration  was  thus  brought  much  nearer  to  the  West- 
European  ideal,  but  some  people  have  grave  doubts  as  to  whether 
it  became  thereby  better  adapted  to  the  practical  wants  of  the 
people  for  whom  it  was  created.  On  this  point  a  well-known 
Slavophil  once  made  to  me  some  remarks  which  are  worthy  of 
being  recorded,  "You  have  observed,"  he  said,  "that  till  very 
recently  there  was  in  Eussia  an  enormous  amount  of  official  pecu- 
lation, extortion,  and  misgovernment  of  every  kind,  that  the  courts 
of  law  were  dens  of  iniquity,  that  the  people  often  committed  per- 
jury, and  much  more  of  the  same  sort,  and  it  must  be  admitted  that 
all  this  has  not  yet  entirely  disappeared.  But  what  does  it  prove? 
That  the  Eussian  people  are  morally  inferior  to  the  German  ?  Not 
at  all.  It  simply  proves  that  the  German  system  of  administra- 
tion, which  was  forced  upon  them  without  their  consent,  was 
utterly  unsuited  to  their  nature.  If  a  young  growing  boy  be 
compelled  to  wear  very  tight  boots,  he  will  probably  burst  them, 
and  the  ugly  rents  will  doubtless  produce  an  unfavourable  impres- 
sion on  the  passers-by ;  but  surely  it  is  better  that  the  boots  should 
burst  than  that  the  feet  should  be  deformed.  Now,  the  Eussian 
people  was  compelled  to  put  on  not  only  tight  boots,  but  also  a 
tight  jacket,  and,  being  young  and  vigorous,  it  burst  them.  Nar- 
row-minded, pedantic  Germans  can  neither  understand  nor  provide 
for  the  wants  of  the  broad  Slavonic  nature." 

In  its  present  form  the  Eussian  administration  seems  at  first 
sight  a  very  imposing  edifice.     At  the  top  of  the  pyramid  stands 
the  Emperor,  "  the  autocratic  monarch,"  as  Peter  the  Great  de- 
scribed him,  "  who  has  to  give  an  account  of  his  acts  to  no  one  on 
earth,  but  has  power  and  authority  to  rule  his  States  and  lands 
V   as  a  Christian  sovereign  according  to  his  own  will  and  judgment." 
\  Immediately  below  the  Emperor  we  see  the  Council  of  State,  the 
',  Committee  of  Ministers,  and  the  Senate,  which  represent  respec- 
tively the  legislative,  the  administrative,  and  the  judicial  power. 
An  Englishman  glancing  over  the  first  volume  of  the  great  Code  of 


IMPERIAL  ADMINISTRATION  AND  OFFICIALS    329 

Laws  might  imagine  that  the  Council  of  State  is  a  kind  of  Par- 
liament, and  the  Committee  of  Ministers  a  cabinet  in  our  sense 
of  the  term,  but  in  reality  both  institutions  are  simply  incarna- 
tions of  the  Autocratic  Power.  Though  the  Council  is  entrusted 
by  law  with  many  important  functions — such  as  discussing  Bills, 
criticising  the  annual  budget,  declaring  war  and  concluding  peace 
— it  has  merely  a  consultative  character,  and  the  Emperor  is  not 
in  any  way  bound  by  its  decisions.  The  Committee  is  not  at  all 
a  cabinet  as  we  understand  the  word.  The  Ministers  are  directly 
and  individually  responsible  to  the  Emperor,  and  therefore  the 
Committee  has  no  common  responsibility  or  other  cohesive  force. 
As  to  the  Senate,  it  has  descended  from  its  high  estate.  It  was 
originally  entrusted  with  the  supreme  power  during  the  al)sence 
or  minority  of  the  monarch,  and  was  intended  to  exercise  a  con- 
trolling influence  in  all  sections  of  the  administration,  but  now  its 
activity  is  restricted  to  judicial  matters,  and  it  is  little  more  than 
a  supreme  court  of  appeal. 

Immediately  below  these  three  institutions  stand  the  Minis- 
tries, ten  in  number.  They  are  the  central  points  in  which 
converge  the  various  kinds  of  territorial  administration,  and  from 
which  radiates  the  Imperial  will  all  over  the  Empire. 

For  the  purpose  of  territorial  administration  Russia  proper — 
that  is  to  say,  European  Russia,  exclusive  of  Poland,  the  Baltic 
Provinces,  Finland  and  the  Caucasus — is  divided  into  forty-nine 
provinces  or  "Governments"  (guhernii),  and  each  Government  is 
subdivided  into  Districts  (uyezdi).  The  average  area  of  a  prov- 
ince is  about  the  size  of  Portugal,  but  some  are  as  small  as  Bel- 
gium, whilst  one  at  least  is  twenty-five  times  as  big.  The  popula- 
tion, however,  does  not  correspond  to  the  amount  of  territory.  In 
the  largest  province,  that  of  Archangel,  there  are  only  about  350,- 
000  inhabitants,  whilst  in  two  of  the  smaller  ones  there  are  over 
three  millions.  The  districts  likewise  vary  greatly  in  size.  Some 
are  smaller  than  Oxfordshire  or  Buckingham,  and  others  are 
bigger  than  the  whole  of  the  United  Kingdom. 

Over  each  province  is  placed  a  Governor,  who  is  assisted  in  his 
duties  by  a  Vice-Governor  and  a  small  council.  According  to  the 
legislation  of  Catherine  II.,  which  still  appears  in  the  Code  and 
has  only  been  partially  repealed,  the  Governor  is  termed  "the 
steward  of  the  province,"  and  is  entrusted  with  so  many  and  such 
delicate  duties,  that  in  order  to  obtain  qualified  men  for  the  post 
it  would  be  necessary  to  realise  the  great  Empress's  design  of  creat- 
ing, by  education,  "  a  new  race  of  people."     Down  to  the  time  of 


330  KUSSIA 

the  Crimean  War  the  Governors  understood  the  term  "  stewards  " 
in  a  very  literal  sense,  and  ruled  in  a  most  arbitrary,  high-handed 
style,  often  exercising  an  important  influence  on  the  civil  and 
criminal  tribunals.  These  extensive  and  vaguely  defined  powers 
have  now  been  very  much  curtailed,  partly  by  positive  legislation, 
and  partly  by  increased  publicity  and  improved  means  of  com- 
munication. All  judicial  matters  have  been  placed  theoretically 
beyond  the  Governor's  control,  and  many  of  his  former  functions 
are  now  fulfilled  by  the  Zemstvo — the  new  organ  of  local  self- 
government.  Besides  this,  all  ordinary  current  affairs  are  regu- 
lated by  an  already  big  and  ever-growing  body  of  instructions, 
in  the  form  of  Imperial  orders  and  ministerial  circulars,  and  as 
soon  as  anj^hing  not  provided  for  by  the  instructions  happens 
to  occur,  the  minister  is  consulted  through  the  post-office  or  by 
•   telegraph. 

Even  within  the  sphere  of  their  lawful  authority  the  Governors 
have  now  a  certain  respect  for  public  opinion  and  occasionally  a 
very  wholesome  dread  of  casual  newspaper  correspondents.  Thus 
the  men  who  were  formerly  described  by  the  satirists  as  "  little 
satraps"  have  simk  to  the  level  of  subordinate  officials.  I  can 
confidently  say  that  many  (I  believe  the  majority)  of  them  are 
honest,  upright  men,  who  are  perhaps  not  endowed  with  any  un- 
usual administrative  capacities,  but  who  perform  their  duties  faith- 
fully according  to  their  lights.  If  any  representatives  of  the  old 
"  satraps "  still  exist,  they  must  be  sought  for  in  the  outlying 
Asiatic  provinces. 

Independent  of  the  Governor,  who  is  the  local  representative  of 
the  Ministry  of  the  Interior,  are  a  number  of  resident  officials,  who 
represent  the  other  ministries,  and  each  of  them  has  a  bureau, 
with  the  requisite  number  of  assistants,  secretaries,  and  scribes. 

To  keep  this  vast  and  complex  bureaucratic  machine  in  motion 

it  is  necessary  to  have  a  large  and  well-drilled  army  of  officials. 

.  J^^hese  are  drawn  chiefly  from  the  ranks  of  the  Noblesse  and  the 

It/        clergy,  and  form  a  peculiar  social  class  called  TchinovniJcs,  or  men 

V^  V-     with  Tchins.     As  the  Tchin  plays  an  important  part  in  Eussia, 

u/v^         not  only  in  the  official  world,  but  also  to  some  extent  in  social  life, 

K  it  may  be  well  to  explain  its  significance. 

All  offices,  civil  and  military,  are,  according  to  a  scheme  in- 
vented by  Peter  the  Great,  arranged  in  fourteen  classes  or  ranks, 
and  to  each  class  or  rank  a  particular  name  is  attached.  As  pro- 
motion is  supposed  to  be  given  according  to  personal  merit,  a  man 
who  enters  the  public  service  for  the  first  time  must,  whatever  be 


IMPERIAL  ADMINISTRATION  AND  OFFICIALS    331 

his  social  position,  begin  in  the  lower  ranks,  and  work  his  way 
upwards.  Educational  certificates  may  exempt  him  from  the  neces- 
sity of  passing  through  the  lowest  classes,  and  the  Imperial  will 
may  disregard  the  restrictions  laid  down  by  law;  but  as  general 
rule  a  man  must  begin  at  or  near  the  bottom  of  the  official  ladder, 
and  he  must  remain  on  each  step  a  certain  specified  time.  The 
step  on  which  he  is  for  the  moment  standing,  or,  in  other  words, 
the  official  rank  or  tcJiln  which  he  possesses  determines  what 
offices  he  is  competent  to  hold.  Thus  rank  or  tcliin  is  a  necessary 
condition  for  receiving  an  appointment,  but  it  does  not  designate 
any  actual  office,  and  the  names  of  the  different  ranks  are  extremely 
apt  to  mislead  a  foreigner. 

We  must  always  bear  this  in  mind  when  we  meet  with  those 
imposing  titles  which  Russian  tourists  sometimes  put  on  their 
visiting  cards,  such  as  "  Conseiller  de  Cour,"  "  Conseiller  d'Etat," 
"  Conseiller  prive  de  S.IM.  I'Empereur  de  toutes  les  Russies."  It 
would  be  uncharitable  to  suppose  that  these  titles  are  used  with 
the  intention  of  misleading,  l)ut  that  they  do  sometimes  mislead 
there  cannot  be  the  least  doubt.  I  shall  never  forget  the  look  of 
intense  disgust  which  I  once  saw  on  the  face  of  an  American  who 
had  invited  to  dinner  a  "  Conseiller  de  Cour,"  on  the  assumption 
that  he  would  have  a  Court  dignitary  as  his  guest,  and  who  casually 
discovered  that  the  personage  in  question  was  simply  an  insignifi- 
cant official  in  one  of  the  public  offices.  No  doubt  other  people 
have  had  similar  experiences.  The  unwary  foreigner  who  has 
heard  that  there  is  in  Russia  a  very  important  institution  called  the 
"  Conseil  d'Etat,"  naturally  supposes  that  a  "  Conseiller  d'Etat " 
is  a  member  of  that  venerable  body ;  and  if  he  meets  "  Son  Excel- 
lence le  Conseiller  prive,"  he  is  pretty  sure  to  assume — especially 
if  the  word  "  actuel "  has  been  affixed — that  he  sees  before  him  a 
■  real  living  member  of  the  Russian  Privy  Council.  When  to  the 
title  is  added,  ''  de  S.M.  I'Empereur  de  toutes  les  Russies,"  a 
boundless  field  is  opened  up  to  the  non-Russian  imagination.  In.. 
reality  these  titles  are  not  nearly  so  important  as  they  seem.  The 
soi-disant  "Conseiller  de  Cour"  has  probably  nothing  to  do  with 
the  Court.  The  ^Conseiller  d'Etat  is  so  far  from  being  a  member 
of  the  Conseil  d'Etat  that  he  cannot  possibly  become  a  member  till 
he  receives  a  higher  tchin.*  As  to  the  Pri\y  Councillor,  it  is 
sufficient  to  say  that  the  Privy  Council,  which  had  a  very  odious 
reputation  in  its  lifetime,  died  more  than  a  century  ago,  and  has 

*  In  Russian  the  two  words  are  quite  different ;  the  Council  is  called 
Gosudarstccnny  sovct,  and  the  title  :Stdtski  sovetnik. 


333  RUSSIA 

not  since  been  resuscitated.  The  explanation  of  these  anomalies 
is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  the  Eussian  tcJiins,  like  the  Ger- 
man honorary  titles — Hofrath,  Staatsrath,  GeJieimrath — of  which 
they  are  a  literal  translation,  indicate  not  actual  office,  but  simply 
official  rank.  Formerly  the  appointment  to  an  office  generally 
depended  on  the  tchin;  now  there  is  a  tendency  to  reverse  the  old 
order  of  things  and  make  the  tchin  depend  upon  the  office  actually 
held. 

The  reader  of  practical  mind  who  is  in  the  habit  of  considering 
results  rather  than  forms  and  formalities  desires  probably  no  fur- 
ther description  of  the  Eussian  bureaucracy,  but  wishes  to  know 
simply  how  it  works  in  practice.  What  has  it  done  for  Eussia  in 
the  past,  and  what  is  it  doing  in  the  present? 

At  the  present  day,  when  faith  in  despotic  civilisers  and  paternal 
government  has  been  rudely  shaken,  and  the  advantages  of  a  free, 
spontaneous  national  development  are  fully  recognised,  centralised 
bureaucracies  have  everywhere  fallen  into  bad  odour.  In  Eussia 
the  dislike  to  them  is  particularly  strong,  because  it  has  there  some- 
thing more  than  a  purely  theoretical  basis.  The  recollection  of  the 
reign  of  Nicholas  I.,  with  its  stern  military  regime,  and  minute, 
pedantic  formalism,  makes  many  Eussians  condemn  in  no  meas- 
ured terms  the  administration  under  which  they  live,  and  most 
Englishmen  will  feel  inclined  to  endorse  this  condemnation.  Before 
passing  sentence,  however,  we  ought  to  know  that  the  system  has 
at  least  an  historical  justification,  and  we  must  not  allow  our  love 
of  constitutional  liberty  and  local  self-government  to  blind  us  to 
the  distinction  between  theoretical  and  historical  possibility. 
What  seems  to  political  philosophers  abstractly  the  best  possible 
government  may  be  utterly  inapplicable  in  certain  concrete  cases. 
We  need  not  attempt  to  decide  whether  it  is  better  for  humanity 
that  Eussia  should  exist  as  a  nation,  but  we  may  boldly  assert  that 
without  a  strongly  centralised  administration  Eussia  would  never 
have  become  one  of  the  great  European  Powers.  Until  compara- 
tively recent  times  the  part  of  the  world  which  is  known  as  the 
Eussian  Empire  was  a  conglomeration  of  independent  or  semi- 
independent  political  units,  animated  with  centrifugal  as  well  as 
centripetal  forces ;  and  even  at  the  present  day  it  is  far  from  being 
a  compact  homogeneous  State.  It  was  the  autocratic  power,  with 
the  centralised  administration  as  its  necessary  complement,  that 
first  created  Eussia,  then  saved  her  from  dismemberment  and 
political  annihilation,  and  ultimately  secured  for  her  a  place 
among    European    nations    by    introducing    Western    civilisation. 


IMPERIAL  ADMINISTRATION  AND  OFFICIALS    333 

Whilst  thus  recognising  clearly  that  autocracy  and  a  strongly 
centralised  administration  were  necessary  first  for  the  creation  and 
afterwards  for  the  preservation  of  national  independence,  we  must 
not  shut  our  eyes  to  the  evil  consequences  which  resulted  from  this 
unfortunate  necessity.  It  was  in  the  nature  of  things  that  the 
Government,  aiming  at  the  realisation  of  designs  which  its  subjects 
neither  sympathised  with  nor  clearly  understood,  should  have 
become  separated  from  the  nation;  and  the  reckless  haste  and 
violence  with  which  it  attempted  to  carry  out  its  schemes  aroused 
a  spirit  of  positive  opposition  among  the  masses.  A  considerable 
section  of  the  people  long  looked  on  the  reforming  Tsars  as  incar- 
nations of  the  spirit  of  evil,  and  the  Tsars  in  their  turn  looked 
upon  the  peoj^le  as  raw  material  for  the  realisation  of  their  politi- 
cal designs.  This  peculiar  relation  between  the  nation  and  the 
Government  has  given  the  key-note  to  the  whole  system  of  adminis- 
tration. The  Government  has  always  treated  the  people  as  minors, 
incapable  of  understanding  its  political  aims,  and  only  very  par- 
tially competent  to  look  after  their  owti  local  affairs.  The  officials 
have  naturally  acted  in  the  same  spirit.  Looking  for  direction 
and  approbation  merely  to  their  superiors,  they  have  systematically 
treated  those  over  whom  they  were  placed  as  a  conquered  or  xo.' 
ferior  race.  The  State  has  thus  come  to  be  regarded  as  an  ab- 
stract entity,  with  interests  entirely  different  from  those  of  the 
human  beings  composing  it;  and  in  all  matters  in  which  State 
interests  are  supposed  to  be  involved,  the  rights  of  individuals  are 
ruthlessly  sacrificed. 

If  we  remember  that  the  difficulties  of  centralised  administra- 
tion must  be  in  direct  proportion  to  the  extent  and  territorial 
variety  of  the  country  to  be  governed,  we  may  readily  understand 
how  slowly  and  imperfectly  the  administrative  machine  necessarily 
works  in  Russia.  The  whole  of  the  vast  region  stretching  from 
the  Polar  Ocean  to  the  Caspian,  and  from  the  shores  of  the  Baltic 
to  the  confines  of  the  Celestial  Empire,  is  administered  from  St. 
Petersburg.  The  genuine  bureaucrat  has  a  wholesome  dread  of 
formal  responsibility,  and  generally  tries  to  avoid  it  })y  taking  all 
matters  out  of  the  hands  of  his  subordinates,  and  passing  them  on 
to  the  higher  authorities.  As  soon,  therefore,  as  affairs  are 
caught  up  by  the  administrative  machine  they  begin  to  ascend, 
and  probably  arrive  some  day  at  the  cabinet  of  the  minister.  Thus 
the  ministries  are  flooded  with  papers — many  of  the  most  trivial 
import — from  all  parts  of  the  Empire;  and  the  higher  officials, 
even  if  they  had  the  eyes  of  an  Argus  and  the  hands  of  a  Briareus, 


334  EUSSIA 

could  not  possibly  fulfil  conscientiously  the  duties  imposed  on  them. 
In  reality  the  Eussian  administrators  of  the  higher  ranks  recall 
neither  Argus  nor  Briareus.  They  commonly  show  neither  an 
extensive  nor  a  profound  knowledge  of  the  country  which  they  are 
supposed  to  govern,  and  seem  always  to  have  a  fair  amount  of 
leisure  time  at  their  disposal. 

Besides  the  unavoidable  evils  of  excessive  centralisation,  Eussia 
has  had  to  suffer  much  from  the  Jobbery,  venality,  and  extortion 
of  the  officials.  When  Peter  the  Great  one  day  proposed  to  hang 
every  man  who  should  steal  as  much  as  would  buy  a  rope,  his 
Procurator-General  frankly  replied  that  if  his  Majesty  put  his 
project  into  execution  there  would  be  no  officials  left.  "We  all 
steal,"  added  the  worthy  official ;  "  the  only  difference  is  that  some  of 
us  steal  larger  amounts  and  more  openly  than  others."  Since  these 
words  were  spoken  nearly  two  centuries  have  passed,  and  during 
all  that  time  Eussia  has  been*  steadily  making  progress,  but  until 
the  accession  of  Alexander  II.  in  1855  little  change  took  place  in 
the  moral  character  of  the  administration.  Some  people  still 
living  can  remember  the  time  when  they  could  have  repeated,  with- 
out much  exaggeration,  the  confession  of  Peter's  Procurator- 
General. 

To  appreciate  aright  this  ugly  phenomenon  we  must  distinguish 
two  kinds  of  venality.  On  the  one  hand  there  was  the  habit  of 
exacting  what  are  vulgarly  termed  "  tips  "  for  services  performed, 
and  on  the  other  there  were  the  various  kinds  of  positive  dishon- 
esty. Though  it  might  not  be  always  easy  to  draw  a  clear  line 
between  the  two  categories,  the  distinction  was  fully  recognised  in 
the  moral  consciousness  of  the  time,  and  many  an  ofiScial  who  reg- 
ularly received  "sinless  revenues"  (hezgresliniye  dol'lwdi),  as  the 
tips  were  sometimes  called,  would  have  been  very  indignant  had 
he  been  stigmatised  as  a  dishonest  man.  The  practice  was,  in 
fact,  universal,  and  could  be,  to  a  certain  extent,  justified  by  the 
.  smallness  of  the  official  salaries.  In  some  departments  there  was 
a  recognised  tariff.  The  "brandy  farmers,"  for  example,  who 
worked  the  State  Monopoly  for  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  alco- 
holic liquors,  paid  regularly  a  fixed  sum  to  every  official,  from  the 
Governor  to  the  policeman,  according  to  his  rank.  I  knew  of  one 
case  where  an  official,  on  receiving  a  larger  sum  than  was  cus- 
tomary, conscientiously  handed  back  the  change!  The  other  and 
more  heinous  offences  were  by  no  means  so  common,  but  were  still 
fearfully  frequent.  Many  high  officials  and  important  dignitaries 
were  known  to  receive  large  revenues,  to  which  the  term  "  sinless  " 


IMPERIAL  ADMINISTRATION  AND  OFFICIALS    335 

could  not  by  any  means  be  applied,  and  yet  tbey  retained  their 
position,  and  were  received  in  society  with  respectful  deference. 

The  Sovereigns  were  well  aware  of  the  abuses,  and  strove  more 
or  less  to  root  them  out,  but  the  success  which  attended  their 
efforts  does  not  give  us  a  very  exalted  idea  of  the  practical  omnipo- 
tence of  autocracy.  In  a  centralised  bureaucratic  administra- 
tion, in  which  each  official  is  to  a  certain  extent  responsible  for  the 
sins  of  his  subordinates,  it  is  always  extremely  difficult  to  bring 
an  official  culprit  to  justice,  for  he  is  sure  to  be  protected  by  his 
superiors;  and  when  the  superiors  are  themselves  habitually  guilty 
of  malpractices,  the  culprit  is  quite  safe  from  exposure  and  pun- 
ishment. The  Tsar,  indeed,  might  do  much  towards  exposing 
and  punishing  offenders  if  he  could  venture  to  call  in  public 
opinion  to  his  assistance,  but  in  reality  he  is  very  apt  to  l)ecome 
a  party  to  the  system  of  hushing  up  official  delinquencies.  He  is 
himself  the  first  official  in  the  realm,  and  he  knows  that  the  abuse 
of  power  by  a  subordinate  has  a  tendency  to  produce  hostility 
towards  the  fountain  of  all  official  power.  Frequent  punishment 
of  officials  might,  it  is  thought,  diminish  public  respect  for  the 
Government,  and  undermine  that  social  discipline  which  is  neces- 
sary for  the  public  tranquillity.  It  is  therefore  considered  expe- 
dient to  give  to  official  delinquencies  as  little  publicity  as  possible. 

Besides  this,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  a  Government  which  rests  on 
the  arbitrary  will  of  a  single  individual  is,  notwithstanding  occa- 
sional outbursts  of  severity,  much  less  systematically  severe  than 
authority  founded  on  free  public  opinion.  When  delinquencies 
occur  in  very  high  places  the  Tsar  is  almost  sure  to  display  a 
leniency  approaching  to  tenderness.  If  it  be  necessary  to  make  a 
sacrifice  to  justice,  the  sacrificial  operation  is  made  as  painless  as 
may  be,  and  illustrious  scapegoats  are  not  allowed  to  die  of  starva- 
tion in  the  wilderness — the  wilderness  being  generally  Paris  or  the 
Riviera.  This  fact  may  seem  strange  to  those  who  are  in  the  habit 
of  associating  autocracy  with  Neapolitan  dungeons  and  the  mines 
of  Siberia,  but  it  is  not  difficult  to  explain.  No  individual,  even 
though  he  be  the  Autocrat  of  all  the  Russias,  can  so  case  himself  in 
the  armour  of  official  dignity  as  to  be  completely  proof  against 
personal  influences.  The  severity  of  autocrats  is  reserved  for 
political  offenders,  against  whom  they  naturally  harbour  a  feeling 
of  personal  resentment.  It  is  so  much  easier  for  us  to  be  lenient 
and  charitable  towards  a  man  who  sins  against  public  morality 
than  towards  one  who  sins  against  ourselves ! 

In  justice  to  the  bureaucratic  reformers  in  Russia,  it  must  be 


336  RUSSIA 

said  that  they  have  preferred  prevention  to  cure.  Refraining  from 
all  Draconian  legislation,  they  have  put  their  faith  in  a  system 
of  ingenious  checks  and  a  complicated  formal  procedure.  When 
we  examine  the  complicated  formalities  and  labyrinthine  procedure 
by  which  the  administration  is  controlled,  our  first  impression  is 
that  administrative  abuses  must  be  almost  impossible.  Every  pos- 
sible act  of  every  official  seems  to  have  been  foreseen,  and  every 
possible  outlet  from  the  narrow  path  of  honesty  seems  to  have  been 
carefully  walled  up.  As  the  English  reader  has  probably  no  con- 
ception of  formal  procedure  in  a  highly  centralised  bureaucracy, 
let  me  give,  by  way  of  illustration,  an  instance  which  accidentally 
came  to  my  knowledge. 

In  the  residence  of  a  Governor-General  one  of  the  stoves  is  in 
need  of  repairs.  An  ordinary  mortal  may  assume  that  a  man 
with  the  rank  of  Governor-General  may  be  trusted  to  expend  a 
few  shillings  conscientiously,  and  that  consequently  his  Excellency 
will  at  once  order  the  repairs  to  be  made  and  the  payment  to  be  put 
down  among  the  petty  expenses.  To  the  bureaucratic  mind  the 
case  appears  in  a  very  different  light.  All  possible  contingencies 
must  be  carefully  provided  for.  As  a  Governor-General  may  pos- 
sibly be  possessed  with  a  mania  for  making  useless  alterations,  the 
necessity  for  the  repairs  ought  to  be  verified;  and  as  wisdom  and 
honesty  are  more  likely  to  reside  in  an  assembly  than  in  an  indi- 
vidual, it  is  well  to  entrust  the  verification  to  a  council.  A  council 
of  three  or  four  members  accordingly  certifies  that  the  repairs  are 
necessary.  This  is  pretty  strong  authority,  but  it  is  not  enough. 
Councils  are  composed  of  mere  human  beings,  liable  to  error  and 
subject  to  be  intimidated  by  a  Governor-General.  It  is  prudent, 
therefore,  to  demand  that  the  decision  of  the  council  be  confirmed 
by  the  Procureur,  who  is  directly  subordinated  to  the  Minister  of 
Justice.  When  this  double  confirmation  has  been  obtained,  an 
architect  examines  the  stove,  and  makes  an  estimate.  But  it 
would  be  dangerous  to  give  carte  hlanche  to  an  architect,  and  there- 
fore the  estimate  has  to  be  confirmed,  first  by  the  aforesaid  council 
and  afterwards  by  the  Procureur.  When  all  these  formalities — 
which  require  sixteen  days  and  ten  sheets  of  paper — have  been 
duly  observed,  his  Excellency  is  informed  that  the  contemplated 
repairs  will  cost  two  roubles  and  forty  kopecks,  or  about  five 
shillings  of  our  money.  Even  here  the  formalities  do  not  stop, 
for  the  Government  must  have  the  assurance  that  the  architect 
who  made  the  estimate  and  superintended  the  repairs  has  not  been 
guilty  of  negligence.     A  second  architect  is  therefore  sent  to  ex- 


IMPERIAL  ADMINISTRATION  AND  OFFICIALS    337 

amine  the  work,  and  his  report,  like  the  estimate,  requires  to  be 
confirmed  by  the  council  and  the  Procureur.  The  whole  corres- 
spondence  lasts  thirty  days,  and  requires  no  less  than  thirty  sheets 
of  paper !  Had  the  person  who  desired  the  repairs  been  not  a 
Governor-General,  ])ut  an  ordinary  mortal,  it  is  impossible  to  say 
how  long  the  procedure  might  have  lasted.* 

It  might  naturally  be  supposed  that  this  circuitous  and  compli- 
cated method,  with  its  registers,  ledgers,  and  minutes  of  proceed- 
ings, must  at  least  prevent  pilfering;  but  this  a  priori  conclusion 
has  been  emphatically  belied  by  experience.  Every  new  in- 
genious device  had  merely  the  effect  of  producing  a  still  more 
ingenious  means  of  avoiding  it.  The  system  did  not  restrain 
those  who  wished  to  pilfer,  and  it  had  a  deleterious  effect  on 
honest  officials  by  making  them  feel  that  the  Government  reposed 
no  confidence  in  them.  Besides  this,  it  produced  among  all 
officials,  honest  and  dishonest  alike,  the  habit  of  systematic  falsi- 
fication. As  it  was  impossible  for  even  the  most  pedantic  of  men 
— and  pedantry,  be  it  remarked,  is  a  rare  quality  among  Russians — 
to  fulfil  conscientiously  all  the  prescribed  formalities,  it  became 
customary  to  observe  the  forms  merely  on  paper.  Officials  certi- 
fied facts  which  they  never  dreamed  of  examining,  and  secretaries 
gravely  wrote  the  minutes  of  meetings  that  had  never  been  held ! 
Thus,  in  the  case  above  cited,  the  repairs  were  in  reality  begun 
and  ended  long  before  the  architect  was  officially  authorised  to 
begin  the  work.  The  comedy  was  nevertheless  gravely  played  out 
to  the  end,  so  that  any  one  afterwards  revising  the  documents  would 
have  found  that  everything  had  been  done  in  perfect  order. 

Perhaps  the  most  ingenious  means  for  preventing  administra- 
tive abuses  was  devised  by  the  Emperor  Nicholas  I.  Fully  aware 
that  he  was  regularly  and  systematically  deceived  by  the  ordinary 
officials,  he  formed  a  body  of  well-paid  officers,  called  the  gen- 
darmerie, who  were  scattered  over  the  country,  and  ordered  to 
report  directly  to  his  Majesty  whatever  seemed  to  them  worthy 
of  attention.  Bureaucratic  minds  considered  this  an  admirable 
expedient;  and  the  Tsar  confidently  expected  that  he  would,  by 
means  of  these  official  observers  who  had  no  interest  in  concealing 

*  In  fairness  I  feel  constrained  to  add  tliat  incidents  of  this  kind 
occasionally  occur — or  at  least  occurred  as  late  as  1880 — in  our  Indian 
Administration.  I  remember  an  instance  of  a  pane  of  glass  being 
broken  in  the  Viceroy's  bedroom  in  tbe  Viceregal  Lodge  at  Simla,  and 
it  would  have  required  nearly  a  week,  if  the  othcial  procedure  had  been 
scrupulously  observed,  to  have  it  replaced  by  the  Public  Works  De- 
partment. 


338  EUSSIA 

the  truth,  be  able  to  know  everything,  and  to  correct  all  official 
abuses.  In  reality  the  institution  produced  few  good  results,  and 
in  some  respects  had  a  very  pernicious  influence.  Though  picked 
men  and  provided  with  good  salaries,  these  oflBcers  were  all  more 
or  less  permeated  with  the  prevailing  spirit.  They  could  not  but 
feel  that  they  were  regarded  as  spies  and  informers — a  humiliating 
conviction,  little  calculated  to  develop  that  feeling  of  self-respect 
which  is  the  main  foundation  of  uprightness — and  that  all  their 
efforts  could  do  but  little  good.  They  were,  in  fact,  in  pretty  much 
the  same  position  as  Peter's  Procurator-General,  and,  with  true 
Russian  honliomie,  they  disliked  ruining  individuals  who  were  no 
worse  than  the  majority  of  their  fellows.  Besides  this,  according 
\/^  to  the  received  code  of  official  morality  insubordination  was  a  more 
heinous  sin  than  dishonesty,  and  political  offences  were  regarded 
as  the  blackest  of  all.  The  gendarmerie  officers  shut  their  eyes, 
therefore,  to  the  prevailing  abuses,  which  were  believed  to  be  in- 
curable, and  directed  their  attention  to  real  or  imaginary  politi- 
cal delinquencies.  Oppression  and  extortion  remained  unnoticed, 
whilst  an  incautious  word  or  a  foolish  Joke  at  the  expense  of  the 
Government  was  too  often  magnified  into  an  act  of  high  treason. 

This  force  still  exists  under  a  slightly  modified  form.  Towards 
the  close  of  the  reign  of  Alexander  II,  (1880),  when  Count  Loris 
Melikof,  with  the  sanction  and  approval  of  his  august  master,  was 
preparing  to  introduce  a  system  of  liberal  political  reforms,  it  was 
intended  to  abolish  the  gendarmerie  as  an  organ  of  political 
espionage,  and  accordingly  the  direction  of  it  was  transferred  from 
the  so-called  Third  Section  of  his  Imperial  Majesty's  Chancery  to 
the  Ministry  of  the  Interior ;  but  when  the  benevolent  monarch  was 
a  few  months  afterwards  assassinated  by  revolutionists,  the  project 
was  naturally  abandoned,  and  the  Corps  of  Gendarmes,  while  re- 
maining nominally  under  the  Minister  of  the  Interior,  was  practi- 
cally reinstated  in  its  former  position.  jSTow,  as  then,  it  serves  as  a 
kind  of  supplement  to  the  ordinary  police,  and  is  generally  em- 
ployed for  matters  in  which  secrecy  is  required.  Unfortunately  it 
is  not  bound  by  those  legal  restrictions  which  protect  the  public 
against  the  arbitrary  will  of  the  ordinary  authorities.  In  addition 
to  its  regular  duties  it  has  a  vaguely  defined  roving  commission  to 
watch  and  arrest  all  persons  who  seem  to  it  in  any  way  dangerous 
or  suspectes,  and  it  may  keep  such  in  confinement  for  an  indefinite 
time,  or  remove  them  to  some  distant  and  inhospitable  part  of  the 
Empire,  without  making  them  undergo  a  regular  trial.  It  is,  in 
short,  the  ordinary  instrument  for  punishing  political  dreamers. 


IMPEKIAL  ADMINISTRATION  AND  OFFICIALS    339 

suppressing  secret  societies,  counteracting  political  agitations,  and 
in  general  executing  the  extra-legal  orders  of  the  Government. 

My  relations  with  this  anomalous  branch  of  the  administration 
were  somewhat  peculiar.  After  my  experience  with  the  Vice- 
Governor  of  Novgorod  I  determined  to  place  myself  above  sus- 
picion, and  accordingly  applied  to  the  "  Chef  des  Gendarmes  "  for 
some  kind  of  official  document  which  would  prove  to  all  oflBcials 
with  whom  I  might  come  in  contact  that  I  had  no  illicit  designs. 
My  request  was  granted,  and  I  was  furnished  with  the  necessary 
documents ;  but  I  soon  found  that  in  seeking  to  avoid  Scylla  I  had 
fallen  into  Charybdis.  In  calming  official  suspicions,  I  inadvert- 
tently  aroused  suspicions  of  another  kind.  The  documents  proving 
that  I  enjoyed  the  protection  of  the  Government  made  many  people 
suspect  that  I  was  an  emissary  of  the  gendarmerie,  and  greatly 
impeded  me  in  my  efforts  to  collect  information  from  private 
sources.  As  the  private  were  for  me  more  important  than  the 
official  sources  of  information,  I  refrained  from  asking  for  a  re- 
newal of  the  protection,  and  wandered  about  the  country  as  an 
ordinary  unprotected  traveller.  For  some  time  I  had  no  cause  to 
regret  this  decision.  I  knew  that  I  was  pretty  closely  watched,  and 
that  my  letters  were  occasionally  opened  in  the  post-of^ce,  but  I 
was  subjected  to  no  further  inconvenience.  At  last,  when  I  had 
nearly  forgotten  all  about  Scylla  and  Charybdis,  I  one  night 
unexpectedly  ran  upon  the  former,  and,  to  my  astonishment, 
found  myself  formally  arrested!  The  incident  happened  in  this 
wise. 

I  had  been  visiting  Austria  and  Servia,  and  after  a  short  ab- 
sence returned  to  Eussia  through  Moldavia.  On  arriving  at 
the  Pruth,  which  there  forms  the  frontier,  I  found  an  officer  of 
gendarmerie,  whose  duty  it  was  to  examine  the  passports  of  all 
passers-by.  Though  my  passport  was  completely  en  regie,  having 
been  duly  vise  by  the  British  and  Russian  Consuls  at  Galatz,  this 
gentleman  subjected  me  to  a  searching  examination  regarding  my 
past  life,  actual  occupation,  and  intentions  for  the  future.  On 
learning  that  I  had  been  for  more  than  two  years  travelling  in 
Russia  at  my  o^vti  expense,  for  the  simple  purpose  of  collecting 
miscellaneous  information,  he  looked  incredulous,  and  seemed  to 
have  some  doubts  as  to  my  being  a  genuine  British  subject;  but 
when  my  statements  were  confirmed  by  my  travelling  companion, 
a  Russian  friend  who  carried  awe-inspiring  credentials,  he  counter- 
signed my  passport,  and  allowed  us  to  depart.  The  inspection  of 
OUT  luggage  by  the  custom-house  officers  was  soon  got  over ;  and  as  we 


340  EUSSIA 

drove  off  to  the  neighbouring  village  where  we  were  to  spend  the 
night  we  congratulated  ourselves  on  having  escaped  for  some  time 
from  all  contact  with  the  official  world.  In  this  we  were  "  reckon- 
ing without  the  host."  As  the  clock  struck  twelve  that  night  I 
was  roused  by  a  loud  knocking  at  my  door,  and  after  a  good  deal 
of  parley,  during  which  some  one  proposed  to  effect  an  entrance  by 
force,  I  drew  the  bolt.  The  officer  who  had  signed  my  passport 
entered,  and  said,  in  a  stiff,  official  tone,  "  I  must  request  you  to 
remain  here  for  twenty-four  hours." 

Not  a  little  astonished  by  this  announcement,  I  ventured  to  in- 
quire the  reason  for  this  strange  request. 

"  That  is  my  business,"  was  the  laconic  reply. 

"  Perhaps  it  is ;  still  you  must,  on  mature  consideration,  admit 
that  I  too  have  some  interest  in  the  matter.  To  my  extreme  regret 
I  cannot  comply  with  your  request,  and  must  leave  at  sunrise." 

"  You  shall  not  leave.     Give  me  your  passport." 

"  Unless  detained  by  force,  I  shall  start  at  four  o'clock ;  and  as 
I  wish  to  get  some  sleep  before  that  time,  I  must  request  you  in- 
stantly to  retire.  You  had  the  right  to  stop  me  at  the  frontier, 
but  you  have  no  right  to  come  and  disturb  me  in  this  fashion,  and 
I  shall  certainly  report  you.  My  passport  I  shall  give  to  none  but 
a  regular  officer  of  police." 

Here  followed  a  long  discussion  on  the  rights,  privileges,  and 
general  character  of  the  gendarmerie,  during  which  my  opponent 
gradually  laid  aside  his  dictatorial  tone,  and  endeavoured  to  con- 
vince me  that  the  honourable  body  to  which  he  belonged  was 
merely  an  ordinary  branch  of  the  administration.  Though  evi- 
dently irritated,  he  never,  I  must  say,  overstepped  the  bounds  of 
politeness,  and  seemed  only  half  convinced  that  he  was  Justified  in 
interfering  with  my  movements.  When  he  found  that  he  could 
not  induce  me  to  give  up  my  passport,  he  withdrew,  and  I  again 
lay  down  to  rest ;  but  in  about  half  an  hour  I  was  again  disturbed. 
This  time  an  officer  of  regular  police  entered,  and  demanded  my 
"  papers."  To  my  inquiries  as  to  the  reason  of  all  this  disturbance, 
he  replied,  in  a  very  polite,  apologetic  way,  that  he  knew  nothing 
about  the  reason,  but  he  had  received  orders  to  arrest  me,  and  must 
obey.  To  him  I  delivered  my  passport,  on  condition  that  I  should 
receive  a  written  receipt,  and  should  be  allowed  to  telegraph  to  the 
British  ambassador  in  St.  Petersburg. 

Early  next  morning  I  telegraphed  to  the  ambassador,  and  waited 
impatiently  all  day  for  a  reply.  I  was  allowed  to  walk  about  the 
village  and  the  immediate  vicinity,  but  of  this  permission  I  did  not 


IMPERIAL  ADMINISTRATION  AND  OFFICIALS    341 

make  much  use.  The  village  population  was  entirely  Jewish,  and 
Jews  in  that  part  of  the  world  have  a  wonderful  capacity  for 
spreading  intelligence.  By  the  early  morning  there  was  probably 
not  a  man,  woman,  or  child  in  the  place  who  had  not  heard  of  my 
arrest,  and  many  of  them  felt  a  not  unnatural  curiosity  to  see 
the  malefactor  who  had  been  caught  by  the  police.  To  be  stared 
at  as  a  malefactor  is  not  very  agreeable,  so  I  preferred  to  remain 
in  my  room,  where,  in  the  company  of  my  friend,  who  kindly 
remained  with  me  and  made  small  jokes  about  the  boasted  liberty 
of  British  subjects,  I  spent  the  time  pleasantly  enough.  The  most 
disagreeable  part  of  the  affair  was  the  uncertainty  as  to  how  many 
days,  weeks,  or  months  I  might  be  detained,  and  on  this  point 
the  police-officer  would  not  even  hazard  a  conjecture. 

The  detention  came  to  an  end  sooner  than  I  expected.  On  the 
following  day — that  is  to  say,  about  thirty-six  hours  after  the  noc- 
turnal visit — the  police-officer  brought  me  my  passport,  and  at  the 
same  time  a  telegram  from  the  British  Embassy  informed  me  that 
the  central  authorities  had  ordered  my  release.  On  my  after- 
wards pertinaciously  requesting  an  explanation  of  the  uncere- 
monious treatment  to  which  I  had  been  subjected,  the  Minister 
for  Foreign  Affairs  declared  that  the  authorities  expected  a  person 
of  my  name  to  cross  the  frontier  about  that  time  with  a  quantity 
of  false  bank-notes,  and  that  I  had  been  arrested  by  mistake.  I 
must  confess  that  this  explanation,  though  official,  seemed  to  me 
more  ingenious  than  satisfactory,  but  I  was  obliged  to  accept  it 
for  what  it  was  worth.  At  a  later  period  I  had  again  the  misfor- 
tune to  attract  the  attention  of  the  secret  police,  but  I  reserve  the 
incident  till  I  come  to  speak  of  my  relations  with  the  revolutionists. 

From  all  I  have  seen  and  heard  of  the  gendarmerie  I  am  dis- 
posed to  believe  that  the  officers  are  for  the  most  part  polite,  well- 
educated  men,  who  seek  to  fulfil  their  disagreeable  duties  in  as 
inoffensive  a  way  as  possible.  It  must,  however,  be  admitted  that 
they  are  generally  regarded  with  suspicion  and  dislike,  even  by 
those  people  who  fear  the  attempts  at  revolutionary  propaganda 
which  it  is  the  special  duty  of  the  gendarmerie  to  discover  and 
suppress.  Nor  need  this  surprise  us.  Though  very  many  people 
believe  in  the  necessity  of  capital  punishment,  there  are  few 
who  do  not  feel  a  decided  aversion  to  the  public  executioner. 

The  only  effectual  remedy  for  administrative  abuses  lies  in  plac- 
ing the  administration  under  public  control.  This  has  been  abun- 
dantly proved  in  Russia.  All  the  efforts  of  the  Tsars  during  many 
generations  to  check  the  evil  by  means  of  ingenious  bureaucratic 


343  EUSSIA 

devices  proved  utterly  fruitless.  Even  the  iron  will  and  gigantic 
enero-y  of  Nicholas  I.  were  insufficient  for  the  task.  But  when, 
after  the  Crimean  War,  there  was  a  great  moral  awakening,  and 
the  Tsar  called  the  people  to  his  assistance,  the  stubborn,  deep- 
rooted  evils  immediately  disappeared.  For  a  time  venality  and 
extortion  were  unknown,  and  since  that  period  they  have  never 
been  able  to  regain  their  old  force. 

At  the  present  moment  it  cannot  be  said  that  the  administration 
is  immaculate,  but  it  is  incomparably  purer  than  it  was  in  old 
times.  Though  public  opinion  is  no  longer  so  powerful  as  it  was 
in  the  early  sixties,  it  is  still  strong  enough  to  repress  many  mal- 
practices which  in  the  time  of  Nicholas  I.  and  his  predecessors 
were  too  frequent  to  attract  attention.  On  this  subject  I  shall  have 
more  to  say  hereafter. 

If  administrative  abuses  are  rife  in  the  Empire  of  the  Tsars,  it 
is  not  from  any  want  of  carefully  prepared  laws.  In  no  country 
in  the  world,  perhaps,  is  the  legislation  more  voluminous,  and  in 
theory,  not  only  the  officials,  but  even  the  Tsar  himself,  must  obey 
the  laws  he  has  sanctioned,  like  the  meanest  of  his  subjects.  This 
is  one  of  those  cases,  not  infrequent  in  Eussia,  in  which  theory- 
differs  somewhat  from  practice.  In  real  life  the  Emperor  may  at 
any  moment  override  the  law  by  means  of  what  is  called  a  Su- 
preme Command  {vysotchdishiye  povelenie),  and  a  minister  may 
"  interpret "  a  law  in  any  way  he  pleases  by  means  of  a  circular. 
This  is  a  frequent  cause  of  complaint  even  among  those  who  wish 
to  uphold  the  Autocratic  Power.  In  their  opinion  law-respecting 
autocracy  wielded  by  a  strong  Tsar  is  an  excellent  institution  for 
Eussia ;  it  is  arbitrary  autocracy  wielded  by  irresponsible  ministers 
that  they  object  to. 

As  Englishmen  may  have  some  difficulty  in  imagining  how 
laws  can  come  into  being  without  a  Parliament  or  Legislative 
Chamber  of  some  sort,  I  shall  explain  briefly  how  they  are  manu- 
factured by  the  Eussian  bureaucratic  machine  without  the  assist- 
ance of  representative  institutions. 

When  a  minister  considers  that  some  institution  in  his  branch 
of  the  service  requires  to  be  reformed,  he  begins  by  submitting  to 
the  Emperor  a  formal  report  on  the  matter.  If  the  Emperor 
agrees  with  his  minister  as  to  the  necessity  for  reform,  he  orders  a 
Commission  to  be  appointed  for  the  purpose  of  considering  the 
subject  and  preparing  a  definite  legislative  project.  The  Com- 
mission meets  and  sets  to  work  in  what  seems  a  very  thorough  way. 
It  first  studies  the  history  of  the  institution  in  Eussia  from  the 


IMPERIAL  ADMINISTRATION  AND  OFFICIALS    343 

earliest  times  downwards — or  rather,  it  listens  to  an  essay  on  the 
subject,  especially  prepared  for  the  occasion  by  some  official  who 
has  a  taste  for  historical  studies,  and  can  write  in  a  pleasant  style. 
The  next  step — to  use  a  phrase  which  often  occurs  in  the  minutes 
of  such  commissions — consists  in  "  sheddinf^  the  lifjht  of  science 
on  the  question"  (prolit'  na  dyclo  svet  nauki).  This  important 
operation  is  performed  by  preparing  a  memorial  containing  the  his- 
tory of  similar  institutions  in  foreign  countries,  and  an  elaborate 
exposition  of  numerous  theories  held  by  French  and  German  philo- 
sophical jurists.  In  these  memorials  it  is  often  considered  neces- 
sary to  include  every  European  country  except  Turkey,  and  some- 
times the  small  German  States  and  principal  Swiss  cantons  are 
treated  separately. 

To  illustrate  the  character  of  these  wonderful  productions,  let 
me  give  an  example.  From  a  pile  of  such  papers  lying  before  me 
I  take  one  almost  at  random.  It  is  a  memorial  relating  to  a  pro- 
posed reform  of  benevolent  institutions.  First  I  find  a  philosoph- 
ical disquisition  on  benevolence  in  general;  next,  some  remarks 
on  the  Talmud  and  the  Koran;  then  a  reference  to  the  treatment 
of  paupers  in  Athens  after  the  Peloponnesian  War,  and  in  Rome 
under  the  ertiperors:  then  some  vague  observations  on  the  Middle 
Ages,  with  a  quotation  that  was  evidently  intended  to  be  Latin; 
lastly,  comes  an  account  of  the  poor-laws  of  modern  times,  in 
which  I  meet  with  "  the  Anglo-Saxon  domination,"  King  Egbert, 
King  Ethelred,  "  a  remarkable  book  of  Icelandic  laws,  called 
Hragas";  Sweden  and  Norway,  France,  Holland,  Belgium,  Prus- 
sia, and  nearly  all  the  minor  German  States.  The  most  wonderful 
thing  is  that  all  this  mass  of  historical  information,  extending 
from  the  Talmud  to  the  most  recent  legislation  of  Hesse-Darm- 
stadt, is  compressed  into  twenty-one  octavo  pages !  The  doctrinal 
part  of  the  memorandum  is  not  less  rich.  Many  respected  names 
from  the  literature  of  Germany,  France,  and  England  are  forcibly 
dragged  in;  and  the  general  conclusion  drawn  from  this  mass  of 
raw,  undigested  materials  is  believed  to  be  "the  latest  results  of 
science." 

Does  the  reader  suspect  that  I  have  here  chosen  an  extremely 
exceptional  case?  If  so,  let  us  take  the  next  paper  in  the  file.  It 
refers  to  a  project  of  law  regarding  imprisonment  for  debt.  On 
the  first  page  I  find  references  to  "  the  Salic  laws  of  the  fifth 
century,"  and  the  "  Assises  de  Jerusalem,  a.d  1099."  That,  I 
think,  will  suffice.    Let  us  pass,  then,  to  the  next  step. 

When  the  quintessence  of  hmnan  wisdom  and  experience  has 


344  RUSSIA 

thus  been  extracted,  the  commission  considers  how  the  valuable 
product  may  be  applied  to  Russia,  so  as  to  harmonise  with  the 
existing  general  conditions  and  local  peculiarities.  For  a  man  of 
practical  mind  this  is,  of  course,  the  most  interesting  and  most 
important  part  of  the  operation,  but  from  Russian  legislators  it 
receives  comparatively  little  attention.  Very  often  have  I  turned 
to  this  section  of  official  papers  in  order  to  obtain  information  re- 
garding the  actual  state  of  the  country,  and  in  every  case  I  have 
been  grievously  disappointed.  Vague  general  phrases,  founded 
on  a  priori  reasoning  rather  than  on  observation,  together  with  a 
few  statistical  tables — which  the  cautious  investigator  should 
avoid  as  he  would  an  ambuscade — are  too  often  all  that  is  to  be 
found.  Through  the  thin  veil  of  pseudo-erudition  the  real  facts 
are  clear  enough.  These  philosophical  legislators,  who  have  spent 
their  lives  in  the  official  atmosphere  of  St.  Petersburg,  know  as 
much  about  Russia  as  the  genuine  cockney  knows  about  Great 
Britain,  and  in  this  part  of  their  work  they  derive  no  assistance 
from  the  learned  German  treatises  which  supply  an  unlimited 
amount  of  historical  facts  and  philosophical  speculation. 

From  the  commission  the  project  passes  to  the  Council  of  State, 
where  it  is  certainly  examined  and  criticised,  and  perhaps  modified, 
but  it  is  not  likely  to  be  improved  from  the  practical  point  of  view, 
because  the  members  of  the  Council  are  merely  ci-devant  mem- 
bers of  similar  commissions,  hardened  by  a  few  additional  years 
of  official  routine.  The  Council  is,  in  fact,  an  assembly  of  tchinov- 
niks  who  know  little  of  the  practical,  everyday  wants  of  the  un- 
official classes.  No  merchant,  manufacturer,  or  farmer  ever  enters 
its  sacred  precincts,  so  that  its  bureaucratic  serenity  is  rarely  dis- 
turbed by  practical  objections.  It  is  not  surprising,  therefore, 
that  it  has  been  known  to  pass  laws  which  were  found  at  once  to 
be  absolutely  unworkable. 

From  the  Council  of  State  the  Bill  is  taken  to  the  Emperor, 
and  he  generally  begins  by  examining  the  signatures.  The  "  Ayes  " 
are  in  one  column  and  the  "Noes"  in  another.  If  his  Majesty 
is  not  specially  acquainted  with  the  matter — and  he  cannot  pos- 
sibly be  acquainted  with  all  the  matters  submitted  to  him — ^he 
usually  signs  with  the  majority,  or  on  the  side  where  he  sees  the 
names  of  officials  in  whose  judgment  he  has  special  confidence; 
but  if  he  has  strong  views  of  his  own,  he  places  his  signature  in 
whichever  column  he  thinks  fit,  and  it  outweighs  the  signatures  of 
any  number  of  Councillors.  Whatever  side  he  supports,  that  side 
"has  it,"  and  in  this  way  a  small  minority  may  be  transformed 


IMPERIAL  ADMINISTRATION  AND  OFFICIALS    345 

into  a  majority.  When  the  important  question,  for  example,  as  to 
how  far  classics  should  be  tauglit  in  the  ordinary  schools  was  con- 
sidered by  the  Council,  it  is  said  that  only  two  members  signed  in 
favour  of  classical  education,  which  was  excessively  unpopular 
at  the  moment,  but  the  Emperor  Alexander  III.,  disregarding  pub- 
lic opinion  and  the  advice  of  his  Councillors,  threw  his  signature 
into  the  lighter  scale,  and  the  classicists  were  victorious. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

MOSCOW    AND    THE    SLAVOPHILS 

Two  Ancient  Cities — Kief  Not  a  Good  Point  for  Studying  Old  Russian 
National  Life — Great  Russians  and  Little  Russians — Moscow — 
Easter  Eve  in  the  Kremlin — Curious  Custom — Anecdote  of  the 
Emperor  Nicholas — Domiciliary  Visits  of  the  Iberian  Madonna — 
The  Streets  of  Moscow — Recent  Changes  in  the  Character  of  the 
City — Vulgar  Conception  of  the  Slavoi)hils — Opinion  Founded  on 
Personal  Acquaintance — Slavophil  Sentiment  a  Century  Ago — Ori- 
gin and  Development  of  the  Slavophil  Doctrine — Slavophilism 
Essentially  Muscovite — The  Panslavist  Element — The  Slavophils 
and  the  Emancipation. 

IN  the  last  chapter,  as  in  many  of  the  preceding  ones,  the  reader 
must  have  observed  that  at  one  moment  there  was  a  sudden 
break,  almost  a  solution  of  continuity,  in  Russian  national  life. 
The  Tsardom  of  Muscovy,  with  its  ancient  Oriental  costumes  and 
Byzantine  traditions,  unexpectedly  disappears,  and  the  Russian 
Empire,  clad  in  modern  garb  and  animated  with  the  spirit  of 
modern  progress,  steps  forward  uninvited  into  European  history. 
Of  the  older  civilisation,  if  civilisation  it  can  be  called,  very  little 
survived  the  political  transformation,  and  that  little  is  generally 
supposed  to  hover  ghostlike  around  Kief  and  Moscow.  To  one  or 
other  of  these  towns,  therefore,  the  student  who  desires  to  learn 
something  of  genuine  old  Russian  life,  untainted  by  foreign  in- 
fluences, naturally  wends  his  way.  For  my  part  I  thought  first  of 
settling  for  a  time  in  Kief,  the  oldest  and  most  revered  of  Russian 
cities,  where  missionaries  from  Byzantium  first  planted  Christianity 
on  Russian  soil,  and  where  thousands  of  pilgrims  still  assemble 
yearly  from  far  and  near  to  prostrate  themselves  before  the  Holy 
Icons  in  the  churches  and  to  venerate  the  relics  of  the  blessed  saints 
and  martyrs  in  the  catacombs  of  the  great  monastery.  I  soon  dis- 
covered, however,  that  Kief,  though  it  represents  in  a  certain  sense 
the  Byzantine  traditions  so  dear  to  the  Russian  people,  is  not  a 
good  point  of  observation  for  studying  the  Russian  character.  It 
was  early  exposed  to  the  ravages  of  the  nomadic  tribes  of  the 
Steppe,  and  when  it  was  liberated  from  those  incursions  it  was 
seized  by  the  Poles  and  Lithuanians,  and  remained  for  centuries 

346 


MOSCOW    AND    THE    SLAVOPHILS  347 

under  their  domination.  Only  in  comparatively  recent  timed  did 
it  begin  to  recover  its  Russian  character — a  university  having  been 
created  there  for  that  purpose  after  the  Polish  insurrection  of 
1830.  Even  now  the  process  of  Russification  is  far  from  complete, 
and  the  Russian  elements  in  the  population  are  far  from  being 
pure  in  the  nationalist  sense.  The  city  and  the  surrounding  country 
are,  in  fact,  Little  Russian  rather  than  Great  Russian,  and  be- 
tween these  two  sections  of  the  population  there  are  profound  dif- 
ferences— differences  of  language,  costume,  traditions,  popular 
songs,  proverbs,  folk-lore,  domestic  arrangements,  mode  of  life,  and 
Communal  organisation.  In  these  and  other  respects  the  Little 
Russians,  South  Russians,  Ruthenes,  or  Khokhly,  as  they  are  va- 
riously designated,  differ  from  the  Great  Russians  of  the  North, 
who  form  the  predominant  factor  in  the  Empire,  and  who  have 
given  to  that  wonderful  structure  its  essential  characteristics.  In- 
deed, if  I  did  not  fear  to  ruffle  unnecessarily  the  patriotic  suscep- 
tibilities of  my  Great  Russian  friends  who  have  a  pet  theory  on 
this  subject,  I  should  say  that  we  have  here  two  distinct  nation- 
alities, further  apart  from  each  other  than  the  English  and  the 
Scotch.  The  differences  are  due,  I  believe,  partly  to  ethnographical 
peculiarities  and  partly  to  historic  conditions. 

As  it  was  the  energetic  Great  Russian  empire-builders  and  not 
the  half-dreamy,  half-astute,  sympathetic  descendants  of  the  Free 
Cossacks  that  I  wanted  to  study,  I  soon  abandoned  my  idea  of 
settling  in  the  Holy  City  on  the  Dnieper,  and  chose  Moscow  as  my 
point  of  observation ;  and  here,  during  several  years,  I  spent  regu- 
larly some  of  the  winter  months. 

The  first  few  weeks  of  my  stay  in  the  ancient  capital  of  the 
Tsars  were  spent  in  the  ordinary  manner  of  intelligent  tourists. 
After  mastering  the  contents  of  a  guide-book  I  carefully  inspected 
all  the  officially  recognised  objects  of  interest — the  Kremlin,  with 
its  picturesque  towers  and  six  centuries  of  historical  associations; 
the  Cathedrals,  containing  the  venerated  tombs  of  martyrs,  saints, 
and  Tsars;  the  old  churches,  with  their  quaint,  archaic,  richly  dec- 
orated Icons ;  the  "  Patriarchs'  Treasury,"  rich  in  jewelled  eccle- 
siastical vestments  and  vessels  of  silver  and  gold;  the  ancient  and 
the  modern  palace;  the  Ethnological  Museum,  showing  the  cos- 
tumes and  physiognomy  of  all  the  various  races  in  the  Empire; 
the  archaeological  collections,  containing  many  objects  that  recall 
the  barbaric  splendour  of  old  Muscovy;  the  picture-gallery,  with 
Ivanof's  gigantic  picture,  in  which  patriotic  Russian  critics  dis- 
cover occult  merits  which  place  it  above  anything  that  Western 


348  EUSSIA 

Europe  has  yet  produced!  Of  course  I  climbed  up  to  the  top  of 
the  tall  belfry  which  rejoices  in  the  name  of  "Ivan  the  Great/' 
and  looked  down  on  the  "  gilded  domes  "  *  of  the  churches,  and 
bright  green  roofs  of  the  houses,  and  far  away,  beyond  these,  the 
gently  undulating  country  with  the  "  Sparrow  Hills,"  from  which 
Napoleon  is  said,  in  cicerone  language,  to  have  "gazed  upon  the 
doomed  city."  Occasionally  I  walked  about  the  bazaars  in  the 
hope  of  finding  interesting  specimens  of  genuine  native  art-indus- 
try, and  was  urgently  invited  to  purchase  every  conceivable  article 
which  I  did  not  want.  At  midday  or  in  the  evening  I  visited  the 
most  noted  traMirs,  and  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  caviar, 
sturgeons,  sterlets,  and  other  native  delicacies  for  which  these  insti- 
tutions are  famous — deafened  the  while  by  the  deep  tones  of  the 
colossal  barrel-organ,  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  size  of  the  room; 
and  in  order  to  see  how  the  common  people  spent  their  evenings 
I  looked  in  at  some  of  the  more  modest  traMirs,  and  gazed  with 
wonder,  not  unmixed  with  fear,  at  the  enormous  quantity  of  weak 
tea  which  the  inmates  consumed. 

Since  these  first  weeks  of  my  sojourn  in  Moscow  more  than 
thirty  years  have  passed,  and  many  of  my  early  impressions  have 
been  blurred  by  time,  but  one  scene  remains  deeply  graven  on  my 
memory.  It  was  Easter  Eve,  and  I  had  gone  with  a  friend  to  the 
Kremlin  to  witness  the  customary  religious  ceremonies.  Though 
the  rain  was  falling  heavily,  an  immense  number  of  people  had 
assembled  in  and  around  the  Cathedral  of  the  Assumption.  The 
crowd  was  of  the  most  mixed  kind.  There  stood  the  patient 
bearded  muzhik  in  his  well-worn  sheepskin;  the  big,  burly, 
self-satisfied  merchant  in  his  long  black  glossy  Tcaftan;  the 
noble  with  fashionable  great-coat  and  umbrella;  thinly  clad  old 
women  shivering  in  the  cold,  and  bright-eyed  young  damsels  with 
their  warm  cloaks  drawn  closely  round  them;  old  men  with  long 
beard,  wallet,  and  pilgrim's  staff;  and  mischievous  urchins  with 
faces  for  the  moment  preternaturally  demure.  Each  right  hand, 
of  old  and  young  alike,  held  a  lighted  taper,  and  these  myriads  of 
flickering  little  flames  produced  a  curious  illumination,  giving  to 
the  surrounding  buildings  a  weird  pieturesqueness  which  they  do 
not  possess  in  broad  daylight.  All  stood  patiently  waiting  for  the 
announcement  of  the  glad  tidings :  "  He  is  risen !  "  As  midnight 
approached,  the  hum  of  voices  gradually  ceased,  till,  as  the  clock 

*  Allowance  must  be  made  here  for  poetical  licence.  In  reality,  very 
few  of  the  domes  are  gilt.  The  great  majority  of  them  are  painted 
green,  like  the  roofs  of  the  houses. 


MOSCOW   AND   THE    SLAVOPHILS  349 

struck  twelve,  the  deep-toned  bell  on  "  Ivan  the  Great "  began  to 
toll,  and  in  answer  to  this  signal  all  the  bells  in  Moscow  suddenly 
sent  forth  a  merry  peal.  Each  bell — and  their  name  is  legion — 
seemed  frantically  desirous  of  drowning  its  neighbour's  voice,  the 
solemn  boom  of  the  great  one  overliead  mingling  curiously  with 
the  sharp,  fussy  "  ting-a-ting-ting "  of  diminutive  rivals.  If  de- 
mons dwell  in  Moscow  and  dislike  bell-ringing,  as  is  generally  sup- 
posed, then  there  must  have  been  at  that  moment  a  general  stam- 
pede of  the  powers  of  darkness  such  as  is  described  by  Milton  in 
his  poem  on  the  Nativity,  and  as  if  this  deafening  din  were 
not  enough,  big  guns  were  fired  in  rapid  succession  from  a  battery 
of  artillery  close  at  hand !  The  noise  seemed  to  stimulate  the 
religious  enthusiasm,  and  the  general  excitement  had  a  wonderful 
effect  on  a  Russian  friend  who  accompanied  me.  When  in  his  nor- 
mal condition  that  gentleman  was  a  quiet,  undemonstrative  person, 
devoted  to  science,  an  ardent  adherent  of  Western  civilisation  in 
general  and  of  Darwinism  in  particular,  and  a  thorough  sceptic 
with  regard  to  all  forms  of  religious  belief;  but  the  influence  of 
the  surroundings  was  too  much  for  his  philosophical  equanimity. 
For  a  moment  his  orthodox  Muscovite  soul  awoke  from  its  scep- 
tical, cosmopolitan  lethargy.  After  crossing  himself  repeatedly — 
an  act  of  devotion  which  I  had  never  before  seen  him  perform — 
he  grasped  my  arm,  and,  pointing  to  the  crowd,  said  in  an  exultant 
tone  of  voice,  "  Look  there !  There  is  a  sight  that  you  can  see 
nowhere  but  in  the  '  White-stone  City.'  *  Are  not  the  Russians  a 
religious  people  ?  " 

To  this  unexpected  question  I  gave  a  monosyllabic  assent,  and 
refrained  from  disturbing  my  friend's  new-born  enthusiasm  by  any 
discordant  note;  but  I  must  confess  that  this  sudden  outburst  of 
deafening  noise  and  the  dazzling  light  aroused  in  my  heretical 
breast  feelings  of  a  warlike  rather  than  a  religious  kind.  For  a 
moment  I  could  imagine  myself  in  ancient  Moscow,  and  could 
fancy  the  people  being  called  out  to  repel  a  Tartar  horde  already 
thundering  at  the  gates ! 

The  service  lasted  two  or  three  hours,  and  terminated  with  the 
curious  ceremony  of  blessing  the  Easter  cakes,  which  were  ranged 
— each  one  with  a  lighted  taper  stuck  in  it — in  long  rows  outside 
of  the  cathedral.  A  not  less  curious  custom  practised  at  this  sea- 
son is  that  of  exchanging  kisses  of  fraternal  love.  Theoretically 
one  ought  to  embrace  and  be  embraced  by  all  present — indicating 

*  Belokamenny,  meaaiug  "  of  white  stone,"  is  one  of  the  popular 
names  of  Moscow. 


350  RUSSIA 

thereby  that  all  are  brethren  in  Christ — but  the  refinements  of 
modern  life  have  made  innovations  in  the  practice,  and  most  people 
confine  their  salutations  to  their  friends  and  acquaintances.  When 
two  friends  meet  during  that  night  or  on  the  following  day,  the 
one  says,  "  Christos  voskres!"  ("Christ  hath  risen!");  and  the 
other  replies,  "  Vo  istine  voskres !  "  ("  In  truth  He  hath  risen !  "). 
They  then  kiss  each  other  three  times  on  the  right  and  left  cheek 
alternately.  The  custom  is  more  or  less  observed  in  all  classes  of 
society,  and  the  Emperor  himself  conforms  to  it. 

This  reminds  me  of  an  anecdote  which  is  related  of  the  Em- 
peror Nicholas  I.,  tending  to  show  that  he  was  not  so  devoid  of 
kindly  human  feelings  as  his  imperial  and  imperious  exterior  sug- 
gested. On  coming  out  of  his  cabinet  one  Easter  morning  he  ad- 
dressed to  the  soldier  who  was  mounting  guard  at  the  door  the 
ordinary  words  of  salutation,  "  Christ  hath  risen ! "  and  received 
instead  of  the  ordinary  reply,  a  flat  contradiction — "  Not  at  all, 
your  Imperial  Majesty ! "  Astounded  by  such  an  unexpected  an- 
swer— for  no  one  ventured  to  dissent  from  Nicholas  even  in  the 
most  guarded  and  respectful  terms — he  instantly  demanded  an 
explanation.  The  soldier,  trembling  at  his  own  audacity,  explained 
that  he  was  a  Jew,  and  could  not  conscientiously  admit  the  fact  of 
the  Eesurrection.  This  boldness  for  conscience'  sake  so  pleased  the 
Tsar  that  he  gave  the  man  a  handsome  Easter  present. 

A  quarter  of  a  century  after  the  Easter  Eve  above  mentioned — 
or,  to  be  quite  accurate,  on  the  26th  of  May,  1896 — I  again  find  my- 
self in  the  Kremlin  on  the  occasion  of  a  great  religious  ceremony — 
a  ceremony  which  shows  that  "  the  White-stone  City "  on  the 
Moskva  is  still  in  some  respects  the  capital  of  Holy  Eussia.  This 
time  my  post  of  observation  is  inside  the  cathedral,  which  is  artis- 
tically draped  with  purple  hangings  and  crowded  with  the  most 
distinguished  personages  of  the  Empire,  all  arrayed  in  gorgeous 
apparel — Grand  Dukes  and  Grand  Duchesses,  Imperial  High- 
nesses and  High  Excellencies,  Metropolitans  and  Archbishops,  Sen- 
ators and  Councillors  of  State,  Generals  and  Court  dignitaries. 
In  the  centre  of  the  building,  on  a  high,  richly  decorated  platform, 
sits  the  Emperor  with  his  Imperial  Consort,  and  his  mother,  the 
widowed  Consort  of  Alexander  III.  Though  Nicholas  II.  has  not 
the  colossal  stature  which  has  distinguished  so  many  of  the  Eo- 
manofs,  he  is  well  built,  holds  himself  erect,  and  shows  a  quiet 
dignity  in  his  movements;  while  his  face,  which  resembles  that  of 
his  cousin,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  wears  a  kindly,  sympathetic  ex- 
pression.   The  Empress  looks  even  more  than  usually  beautiful^  in 


MOSCOW    AND    THE    SLAVOPHILS  351 

a  low  dress  cut  in  the  ancient  fashion,  her  thick  brown  hair,  dressed 
most  simply  without  jewellery  or  other  ornaments,  falling  in  two 
long  ringlets  over  her  white  shoulders.  For  the  moment,  her  attire 
is  much  simpler  than  that  of  the  Empress  Dowager,  who  wears  a 
diamond  crown,  and  a  great  mantle  of  gold  brocade,  lined  and 
edged  with  ermine,  the  long  'train  displaying  in  bright-coloured 
embroidery  the  heraldic  double-headed  eagle  of  the  Imperial  arms. 

Each  of  these  august  personages  sits  on  a  throne  of  curious  work- 
manship, consecrated  by  ancient  historic  associations.  That  of  the 
Emperor,  the  gift  of  the  Shah  of  Persia  to  Ivan  the  Terrible,  and 
commonly  called  the  Throne  of  Tsar  Michael,  the  founder  of  the 
Romanof  dynasty,  is  covered  with  gold  plaques,  and  studded  with 
hundreds  of  big,  roughly  cut  precious  stones,  mostly  rubies,  emer- 
alds, and  turquoises.  Of  still  older  date  is  the  throne  of  the 
young  Empress,  for  it  was  given  by  Pope  Paul  II.  to  Tsar  Ivan 
III.,  grandfather  of  the  Terrible,  on  the  occasion  of  his  marriage 
with  a  niece  of  the  last  Byzantine  Emperor.  More  recent  but  not 
less  curious  is  that  of  the  Empress  Dowager.  It  is  the  throne  of 
Tsar  Alexis,  the  father  of  Peter  the  Great,  covered  with  countless 
and  priceless  diamonds,  rubies,  and  pearls,  and  surmounted  by 
an  Imperial  eagle  of  solid  gold,  together  with  golden  statuettes  of 
St.  Peter  and  St.  Nicholas,  the  miracle-worker.  Over  each  throne 
is  a  canopy  of  purple  velvet  fringed  with  gold,  out  of  which  rise 
stately  plumes  representing  the  national  colours. 

Their  Majesties  have  come  hither,  in  accordance  with  time- 
honoured  custom,  to  be  crowned  in  this  old  Cathedral  of  the  As- 
sumption, the  central  point  of  the  Kremlin,  within  a  stone-throw  of 
the  Cathedral  of  the  Archangel  Michael,  in  which  lie  the  remains 
of  the  old  Grand  Dukes  and  Tsars  of  Muscovy.  Already  the  Em- 
peror has  read  aloud,  in  a  clear,  imf altering  voice,  from  a  richly 
bound  parchment  folio,  held  by  the  Metropolitan  of  St.  Peters- 
burg, the  Orthodox  creed;  and  his  Eminence,  after  invoking  on 
his  Majesty  the  blessing  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  has  performed  the 
mystic  rite  of  placing  his  hands  in  the  form  of  a  cross  on  the  Im- 
perial forehead.  Thus  all  is  ready  for  the  most  important  part  of 
the  solemn  ceremony.  Standing  erect,  the  Emperor  doffs  his  small 
diadem  and  puts  on  with  his  own  hands  the  great  diamond  crown, 
offered  respectfully  by  the  Metropolitan ;  then  he  reseats  himself  on 
his  throne,  holding  in  his  right  hand  the  Sceptre  and  in  his  left 
the  Orb  of  Dominion.  After  sitting  thus  in  state  for  a  few  min- 
utes, he  stands  up  and  proceeds  to  crown  his  august  spouse,  kneel- 
ing before  him.    First  he  touches  her  forehead  with  his  own  crown, 


352  EUSSIA 

and  then  he  places  on  her  head  a  smaller  one,  which  is  immediately- 
attached  to  her  hair  by  four  ladies-in-waiting,  dressed  in  the  old 
Muscovite  Court-costume.  At  the  same  time  her  Majesty  is  in- 
vested with  a  mantle  of  heavy  gold  brocade,  similar  to  those  of  the 
Emperor  and  Empress  Dowager,  lined  and  bordered  with  ermine. 

Thus  crowned  and  robed  their  Majesties  sit  in  state,  while  a 
proto-deacon  reads,  in  a  loud  stentorian  voice,  the  long  list  of 
sonorous  hereditary  titles  belonging  of  right  to  the  Imperator  and 
Autocrat  of  all  the  Eussias,  and  the  choir  chants  a  prayer  invoking 
long  life  and  happiness — "  Many  years !  Many  years !  Many 
years ! " — on  the  high  and  mighty  possessor  of  the  titles  aforesaid. 
And  now  begins  the  Mass,  celebrated  with  a  pomp  and  magnifi- 
cence that  can  be  witnessed  only  once  or  twice  in  a  generation. 
Sixty  gorgeously  robed  ecclesiastical  dignitaries  of  the  highest  or- 
ders fulfil  their  various  functions  with  due  solemnity  and  unction; 
but  the  magnificence  of  the  vestments  and  the  pomp  of  the  cere- 
monial are  soon  forgotten  in  the  exquisite  solemnising  music,  as 
the  deep  double-bass  tones  of  the  adult  singers  in  the  background 
— carefully  selected  for  the  occasion  in  all  parts  of  the  Empire — 
peal  forth  as  from  a  great  organ,  and  blend  marvellously  with 
the  clear,  soft,  gentle  notes  of  the  red-robed  chorister  boys  in 
front  of  the  Iconostase.  Listening  with  intense  emotion,  I  involun- 
tarily recall  to  mind  Era  Angelico's  pictures  of  angelic  choirs,  and 
cannot  help  thinking  that  the  pious  old  Florentine,  whose  soul  was 
attuned  to  all  that  was  sacred  and  beautiful,  must  have  heard  in 
imagination  such  music  as  this.  So  strong  is  the  impression  that 
the  subsequent  details  of  the  long  ceremony,  including  the  anoint- 
ing with  the  holy  chrism,  fail  to  engrave  themselves  on  my  mem- 
ory. One  incident,  however,  remains;  and  if  it  had  happened  in 
an  earlier  and  more  superstitious  age  it  would  doubtless  have 
been  chronicled  as  an  omen  full  of  significance.  As  the  Em- 
peror is  on  the  point  of  descending  from  the  dais,  duly  crowned 
and  anointed,  a  staggering  ray  of  sunshine  steals  through  one  of  the 
narrow  upper  windows  and,  traversing  the  dimly  lit  edifice,  falls 
full  on  the  Imperial  crown,  lighting  up  for  a  moment  the  great 
mass  of  diamonds  with  a  hundredfold  brilliance. 

In  a  detailed  account  of  the  Coronation  which  I  wrote  on  leav- 
ing the  Kremlin,  I  find  the  following :  "  The  magnificent  cere- 
mony is  at  an  end,  and  now  Nicholas  II.  is  the  crowned  Emperor 
and  anointed  Autocrat  of  all  the  Eussias.  May  the  cares  of  Em- 
pire rest  lightly  on  him !  That  must  be  the  earnest  prayer  of  every 
loyal  subject  and  every  sincere  well-wisher,  for  of  all  living  mor- 


MOSCOW   AND   THE    SLAVOPHILS  353 

tals  he  is  perhaps  the  one  who  has  been  entrusted  by  Providence 
with  the  greatest  power  and  the  greatest  responsibilities."  In 
writing  those  words  I  did  not  foresee  how  heavy  his  responsibili- 
ties would  one  day  weigh  upon  him,  when  his  Empire  would  be 
sorely  tried,  by  foreign  war  and  internal  discontent. 

One  more  of  these  old  Moscow  reminiscences,  and  I  have  done. 
A  day  or  two  after  the  Coronation  I  saw  the  Khodinskoye  Polye, 
a  great  plain  in  the  outskirts  of  Moscow,  strewn  with  hundreds  of 
corpses!  During  the  previous  night  enormous  crowds  from  the 
city  and  the  surrounding  districts  had  collected  here  in  order  to 
receive  at  sunrise,  by  the  Tsar's  command,  a  little  memento  of  the 
coronation  ceremony,  in  the  form  of  a  packet  containing  a  metal 
cup  and  a  few  eatables ;  and  as  day  dawned,  in  their  anxiety  to  get 
near  the  row  of  booths  from  which  the  distribution  was  to  be  made, 
about  two  thousand  had  been  crushed  to  death.  It  was  a  sight 
more  horrible  than  a  battlefield,  because  among  tlie  dead  were  a 
large  proportion  of  women  and  children,  terribly  mutilated  in  the 
struggle.    Altogether,  "  a  sight  to  shudder  at,  not  to  see !  " 

To  return  to  the  remark  of  my  friend  in  the  Kremlin  on  Easter 
Eve,  the  Russians  in  general,  and  the  Muscovites  in  particular, 
as  the  quintessence  of  all  that  is  Eussian,  are  certainly  a  religious 
people,  but  their  piety  sometimes  finds  modes  of  expression  which 
rather  shock  the  Protestant  mind.  As  an  instance  of  these,  I  may 
mention  the  domiciliary  visits  of  the  Iberian  Madonna.  This 
celebrated  Icon,  for  reasons  which  I  have  never  heard  satisfactorily 
explained,  is  held  in  peculiar  veneration  by  the  Muscovites,  and 
occupies  in  popular  estimation  a  position  analogous  to  the  tutelary 
deities  of  ancient  pagan  cities.  Thus  when  Napoleon  was  about 
to  enter  the  city  in  1813,  the  populace  clamorously  called  upon  the 
j\Ietropolitan  to  take  the  Madonna,  and  lead  them  out  armed  with 
hatchets  against  the  hosts  of  the  infidel ;  and  when  the  Tsar  visits 
Moscow  he  generally  drives  straight  from  the  railway-station  to 
the  little  chapel  where  the  Icon  resides — near  one  of  the  entrances 
to  the  Kremlin — and  there  offers  up  a  short  prayer.  Every  Ortho- 
dox Eussian,  as  he  passes  this  chapel,  uncovers  and  crosses  himself, 
and  whenever  a  religious  service  is  performed  in  it  there  is  always 
a  considerable  group  of  worshippers.  Some  of  the  richer  inhabi- 
tants, however,  are  not  content  with  thus  performing  their  devo- 
tions in  public  before  the  Icon.  They  like  to  have  it  from  time 
to  time  in  their  houses,  and  the  ecclesiastical  authorities  think  fit 
to  humour  this  strange  fancy.  Accordingly  every  morning  the 
Iberian  Madonna  may  be  seen  driving  about  the  city  from  one 


354  KUSSIA 

house  to  another  in  a  carriage  and  four!  The  carriage  may  be 
at  once  recognised,  not  from  any  peculiarity  in  its  structure,  for 
it  is  an  ordinary  close  carriage  such  as  may  be  obtained  at  livery 
stables,  but  by  the  fact  that  the  coachman  sits  bare-headed,  and  all 
the  people  in  the  street  uncover  and  cross  themselves  as  it  passes. 
Arrived  at  the  house  to  which  it  has  been  invited,  the  Icon  is  carried 
through  all  the  rooms,  and  in  the  principal  apartment  a  short 
religious  service  is  performed  before  it.  As  it  is  being  brought  in 
or  taken  away,  female  servants  may  sometimes  be  seen  to  kneel 
on  the  floor  so  that  it  may  be  carried  over  them.  During  its 
absence  from  its  chapel  it  is  replaced  by  a  copy  not  easily  distin- 
guishable from  the  original,  and  thus  the  devotions  of  the  faithful 
and  the  flow  of  pecuniary  contributions  do  not  suffer  interruption. 
These  contributions,  together  with  the  sums  paid  for  the  domi- 
ciliary visits,  amount  to  a  considerable  yearly  sum,  and  go — if  I 
am  rightly  informed — to  swell  the  revenues  of  the  Metropolitan. 

A  single  drive  or  stroll  through  Moscow  will  suffice  to  convince 
the,  traveller,  even  if  he  knows  nothing  of  Eussian  history,  that 
the  city  is  not,  like  its  modern  rival  on  the  Neva,  the  artificial 
creation  of  a  far-seeing,  self-willed  autocrat,  but  rather  a  natural 
product  which  has  grown  up  slowly  and  been  modified  according 
to  the  constantly  changing  wants  of  the  population.  A  few  of 
the  streets  have  been  Europeanised — in  all  except  the  paving,  which 
is  everywhere  execrably  Asiatic — to  suit  the  tastes  of  those  who 
have  adopted  European  culture,  but  the  great  majority  of  them 
still  retain  much  of  their  ancient  character  and  primitive  irregu- 
larity. As  soon  as  we  diverge  from  the  principal  thoroughfares, 
we  find  one-storied  houses — some  of  them  still  of  wood — which 
appear  to  have  been  transported  bodily  from  the  country,  with 
courtyard,  garden,  stables,  and  other  appurtenances.  The  whole 
is  no  doubt  a  little  compressed,  for  land  has  here  a  certain  value, 
but  the  character  is  in  no  way  changed,  and  we  have  some  difficulty 
in  believing  that  we  are  not  in  the  suburbs  but  near  the  centre 
of  a  great  towm.  There  is  nothing  that  can  by  any  possibility  be 
called  street  architecture.  Though  there  is  unmistakable  evidence 
of  the  streets  having  been  laid  out  according  to  a  preconceived 
plan,  many  of  them  show  clearly  that  in  their  infancy  they  had  a 
wayward  will  of  their  own,  and  bent  to  the  right  or  left  without 
any  topographical  Justification.  The  houses,  too,  display  consider- 
able individuality  of  character,  having  evidently  during  the  course 
of  their  construction  paid  no  attention  to  their  neighbours.  Hence 
we  find  no  regularly  built  terraces,  crescents,  or  squares.     There 


MOSCOW    AND    THE    SLAVOPHILS  355 

is,  it  is  true,  a  double  circle  of  boulevards,  but  the  liouses  which 
tlank  theui  have  none  of  that  regularity  which  we  commonly  asso- 
ciate  with  the  term.  l)ila})idated  buildings  which  in  West-Euro- 
pean cities  would  hide  themselves  in  some  narrow  lane  or  back 
slum  here  stand  composedly  in  the  face  of  day  by  the  side  of  a 
palatial  residence,  without  having  the  least  consciousness  of  the 
incongruity  of  their  position,  just  as  the  unsophisticated  muzhik, 
in  his  unsavoury  sheepskin,  can  stand  in  the  midst  of  a  crowd  of 
well-dressed  people  without  feeling  at  all  awkward  or  uncom- 
fortal)le. 

All  this  incongruity,  however,  is  speedily  disappearing.  Mos- 
cow has  become  the  centre  of  a  great  network  of  railways,  and  the 
commercial  and  industrial  capital  of  the  Empire.  Already  her 
rapidly  increasing  population  has  nearly  reached  a  million.*  The 
value  of  land  and  property  is  being  doubled  and  trebled,  and  build- 
ing speculations,  with  the  aid  of  credit  institutions  of  various 
kinds,  are  being  carried  on  with  feverish  rapidity.  Well  may  the 
men  of  the  old  school  complain  that  the  world  is  turned  upside 
down,  and  regret  the  old  times  of  traditional  somnolence  and 
comfortable  routine!  Those  good  old  times  are  gone  now,  never 
to  return.  The  ancient  capital,  which  long  gloried  in  its  past 
historical  associations,  now  glories  in  its  present  commercial  pros- 
perity, and  looks  forward  with  confidence  to  the  future.  Even  the 
Slavophils,  the  obstinate  champions  of  the  ultra-Muscovite  spirit, 
have  changed  with  the  times,  and  descended  to  the  level  of  ordi- 
nary prosaic  life.  These  men,  who  formerly  spent  years  in  seeking 
to  determine  the  place  of  Moscow  in  the  past  and  future  history  of 
humanity,  have — to  their  honour  be  it  said — become  in  these  latter 
days  town-counsellors,  and  have  devoted  much  of  their  time  to 
devising  ways  and  means  of  improving  the  drainage  and  the 
street-paving !  But  I  am  anticipating  in  a  most  unjustifiable  way. 
I  ought  first  to  tell  the  reader  who  these  Slavophils  were,  and  why 
they  sought  to  correct  the  commonly  received  conceptions  of 
universal  history. 

The  reader  may  have  heard  of  the  Slavophils  as  a  set  of  fanatics 
who,  about  half  a  century  ago,  were  wont  to  go  about  in  what  they 
considered  the  ancient  Eussian  costume,  who  wore  beards  in  defi- 
ance of  Peter  the  Great's  celebrated  ukaz  and  Nicholas's  clearly- 
expressed  wish  anent  shaving,  who  gloried  in  Muscovite  barbarism, 
and  had  solemnly  "sworn  a  feud"  against  European  civilisation 
and  enlightenment.  By  the  tourists  of  the  time  who  visited  Mos- 
*  According  to  the  census  of  1897  it  was  988,610, 


356  EUSSIA 

cow  they  were  regarded  as  among  the  most  noteworthy  lions  of  the 
place,  and  were  commonly  depicted  in  not  very  flattering  colours. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  Crimean  War  they  were  among  the  ex- 
treme Chauvinists  who  urged  the  necessity  of  planting  the  Greek 
cross  on  the  desecrated  dome  of  St.  Sophia  in  Constantinople,  and 
hoped  to  see  the  Emperor  proclaimed  "  Panslavonic  Tsar  " ;  and 
after  the  termination  of  the  war  they  were  frequently  accused  of 
inventing  Turkish  atrocities,  stirring  up  discontent  among  the 
Slavonic  subjects  of  the  Sultan,  and  secretly  plotting  for  the  over- 
throw of  the  Ottoman  Empire.  All  this  was  known  to  me  before 
I  went  to  Eussia,  and  I  had  consequently  invested  the  Slavophils 
with  a  halo  of  romance.  Shortly  after  my  arrival  in  St.  Peters- 
burg I  heard  something  more  which  tended  to  increase  my  interest 
in  them — they  had  caused,  I  was  told,  great  trepidation  among  the 
highest  ofiicial  circles  by  petitioning  the  Emperor  to  resuscitate  a 
certain  ancient  institution,  called  Zemskiye  Sohory,  which  might 
be  made  to  serve  the  purposes  of  a  parliament !  This  threw  a  new 
light  upon  them — under  the  disguise  of  archaeological  conservatives 
they  were  evidently  aiming  at  important  liberal  reforms. 

As  a  foreigner  and  a  heretic,  I  expected  a  very  cold  and  distant 
reception  from  these  uncompromising  champions  of  Eussian  na- 
tionality and  the  Orthodox  faith;  but  in  this  I  was  agreeably  dis- 
appointed. By  all  of  them  I  was  received  in  the  most  amiable 
and  friendly  way,  and  I  soon  discovered  that  my  preconceived  ideas 
of  them  were  very  far  from  the  truth.  Instead  of  wild  fanatics 
I  found  quiet,  extremely  intelligent,  highly  educated  gentlemen, 
speaking  foreign  languages  with  ease  and  elegance,  and  deeply 
imbued  with  that  Western  culture  which  they  were  commonly  sup- 
posed to  despise.  And  this  first  impression  was  amply  confirmed 
by  subsequent  experience  during  several  years  of  friendly  inter- 
course. They  always  showed  themselves  men  of  earnest  character 
and  strong  convictions,  but  they  never  said  or  did  anything  that 
could  justify  the  appellation  of  fanatics.  Like  all  philosophical 
theorists,  they  often  allowed  their  logic  to  blind  them  to  facts,  but 
their  reasonings  were  very  plausible — so  plausible,  indeed,  that, 
had  I  been  a  Eussian  they  would  have  almost  persuaded  me  to  be 
a  Slavophil,  at  least  during  the  time  they  were  talking  to  me. 

To  understand  their  doctrine  we  must  know  something  of  its 
origin  and  development. 

The  origin  of  the  Slavophil  sentiment,  which  must  not  be  con- 
founded with  the  Slavophil  doctrine,  is  to  be  sought  in  the  latter 
half  of  the  seventeenth  century,  when  the  Tsars  of  Muscovy  were 


MOSCOW   AXD    THE    SLAVOPHILS  357 

introducing  innovations  in  Church  and  State.  These  innovations 
were  profoundly  displeasing  to  the  people.  A  large  portion  of  the 
lower  classes,  as  I  have  related  in  a  previous  chapter,  sought  refuge 
in  Old  Kitualism  or  sectarianism,  and  imagined  that  Tsar  Peter, 
who  called  himself  by  the  heretical  title  of  "  Imperator,"  was  an 
emanation  of  the  Evil  Principle.  The  nobles  did  not  go  quite  so 
far.  They  remained  members  of  the  official  Church,  and  restricted 
themselves  to  hinting  that  Peter  was  the  son,  not  of  Satan,  but  of  a 
German  surgeon — a  lineage  which,  according  to  the  conceptions 
of  the  time,  was  a  little  less  objectionable ;  but  most  of  them  were 
very  hostile  to  the  changes,  and  complained  bitterly  of  the  new 
burdens  which  these  changes  entailed.  Under  Peter's  immediate 
successors,  when  not  only  the  principles  of  administration  but  also 
many  of  the  administrators  were  German,  this  hostility  greatly 
increased. 

So  long  as  the  innovations  appeared  only  in  the  official  activity 
of  the  Government,  the  patriotic,  conservative  spirit  was  obliged 
to  keep  silence ;  but  when  the  foreign  influence  spread  to  the  social 
life  of  the  Court  aristocracy,  the  opposition  began  to  find  a  literary 
expression.  In  the  time  of  Catherine  II.,  when  Gallomania  was 
at  its  height  in  Court  circles,  comedies  and  satirical  journals  ridi- 
culed those  who,  "  blinded  by  some  externally  brilliant  gifts  of 
foreigners,  not  only  prefer  foreign  countries  to  their  native  land, 
but  even  despise  their  fellow-countrymen,  and  think  that  a  Eus- 
sian  ought  to  borrow  all — even  personal  character.  As  if  nature 
arranging  all  things  with  such  wisdom,  and  bestowing  on  all  re- 
gions the  gifts  and  customs  which  are  appropriate  to  the  climate, 
had  been  so  unjust  as  to  refuse  to  the  Eussians  a  character  of  their 
own!  As  if  she  condemned  them  to  wander  over  all  regions,  and 
to  adopt  by  bits  the  various  customs  of  various  nations,  in  order 
to  compose  out  of  the  mixture  a  new  character  appropriate  to  no 
nation  whatever ! "  Numerous  passages  of  this  kind  might  be 
quoted,  attacking  the  "  monkeyism "  and  "parrotism"  of  those 
who  indiscriminately  adopted  foreign  manners  and  customs — 
those  who 

"  Sauntered  Europe  round, 
And  gathered  ev'ry  vice  in  ev'ry  ground." 

Sometimes  the  terms  and  metaphors  employed  were  more  forci- 
ble than  refined.  One  satirical  journal,  for  instance,  relates  an 
amusing  story  about  certain  little  Eussian  pigs  that  went  to  foreign 
lands  to  enlighten  their  understanding,  and  came  back  to  their 


358  '  EUSSIA 

country  full-grown  swine.  The  national  pride  was  wounded  by 
the  thought  that  Eussians  could  be  called  "clever  apes  who  feed 
on  foreign  intelligence,"  and  many  writers,  stung  by  such  re- 
proaches, fell  into  the  opposite  extreme,  discovering  unheard-of 
excellences  in  the  Eussian  mind  and  character,  and  vociferously 
decrying  everything  foreign  in  order  to  place  these  imagined  ex- 
cellences in  a  stronger  light  by  contrast.  Even  when  they  recog- 
nised that  their  country  was  not  quite  so  advanced  in  civilisation 
as  certain  other  nations,  they  congratulated  themselves  on  the  fact, 
and  invented  by  way  of  justification  an  ingenious  theory,  which 
was  afterwards  developed  by  the  Slavophils.  "  The  nations  of  the 
West,"  they  said,  "began  to  live  before  us,  and  are  consequently 
more  advanced  than  we  are ;  but  we  have  on  that  account  no  reason 
to  envy  them,  for  we  can  profit  by  their  errors,  and  avoid  those 
deep-rooted  evils  from  which  they  are  suffering.  He  who  has  just 
been  born  is  happier  than  he  who  is  dying." 

Thus,  we  see,  a  patriotic  reaction  against  the  introduction  of 
foreign  institutions  and  the  inordinate  admiration  of  foreign  cul- 
ture already  existed  in  Eussia  more  than  a  century  ago.  It  did 
not,  however,  take  the  form  of  a  philosophical  theory  till  a  much 
later  period,  when  a  similar  movement  was  going  on  in  various 
countries  of  Western  Europe. 

After  the  overthrow  of  the  great  ISTapoleonic  Empire  a  reaction 
against  cosmopolitanism  took  place  and  a  romantic  enthusiasm  for 
nationality  spread  over  Europe  like  an  epidemic.  Blind,  enthusi- 
astic patriotism  became  the  fashionable  sentiment  of  the  time.  Each 
nation  took  to  admiring  itself  complacently,  to  praising  its  own 
character  and  achievements,  and  to  idealising  its  historical  and 
mythical  past.  National  peculiarities,  "local  colour,"  ancient  cus- 
toms, traditional  superstitions — in  short,  everything  that  a  nation 
believed  to  be  specially  and  exclusively  its  own,  now  raised  an  enthu- 
siasm similar  to  that  which  had  been  formerly  excited  by  cosmo- 
politan conceptions  founded  on  the  law  of  nature.  The  move- 
ment produced  good  and  evil  results.  In  serious  minds  it  led 
to  a  deep  and  conscientious  study  of  history,  national  literature, 
popular  mythology,  and  the  like;  whilst  in  frivolous,  infiam- 
mable  spirits  it  gave  birth  merely  to  a  torrent  of  patriotic 
fervour  and  rhetorical  exaggeration.  The  Slavophils  were  the 
Eussian  representatives  of  this  nationalistic  reaction,  and  displayed 
both  its  serious  and  its  frivolous  elements. 

Among  the  most  important  products  of  this  movement  in  Ger- 
many was  the  Hegelian  theory  of  universal  history.     According  to 


MOSCO\Y   AXD    THE    SLAVOPHILS  359 

Hegel's  views,  which  were  generally  accepted  by  those  who  occu- 
pied themselves  with  philosophical  questions,  universal  history 
was  described  as  "  Progress  in  the  consciousness  of  freedom " 
(Fortschritt  im  Bewusstsein  der  Freiheit).  In  each  period 
of  the  world's  history,  it  was  explained,  some  one  nation 
or  race  had  been  intrusted  with  the  high  mission  of  enabling 
the  Absolute  Eeason,  or  Weltgeist,  to  express  itself  in  oljjective 
existence,  while  the  other  nations  and  races  had  for  the  time  no 
metaphysical  justification  for  their  existence,  and  no  higher  duty 
than  to  imitate  slavishly  the  favoured  rival  in  which  the  Weltgeist 
had  for  the  moment  chosen  to  incorporate  itself.  The  incarnation 
had  taken  place  first  in  the  Eastern  Monarchies,  then  in  Greece, 
next  in  Rome,  and  lastly  in  the  Germanic  race;  and  it  was  gener- 
ally assumed,  if  not  openly  asserted,  that  this  mystical  Metem- 
psychosis of  the  Absolute  was  now  at  an  end.  The  cycle  of  exist- 
ence was  complete.  In  the  Germanic  peoples  the  Weltgeist  had 
found  its  highest  and  final  expression, 

Eussians  in  general  knew  nothing  about  German  philosophy, 
and  were  consequently  not  in  any  way  affected  by  these  ideas,  but 
there  was  in  Moscow  a  small  group  of  young  men  who  ardently 
studied  German  literature  and  metaphysics,  and  they  were  much 
shocked  by  Hegel's  views.  Ever  since  the  brilliant  reign  of  Cath- 
erine II.,  who  had  defeated  the  Turks  and  had  dreamed  of  resusci- 
tating the  Byzantine  Empire,  and  especially  since  the  memorable 
events  of  1812-15,  when  Alexander  I.  appeared  as  the  liberator 
of  enthralled  Europe  and  the  arbiter  of  her  destinies,  Russians 
were  firmly  convinced  that  their  country  was  destined  to  play  a 
most  important  part  in  human  history.  Already  the  great  Rus- 
sian historian  Karamzin  had  declared  that  henceforth  Clio  must 
be  silent  or  accord  to  Russia  a  prominent  place  in  the  history  of 
the  nations.  Now,  by  the  Hegelian  theory,  the  whole  of  the  Slav 
race  was  left  out  in  the  cold,  with  no  high  mission,  with  no  new 
truths  to  divulge,  with  nothing  better  to  do,  in  fact,  than  to  imitate 
the  Germans. 

The  patriotic  philosophers  of  Moscow  could  not,  of  course, 
adopt  this  view.  Whilst  accepting  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciples, they  declared  the  theory  to  be  incomplete.  The  incomplete- 
ness lay  in  the  assumption  that  humanity  had  already  entered  on 
the  final  stages  of  its  development.  The  Teutonic  nations  were 
perhaps  for  the  moment  the  leaders  in  the  march  of  civilisation, 
but  there  was  no  reason  to  suppose  that  they  would  always  retain 
that  privileged  position.     On  the  contrary,  there  were   already 


360  EUSSIA 

symptoms  that  their  ascendency  was  drawing  to  a  close.  ""West- 
ern Europe,"  it  was  said,  "presents  a  strange,  saddening  spec- 
tacle. Opinion  struggles  against  opinion,  power  against  power, 
throne  against  throne.  Science,  Art,  and  Eeligion,  the  three  chief 
motors  of  social  life,  have  lost  their  force.  We  venture  to  make 
an  assertion  which  to  many  at  present  may  seem  strange,  but 
which  will  be  in  a  few  years  only  too  evident :  Western  Europe  is 
on  the  highroad  to  ruin !  We  Russians,  on  the  contrary,  are  young 
.  and  fresh,  and  have  taken  no  part  in  the  crimes  of  Europe.  We 
'  have  a  great  mission  to  fulfil.  Our  name  is  already  inscribed  on 
the  tablets  of  victory,  and  now  we  have  to  inscribe  our  spirit  in 
the  history  of  the  human  mind.  A  higher  kind  of  victory — the 
victory  of  Science,  Art  and  Faith — awaits  us  on  the  ruins  of  tot- 
tering Europe ! "  * 

This  conclusion  was  supported  by  arguments  drawn  from  his- 
tory— or,  at  least,  what  was  believed  to  be  history.  The  Euro- 
pean world  was  represented  as  being  composed  of  two  hemispheres 
— the  Eastern  or  Grasco-Slavonic  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  Western, 
or  Roman  Catholic  and  Protestant,  on  the  other.  These  two 
hemispheres,  it  was  said,  are  distinguished  from  each  other  by  many 
fundamental  characteristics.  In  both  of  them  Christianity  formed 
originally  the  basis  of  civilisation,  but  in  the  West  it  became  dis- 
torted and  gave  a  false  direction  to  the  intellectual  development. 
By  placing  the  logical  reason  of  the  learned  above  the  conscience 
of  the  whole  Church,  Roman  Catholicism  produced  Protestantism, 
which  proclaimed  the  right  of  private  Judgment  and  consequently 
became  split  up  into  innumerable  sects.  The  dry,  logical  spirit 
which  was  thus  fostered  created  a  purely  intellectual,  one-sided 
philosophy,  which  must  end  in  pure  scepticism,  by  blinding  men  to 
those  great  truths  which  lie  above  the  sphere  of  reasoning  and  logic. 
The  Grseco-Slavonic  world,  on  the  contrary,  having  accepted  Chris- 
tianity not  from  Rome,  but  from  Byzantium,  received  pure  or- 
thodoxy and  true  enlightenment,  and  was  thus  saved  alike  from 
Papal  tyranny  and  from  Protestant  free-thinking.  Hence  the  East- 
ern Christians  have  preserved  faithfully  not  only  the  ancient  dog- 
mas, but  also  the  ancient  spirit  of  Christianity — that  spirit  of  pious 
humility,  resignation,  and  brotherly  love  which  Christ  taught  by 
precept  and  example.  If  they  have  not  yet  a  philosophy,  they  will 
create  one,  and  it  will  far  surpass  all  previous  systems;  for  in  the 
writings  of  the  Greek  Fathers  are  to  be  found  the  germs  of  a 
broader,  a  deeper,  and  a  truer  philosophy  than  the  dry,  meagre 
♦These  words  were  written  by  Prince  Odoefskl. 


MOSCOW   AND   THE    SLAVOPHILS  361 

rationalism  of  the  West — a  philosophy  founded  not  on  the  logical 
faculty  alone,  but  on  the  broader  basis  of  human  nature  as  a 
whole. 

The  fundamental  characteristics  of  the  Grseco-Slavonic  world — 
so  runs  the  Slavophil  theory — have  been  displayed  in  the  history 
of  Eussia.  Throughout  Western  Christendom  the  principal  of 
individual  judgment  and  reckless  individual  egotism  have  exhausted 
the  social  forces  and  brought  society  to  the  verge  of  incurable 
anarchy  and  inevitable  dissolution,  whereas  the  social  and  political 
history  of  Eussia  has  been  harmonious  and  peaceful.  It  presents 
no  struggles  between  the  different  social  classes,  and  no  conflicts 
between  Church  and  State.  All  the  factors  have  worked  in  unison, 
and  the  development  has  been  guided  by  the  spirit  of  pure  or- 
thodoxy. But  in  this  harmonious  picture  there  is  one  big,  ugly 
black  spot — Peter,  falsely  styled  "  the  Great,"  and  his  so-called 
reforms.  Instead  of  following  the  wise  policy  of  his  ancestors, 
Peter  rejected  the  national  traditions  and  principles,  and  applied 
to  his  country,  which  belonged  to  the  Eastern  world,  the  principles 
of  Western  civilisation.  His  reforms,  conceived  in  a  foreign  spirit, 
and  elaborated  by  men  who  did  not  possess  the  national  instincts, 
were  forced  upon  the  nation  against  its  will,  and  the  result  was 
precisely  what  might  have  been  expected.  The  "  broad  Slavonic 
nature  "  could  not  be  controlled  by  institutions  which  had  been 
invented  by  narrow-minded,  pedantic  German  bureaucrats,  and, 
like  another  Samson,  it  pulled  down  the  building  in  which  foreign 
legislators  sought  to  confine  it.  The  attempt  to  introduce  foreign 
culture  had  a  still  worse  effect.  The  upper  classes,  charmed  and 
dazzled  by  the  glare  and  glitter  of  Western  science,  threw  them- 
selves impulsively  on  the  newly  found  treasures,  and  thereby  con- 
demned themselves  to  moral  slavery  and  intellectual  sterility. 
Fortunately — and  herein  lay  one  of  the  fundamental  principles  of 
the  Slavophil  doctrine — the  imported  civilisation  had  not  at  all 
infected  the  common  people.  Through  all  the  changes  which  the 
administration  and  the  Noblesse  underwent  the  peasantry  preserved 
religiously  in  their  hearts  "the  living  legacy  of  antiquity,"  the 
essence  of  Eussian  nationality,  "a  clear  spring  welling  up  living 
waters,  hidden  and  unknown,  but  powerful."  *  To  recover  this 
lost  legacy  by  studying  the  character,  customs,  and  institutions  of 
the  peasantry,  to  lead  the  educated  classes  back  to  the  path  from 
which  they  had  strayed,  and  to  re-establish  that  intellectual  and 

*  This  was  one  of  tbe  favourite  tliemes  of  Khomiakof,  the  Slavophil 
poet  aud  theologian. 


362  EUSSIA 

moral  unity  which  had  been  disturbed  by  the  foreign  importations 
— such  was  the  task  which  the  Slavophils  proposed  to  themselves. 

Deeply  imbued  with  that  romantic  spirit  which  distorted  all  the 
intellectual  activity  of  the  time,  the  Slavophils  often  indulged 
in  the  wildest  exaggerations,  condemning  everything  foreign  and 
praising  everything  Eussian.  AYhen  in  this  mood  they  saw  in  the 
history  of  the  West  nothing  but  violence,  slavery,  and  egotism, 
and  in  that  of  their  own  country  free-will,  liberty,  and  peace.  The 
fact  that  Eussia  did  not  possess  free  political  institutions  was 
adduced  as  a  precious  fruit  of  that  spirit  of  Christian  resignation 
and  self-sacrifice  which  places  the  Eussian  at  such  an  immeasurable 
height  above  the  proud,  selfish  European;  and  because  Eussia  pos- 
sessed few  of  the  comforts  and  conveniences  of  common  life,  the 
West  was  accused  of  having  made  comfort  its  God !  We  need  not, 
however,  dwell  on  these  puerilities,  which  only  gained  for  their 
authors  the  reputation  of  being  ignorant,  narrow-minded  men, 
imbued  with  a  hatred  of  enlightenment  and  desirous  of  leading 
their  country  back  to  its  primitive  barbarism.  WTiat  the  Slavophils 
really  condemned,  at  least  in  their  calmer  moments,  was  not  Euro- 
pean culture,  but  the  uncritical,  indiscriminate  adoption  of  it  by 
their  countrymen.  Their  tirades  against  foreign  culture  must 
appear  excusable  when  we  remember  that  many  Eussians  of  the 
upper  ranks  could  speak  and  write  French  more  correctly  than 
their  native  language,  and  that  even  the  great  national  poet 
Pushkin  was  not  ashamed  to  confess — what  was  not  true,  and  a 
mere  piece  of  affectation — that  "  the  language  of  Europe "  was 
more  familiar  to  him  than  his  mother-tongue! 

The  Slavophil  doctrine,  though  it  made  a  great  noise  in  the 
world,  never  found  many  adherents.  The  society  of  St.  Peters- 
burg regarded  it  as  one  of  those  harmless  provincial  eccentricities 
which  are  always  to  be  found  in  Moscow.  In  the  modern  capital, 
with  its  foreign  name,  its  streets  and  squares  on  the  European 
model,  its  palaces  and  churches  in  the  Eenaissance  stjde,  and  its 
passionate  love  of  everything  French,  any  attempt  to  resuscitate  the 
old  Boyaric  times  would  have  been  eminently  ridiculous.  Indeed, 
hostility  to  St.  Petersburg  and  to  "  the  Petersburg  period  of  Eus- 
sian history  "  is  one  of  the  characteristic  traits  of  genuine  Slavo- 
philism. In  Moscow  the  doctrine  found  a  more  appropriate  home. 
There  the  ancient  churches,  with  the  tombs  of  Grand  Princes  and 
holy  martyrs,  the  palace  in  which  the  Tsars  of  Muscovy  had  lived, 
the  Ej-emlin  which  had  resisted — not  always  successfully — the 
attacks  of  savage  Tartars  and  heretical  Poles,  the  venerable  Icons 


.MOSCOW    AXD    THE    SLAVOPHILS  363 

that  had  many  a  time  protected  the  people  from  danger,  the  Ijlock 
of  masonry  from  which,  on  solemn  occasions,  the  Tsar  and  the 
Patriarch  had  addressed  the  assembled  multitude — these,  and  a 
hundred  other  monuments  sanctified  by  tradition,  have  kept  alive 
in  the  popular  memory  some  vague  remembrance  of  the  olden 
time,  and  are  still  capable  of  awakening  antiquarian  patriotism. 

The  inhabitants,  too,  have  preserved  something  of  the  old  Mus- 
covite character.  Whilst  successive  sovereigns  have  been  striving 
to  make  the  country  a  progressive  European  empire,  Moscow  has 
remained  the  home  of  passive  conservatism  and  an  asylum  for  the 
discontented,  especially  for  the  disappointed  aspirants  to  Imperial 
favour.  Abandoned  by  the  modern  Emperors,  she  can  glory  in  her 
ancient  Tsars.  But  even  the  Muscovites  were  not  prepared  to 
accept  the  Slavophil  doctrine  in  the  extreme  form  which  it  assumed, 
and  were  not  a  little  perplexed  by  the  eccentricities  of  those  who 
professed  it.  Plain,  sensible  people,  though  they  might  be  proud 
of  being  citizens  of  the  ancient  capital,  and  might  thoroughly  enjoy 
a  joke  at  the  expense  of  St.  Petersburg,  could  not  understand  a 
little  coterie  of  enthusiasts  who  sought  neither  official  rank  nor 
decorations,  who  slighted  many  of  the  conventionalities  of  the 
higher  classes  to  which  by  birth  and  education  they  belonged,  who 
loved  to  fraternise  with  the  common  people,  and  who  occasionally 
dressed  in  the  national  costume  which  had  been  discarded  by  the 
nobles  since  the  time  of  Peter  the  Great. 

The  Slavophils  thus  remained  merely  a  small  literary  party, 
which  probably  did  not  count  more  than  a  dozen  members,  but 
their  influence  was  out  of  all  proportion  to  their  numbers.  They 
preached  successfully  the  doctrine  that  the  historical  development 
of  Eussia  has  been  peculiar,  that  her  present  social  and  political 
organisation  is  radically  different  from  that  of  the  countries  of 
AVestern  Europe,  and  that  consequently  the  social  and  political  evils 
from  which  she  suffers  are  not  to  be  cured  by  the  remedies  which 
have  proved  efficacious  in  France  and  Germany.  These  truths, 
which  now  appear  commonplace,  were  formerly -by  no  means  gener- 
ally recognised,  and  the  Slavophils  deserve  credit  for  directing 
attention  to  them.  Besides  this,  they  helped  to  awaken  in  the 
upper  classes  a  lively  sympathy  with  the  poor,  oppressed,  and 
despised  peasantry.  So  long  as  the  Emperor  Nicholas  lived  they 
had  to  confine  themselves  to  a  purely  literary  activity;  but  during 
the  great  reforms  initiated  by  his  successor,  Alexander  II.,  they 
descended  into  the  arena  of  practical  politics,  and  played  a  most 
useful  and  honourable  part  in  the  emancipation  of  the  serfs.     In 


364  RUSSIA 

the  new  local  self-government,  too— the  Zemstvo  and  the  new 
municipal  institutions — they  laboured  energetically  and  to  good 
purpose.  Of  all  this  I  shall  have  occasion  to  speak  more  fully  in 
future  chapters. 

But  what  of  their  Panslavist  aspirations?  By  their  theory 
they  were  constrained  to  pay  attention  to  the  Slav  race  as  a  whole, 
but  they  were  more  Eussian  than  Slav,  and  more  Muscovite  than 
Eussian.  The  Panslavist  element  consequently  occupied  a  sec- 
ondary place  in  Slavophil  doctrine.  Though  they  did  much  to 
stimulate  popular  sympathy  with  the  Southern  Slavs,  and  always 
cherished  the  hope  that  the  Serbs,  Bulgarians,  and  cognate  Slav 
nationalities  would  one  day  throw  off  the  bondage  of  the  German 
and  the  Turk,  they  never  proposed  any  elaborate  project  for  the 
solution  of  the  Eastern  Question.  So  far  as  I  was  able  to  gather 
from  their  conversation,  they  seemed  to  favour  the  idea  of  a  grand 
Slavonic  Confederation,  in  which  the  hegemony  would,  of  course, 
belong  to  Eussia.  In  ordinary  times  the  only  steps  which  they 
took  for  the  realisation  of  this  idea  consisted  in  contributing  money 
for  schools  and  churches  among  the  Slav  population  of  Austria 
and  Turkey,  and  in  educating  young  Bulgarians  in  Eussia.  Dur- 
ing the  Cretan  insurrection  they  sympathised  warmly  with  the 
insurgents  as  co-religionists,  but  afterwards — especially  during  the 
crisis  of  the  Eastern  Question  which  culminated  in  the  Treaty  of 
San  Stefano  and  the  Congress  of  Berlin  (1878) — their  Hellenic 
sympathies  cooled,  because  the  Greeks  showed  that  they  had  polit- 
ical aspirations  inconsistent  with  the  designs  of  Eussia,  and  that 
they  were  likely  to  be  the  rivals  rather  than  the  allies  of  the  Slavs 
in  the  struggle  for  the  Sick  Man's  inheritance. 

Since  the  time  when  I  was  living  in  Moscow  in  constant  inter- 
course with  the  leading  Slavophils  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury has  passed,  and  of  those  with  whom  I  spent  so  many  pleasant 
evenings  discussing  the  past  history  and  future  destinies  of  the 
Slav  races,  not  one  remains  alive.  All  the  great  prophets  of  the 
old  Slavophil  doctrine — Juri  Samarin,  Prince  Tcherkaski,  Ivan 
Aksakof,  Koshelefl — have  departed  without  leaving  behind  them 
any  genuine  disciples.  The  present  generation  of  Muscovite  fron- 
deurs,  who  continue  to  rail  against  Western  Europe  and  the  pedan- 
tic ofBcialism  of  St.  Petersburg,  are  of  a  more  modern  and  less  aca- 
demic type.  Their  philippics  are  directed  not  against  Peter  the 
Great  and  his  reforms,  but  rather  against  recent  Ministers  of 
Foreign  Affairs  who  are  thought  to  have  shown  themselves  too 
subservient  to  foreign  Powers,  and  against  M.  Witte,  the  late 


MOSCOW   AND   THE    SLAVOPHILS  365 

Minister  of  Finance,  who  is  accused  of  favouring  the  introduction 
of  foreign  capital  and  enterprise,  and  of  sacrificing  to  unhealthy 
industrial  development  the  interests  of  the  agricultural  classes. 
These  laments  and  diatribes  are  allowed  free  expression  in  private 
conversation  and  in  the  Press,  but  they  do  not  influence  very  deeply 
the  policy  of  the  Government  or  the  natural  course  of  events;  for 
the  Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs  continues  to  cultivate  friendly  rela- 
tions with  the  Cabinets  of  the  West,  and  Moscow  is  rapidly  Ijecom- 
ing,  by  the  force  of  economic  conditions,  the  great  industrial  and 
commercial  centre  of  the  Empire. 

The  administrative  and  bureaucratic  centre — if  anything  on  the 
frontier  of  a  country  can  be  called  its  centre — has  long  been,  and 
is  likely  to  remain,  Peter's  stately  city  at  the  mouth  of  the  Neva, 
to  which  I  now  invite  the  reader  to  accompany  me. 


CHAPTEE   XXVI 

ST.    PETERSBURG    AND    EUROPEAN    INFLUENCE 

St.  Petersburg  and  Berlin — Big  Houses — The  "  Lions  " — ^Peter  the 
Great — His  Aims  and  Policy — The  German  Regime — Nationalist 
Reaction — French  Influence — Consequent  Intellectual  Sterility — 
Influence  of  the  Sentimental  School — Hostility  to  Foreign  Influences 
— A  New  Period  of  Literary  Importation — Secret  Societies — The 
Catastrophe — The  Age  of  Nicholas — A  Terrible  War  on  Parnassus — 
Decline  of  Romanticism  and  Transcendentalism — Gogol — The  Revo- 
lutionary Agitation  of  1848 — New  Reaction — Conclusion. 

pEOM  whatever  side  the  traveller  approaches  St.  Petersburg, 
-*■  unless  he  goes  thither  by  sea,  he  must  traverse  several  hundred 
miles  of  forest  and  morass,  presenting  few  traces  of  human  habi- 
tation or  agriculture.  This  fact  adds  powerfully  to  the  first  im- 
pression which  the  city  makes  on  his  mind.  In  the  midst  of  a 
waste  howling  wilderness,  he  suddenly  comes  on  a  magnificent  arti- 
ficial oasis. 

Of  all  the  great  European  cities,  the  one  that  most  resembles 
the  capital  of  the  Tsars  is  Berlin.  Both  are  built  on  perfectly 
level  ground;  both  have  wide,  regularly  arranged  streets;  in  both 
there  is  a  general  look  of  stiffness  and  sjonmetry  which  suggests 
military  discipline  and  German  bureaucracy.  But  there  is  at 
least  one  profound  difference.  Though  Berlin  is  said  by  geogra- 
phers to  be  built  on  the  Spree,  we  might  live  a  long  time  in  the 
city  without  noticing  the  sluggish  little  stream  on  which  the  name 
of  a  river  has  been  undeservedly  conferred.  St.  Petersburg,  on 
the  contrary,  is  built  on  a  magnificent  river,  which  forms  the  main 
feature  of  the  place.  By  its  breadth,  and  by  the  enormous  volume 
of  its  clear,  blue,  cold  water,  the  Neva  is  certainly  one  of  the  noblest 
rivers  of  Europe.  A  few  miles  before  reaching  the  Gulf  of  Finland 
it  breaks  up  into  several  streams  and  forms  a  delta.  It  is  here 
that  St.  Petersburg  stands. 

Like  the  river,  everything  in  St.  Petersburg  is  on  a  colossal  scale. 
The  streets,  the  squares,  the  palaces,  the  public  buildings,  the 
churches,  whatever  may  be  their  defects,  have  at  least  the  attribute 
of  greatness,  and  seem  to  have  been  designed  for  the  countless  gen- 
erations to  come,  rather  than  for  the  practical  wants  of  the  present 

366 


ST.  PETEESBURG  AND  EUROPEAN  INFLUENCE  367 

inhabitants.  In  this  respect  the  city  well  represents  the  Empire 
of  which  it  is  the  capital.  Even  the  private  houses  are  built  in 
enormous  blocks  and  divided  into  many  separate  apartments.  Those 
built  for  the  working  classes  sometimes  contain,  I  am  assured, 
more  than  a  thousand  inhabitants.  How  many  cubic  feet  of  air 
is  allowed  to  each  person,  I  do  not  know;  not  so  many,  I  fear,  as 
is  recommended  by  the  most  advanced  sanitary  authorities. 

For  a  detailed  description  of  the  city  I  must  refer  the  reader  to 
the  guide  books.  Among  its  numerous  monuments,  of  which  the 
Russians  are  justly  proud,  I  confess  that  the  one  which  interested 
me  most  was  neither  St.  Isaac's  Cathedral,  with  its  majestic  gilded 
dome,  its  colossal  monolithic  columns  of  red  granite,  and  its  gaudy 
interior;  nor  the  Hermitage,  with  its  magnificent  collection  of 
Dutch  pictures ;  nor  the  gloomy,  frowning  fortress  of  St.  Peter  and 
St.  Paul,  containing  the  tombs  of  the  Emperors.  These  and  other 
"  sights "  may  deserve  all  the  praise  which  enthusiastic  tourists 
have  lavished  upon  them,  but  what  made  a  far  deeper  impression 
on  me  was  the  little  wooden  house  in  which  Peter  the  Great 
lived  whilst  his  future  capital  was  being  built.  In  its  style  and 
arrangement  it  looks  more  like  the  hut  of  a  navvy  than  the  residence 
of  a  Tsar,  but  it  was  quite  in  keeping  with  the  character  of  the 
illustrious  man  who  occupied  it.  Peter  could  and  did  occasionally 
work  like  a  navvy  without  feeling  that  his  Imperial  dignity  was 
thereby  impaired.  When  he  determined  to  build  a  new  capital  on 
a  Finnish  marsh,  inhabited  chiefly  by  wildfowl,  he  did  not  content 
himself  with  exercising  his  autocratic  power  in  a  comfortable  arm- 
chair. Like  the  Greek  gods,  he  went  down  from  his  Olympus 
and  took  his  place  in  the  ranks  of  ordinary  mortals,  superintending 
the  work  with  his  own  eyes,  and  taking  part  in  it  with  his  own 
hands.  If  he  was  as  arbitrary  and  oppressive  as  any  of  the  pyra- 
mid-1}uilding  Pharaohs,  he  could  at  least  say  in  self- justification 
that  he  did  not  spare  himself  any  more  than  his  people,  but  exposed 
himself  freely  to  the  discomforts  and  dangers  under  which  thou- 
sands of  his  fellow-labourers  succumbed. 

In  reading  the  account  of  Peter's  life,  written  in  part  by  his  own 
pen,  we  can  easily  understand  how  the  piously  Conservative  section 
of  his  subjects  failed  to  recognise  in  him  the  legitimate  successor  of 
the  orthodox  Tsars.  The  old  Tsars  had  been  men  of  grave,  pom- 
pous demeanour,  deeply  imbued  with  the  consciousness  of  their 
semi-religious  dignity.  Living  habitually  in  Moscow  or  its  imme- 
diate neighbourhood,  they  spent  their  time  in  attending  long  relig- 
ious services,  in  consulting  with  their  Boyars,  in  being  present  at 


368  EUSSIA 

ceremonious  hunting-parties,  in  visiting  the  monasteries,  and  in 
holding  edifying  conversations  with  ecclesiastical  dignitaries  or  re- 
vered ascetics.  If  they  undertook  a  journey,  it  was  probably  to 
make  a  pilgrimage  to  some  holy  shrine;  and,  whether  in  Moscow 
or  elsewhere,  they  were  always  protected  from  contact  with  ordinary 
humanity  by  a  formidable  barricade  of  court  ceremonial.  In  short, 
they  combined  the  characters  of  a  Christian  monk  and  of  an  Ori- 
ental potentate. 

Peter  was  a  man  of  an  entirely  different  type,  and  played  in  the 
calm,  dignified,  orthodox,  ceremonious  world  of  Moscow  the  part  of 
the  bull  in  the  china  shop,  outraging  ruthlessly  and  wantonly  all 
the  time-honored  traditional  conceptions  of  propriety  and  etiquette. 
Utterly  regardless  of  public  opinion  and  popular  prejudices,  he 
swept  away  the  old  formalities,  avoided  ceremonies  of  all  kinds, 
scoffed  at  ancient  usage,  preferred  foreign  secular  books  to  edifying 
conversations,  chose  profane  heretics  as  his  boon  companions,  trav- 
elled in  foreign  countries,  dressed  in  heretical  costume,  defaced  the 
image  of  God  and  put  his  soul  in  jeopardy  by  shaving  off  his  beard, 
compelled  his  nobles  to  dress  and  shave  like  himself,  rushed  about 
the  Empire  as  if  goaded  on  by  the  demon  of  unrest,  employed  his 
sacred  hands  in  carpentering  and  other  menial  occupations,  took 
part  openly  in  the  uproarious  orgies  of  his  foreign  soldiery,  and, 
in  short,  did  everything  that  "  the  Lord's  anointed  "  might  reason- 
ably be  expected  not  to  do.  No  wonder  the  Muscovites  were  scan- 
dalised by  his  conduct,  and  that  some  of  them  suspected  he  was 
not  the  Tsar  at  all,  but  Antichrist  in  disguise.  And  no  wonder 
he  felt  the  atmosphere  of  Moscow  oppressive,  and  preferred  living 
in  the  new  capital  which  he  had  himself  created. 

His  avowed  object  in  building  St.  Petersburg  was  to  have  "  a 
window  by  which  the  Russians  might  look  into  civilised  Europe  " ; 
and  well  has  the  city  fulfilled  its  purpose.  From  its  foundation 
may  be  dated  the  European  period  of  Eussian  history.  Before 
Peter's  time  Eussia  belonged  to  Asia  rather  than  to  Europe,  and 
was  doubtless  regarded  by  Englishmen  and  Frenchmen  pretty  much 
as  we  nowadays  regard  Bokhara  or  Kashgar;  since  that  time  she 
has  formed  an  integral  part  of  the  European  political  system,  and 
her  intellectual  history  has  been  but  a  reflection  of  the  intellectual 
history  of  Western  Europe,  modified  and  coloured  by  national  char- 
acter and  by  peculiar  local  conditions. 

When  we  speak  of  the  intellectual  history  of  a  nation  we  generally 
mean  in  reality  the  intellectual  history  of  the  upper  classes.  With 
regard  to  Eussia,  more  perhaps  than  with  regard  to  any  other 


ST.  PETEESBURG  AXD  EUROPEAX  IXFLUENCE  3G9 

country,  this  distinction  must  alwa3'S  carefully  be  borne  in  mind. 
Peter  succeeded  in  forcing  European  civilisation  on  the  nobles,  but 
the  people  remained  unaffected.  The  nation  was,  as  it  were,  cleft 
in  two,  and  with  each  succeeding  generation  the  cleft  has  widened. 
Whilst  the  masses  clu-ng  obstinately  to  their  time-honoured  cus- 
toms and  beliefs,  the  nobles  came  to  look  on  the  oljjects  of  popular 
veneration  as  the  relics  of  a  barbarous  past,  of  which  a  civilised 
nation  ought  to  be  ashamed. 

The  intellectual  movement  inaugurated  by  Peter  had  a  purely 
practical  character.  He  was  himself  a  thorough  utilitarian,  and 
perceived  clearly  that  what  his  people  needed  was  not  theological 
or  philosophical  enlightment,  but  plain,  practical  knowledge  suit- 
able for  the  requirements  of  everyday  life.  He  wanted  neither 
theologians  nor  philosophers,  but  military  and  naval  officers,  admin- 
istrators, artisans,  miners,  manufacturers,  and  merchants,  and  for 
this  purpose  he  introduced  secular  technical  education.  For  the 
young  generation  primary  schools  were  founded,  and  for  more 
advanced  pupils  the  best  foreign  works  on  fortification,  architect- 
ure, navigation,  metallurgy,  engineering  and  cognate  subjects  were 
translated  into  the  native  tongue.  Scientific  men  and  cunning 
artificers  were  brought  into  the  country,  and  young  Russians  were 
sent  abroad  to  learn  foreign  languages  and  the  useful  arts.  In  a 
word,  everything  was  done  that  seemed  likely  to  raise  the  Russians 
to  the  level  of  material  well-being  already  attained  by  the  more 
advanced  nations. 

We  have  here  an  important  peculiarity  in  the  intellectual  devel- 
opment of  Russia.  In  Western  Europe  the  modern  scientific  spirit, 
being  the  natural  offspring  of  numerous  concomitant  historical 
causes,  was  born  in  the  natural  way,  and  Society  had,  consequently, 
before  giving  birth  to  it,  to  endure  the  pains  of  pregnancy  and  the 
throes  of  prolonged  labour.  In  Russia,  on  the  contrary,  this  spirit 
appeared  suddenly  as  an  adult  foreigner,  adopted  by  a  despotic 
paterfamilias.  Thus  Russia  made  the  transition  from  mediaeval 
to  modern  times  without  any  violent  struggle  between  the  old  and 
the  new  conceptions  such  as  had  taken  place  in  the  West.  The 
Church,  effectually  restrained  from  all  active  opposition  by  the 
Imperial  power,  preserved  unmodified  her  ancient  beliefs;  whilst 
the  nobles,  casting  their  traditional  conceptions  and  beliefs  to  the 
winds,  marched  forward  unfettered  on  that  path  which  their 
fathers  and  grandfathers  had  regarded  as  the  direct  road  to 
perdition. 

During  the  first  part  of  Peter's  reign  Russia  was  not  subjected 


370  KUSSIA 

to  the  exclusive  influence  of  any  one  particular  country.  Thor- 
oughly cosmopolitan  in  his  sympathies,  the  great  reformer,  like  the 
Japanese  of  the  present  day,  was  ready  to  borrow  from  any  foreign 
nation — German,  Dutch,  Danish,  or  French — whatever  seemed  to 
him  to  suit  his  purpose.  But  soon  the  geographical  proximity  to 
Germany,  the  annexation  of  the  Baltic  Provinces  in  which  the 
civilisation  was  German,  and  intermarriages  between  the  Imperial 
family  and  various  German  dynasties,  gave  to  German  influence 
a  decided  preponderance.  When  the  Empress  Anne,  Peter's  niece, 
who  had  been  Duchess  of  Courland,  entrusted  the  whole  adminis- 
tration of  the  country  to  her  favourite  Biron,  the  German  influence 
became  almost  exclusive,  and  the  Court,  the  official  world,  and  the 
schools  were  Germanised. 

The  harsh,  cruel,  tyrannical  rule  of  Biron  produced  a  strong 
reaction,  ending  in  a  revolution,  which  raised  to  the  throne  the 
Princess  Elizabeth,  Peter's  unmarried  daughter,  who  had  lived  in 
retirement  and  neglect  during  the  German  regime.  She  was  ex- 
pected to  rid  the  country  of  foreigners,  and  she  did  what  she  could 
to  fulfil  the  expectations  that  were  entertained  of  her.  With  loud 
protestations  of  patriotic  feelings,  she  removed  the  Germans  from 
all  important  posts,  demanded  that  in  future  the  members  of  the 
Academy  should  be  chosen  from  among  born  Eussians,  and  gave 
orders  that  the  Russian  youth  should  be  carefully  prepared  for  all 
kinds  of  ofiicial  activity. 

This  attempt  to  throw  off  the  German  bondage  did  not  lead  to 
intellectual  independence.  During  Peter's  violent  reforms  Eussia 
had  ruthlessly  thrown  away  her  own  historic  past  with  whatever 
germs  it  contained,  and  now  she  possessed  none  of  the  elements  of 
a  genuine  national  culture.  She  was  in  the  position  of  a  fugitive 
who  has  escaped  from  slavery,  and,  finding  himself  in  danger  of 
starvation,  looks  about  for  a  new  master.  The  upper  classes,  who 
had  acquired  a  taste  for  foreign  civilisation,  no  sooner  threw  off 
everything  German  than  they  sought  some  other  civilisation  to 
put  in  its  place.  And  they  could  not  long  hesitate  in  making  a 
choice,  for  at  that  time  all  who  thought  of  culture  and  refinement 
turned  their  eyes  to  Paris  and  Versailles.  All  that  was  most 
brilliant  and  refined  was  to  be  found  at  the  Court  of  the  French 
kings,  under  whose  patronage  the  art  and  literature  of  the  Eenais- 
sance  had  attained  their  highest  development.  Even  Germany, 
which  had  resisted  the  ambitious  designs  of  Louis  XIV.,  imitated 
the  manners  of  his  Court.  Every  petty  German  potentate  strove 
to  ape  the  pomp  and  dignity  of  the  Grand  Monarque;  and  the 


ST.  PETEESBUEG  AXD  EUROPEAN  INFLUENCE  371 

courtiers,  affecting  to  look  on  everything  German  as  rude  and  bar- 
barous, adopted  French  fashions,  and  spoke  a  hybrid  jargon  which 
they  considered  much  more  elegant  than  the  plain  mother  tongue. 
In  a  word,  Gallomania  had  become  the  prevailing  social  epidemic 
of  the  time,  and  it  could  not  fail  to  attack  and  metamorphose  such 
a  class  as  the  Russian  Noblesse,  which  possessed  few  stubborn  deep- 
rooted  national  convictions. 

At  first  the  French  influence  was  manifested  chiefly  in  external 
forms — that  is  to  say,  in  dress,  manners,  language,  and  upholstery — 
but  gradually,  and  very  rapidly  after  the  accession  of  Catherine  IL, 
the  friend  of  Voltaire  and  the  Encyclopaedists,  it  sank  deeper. 
Every  noble  who  had  pretensions  to  being  "  civilised  "  learned  to 
speak  French  fluently,  and  gained  some  superficial  acquaintance 
with  French  literature.  The  tragedies  of  Corneille  and  Kacine 
and  the  comedies  of  Moliere  were  played  regularly  at  the  Court 
theatre  in  presence  of  the  Empress,  and  awakened  a  real  or  affected 
enthusiasm  among  the  audience.  For  those  who  preferred  reading 
in  their  native  language,  numerous  translations  were  published,  a 
simple  list  of  which  would  fill  several  pages.  Among  them  we 
find  not  only  Voltaire,  Rousseau,  Lesage,  Marmontel,  and  other 
favourite  French  authors,  but  also  all  the  master-pieces  of  Euro- 
pean literature,  ancient  and  modern,  which  at  that  time  enjoyed 
a  high  reputation  in  the  French  literary  world — Homer  and 
Demosthenes,  Cicero  and  Virgil,  Ariosto  and  Camoens,  ]\Iilton  and 
Locke,  Sterne  and  Fielding. 

It  is  related  of  Byron  that  he  never  wrote  a  description  whilst 
the  scene  was  actually  before  him;  and  this  fact  points  to  an  im- 
portant psychological  principle.  The  human  mind,  so  long  as  it 
is  compelled  to  strain  the  receptive  faculties,  cannot  engage  in  that 
"  poetic  "  activity — to  use  the  term  in  its  Greek  sense — which  is 
commonly  called  "  original  creation."  And  as  with  individuals,  so 
with  nations.  By  accepting  in  a  lump  a  foreign  culture  a  nation 
inevitably  condemns  itself  for  a  time  to  intellectual  sterility.  So 
long  as  it  is  occupied  in  receiving  and  assimilating  a  flood  of  new 
ideas,  unfamiliar  conceptions,  and  foreign  modes  of  thought,  it 
will  produce  nothing  original,  and  the  result  of  its  highest  efforts 
will  be  merely  successful  imitation.  We  need  not  be  surprised 
therefore  to  find  that  the  Russians,  in  becoming  acquainted  with 
foreign  literature,  became  imitators  and  plagiarists.  In  this  kind 
of  work  their  natural  pliancy  of  mind  and  powerful  histrionic  talent 
made  them  wonderfully  successful.  Odes,  pseudo-classical  trage- 
dies, satirical  comedies,  epic  poems,  elegies,  and  all  the  other  recog- 


372  EUSSIA 

nised  forms  of  poetical  composition,  appeared  in  great  profusion, 
and  many  of  the  writers  acquired  a  remarkable  command  over  their 
native  language,  which  had  hitherto  been  regarded  as  uncouth  and 
barbarous.  But  in  all  this  mass  of  imitative  literature,  which  has 
since  fallen  into  well-merited  oblivion,  there  are  very  few  traces 
of  genuine  originality.  To  obtain  the  title  of  the  Eussian  Eacine, 
the  Eussian  Lafontaine,  the  Eussian  Pindar,  or  the  Eussian  Homer, 
was  at  that  time  the  highest  aim  of  Eussian  literary  ambition. 

Together  with  the  fashionable  literature  the  Eussian  educated 
classes  adopted  something  of  the  fashionable  philosophy.  They 
were  peculiarly  unfitted  to  resist  that  hurricane  of  "  enlightenment " 
which  swept  over  Europe  during  the  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  first  breaking  or  uprooting  the  received  philosophical  sys- 
tems, theological  conceptions,  and  scientific  theories,  and  then  shak- 
ing to  their  foundations  the  existing  political  and  social  institutions. 
The  Eussian  Noblesse  had  neither  the  traditional  conservative  spirit, 
nor  the  firm,  well-reasoned,  logical  beliefs  which  in  England  and 
Germany  formed  a  powerful  barrier  against  the  spread  of  French 
influence.  They  had  been  too  recently  metamorphosed,  and  were 
too  eager  to  acquire  a  foreign  civilisation,  to  have  even  the  germs 
of  a  conservative  spirit.  The  rapidity  and  violence  with  which 
Peter's  reforms  had  been  effected,  together  with  the  peculiar  spirit 
of  Greek  Orthodoxy  and  the  low  intellectual  level  of  the  clergy,  had 
prevented  theology  from  associating  itself  with  the  new  order  of 
things.  The  upper  classes  had  become  estranged  from  the  beliefs 
of  their  forefathers  without  acquiring  other  beliefs  to  supply  the 
place  of  those  which  had  been  lost.  The  old  religious  conceptions 
were  inseparably  interwoven  with  what  was  recognised  as  anti- 
quated and  barbarous,  whilst  the  new  philosophical  ideas  were  asso- 
ciated with  all  that  was  modern  and  civilised.  Besides  this,  the 
sovereign,  Catherine  IL,  who  enjoyed  the  unbounded  admiration 
of  the  upper  classes,  openly  professed  allegiance  to  the  new  phil- 
osophy, and  sought  the  advice  and  friendship  of  its  high  priests. 
If  we  bear  in  mind  these  facts  we  shall  not  be  surprised  to  find 
among  the  Eussian  nobles  of  that  time  a  considerable  number  of 
so-called  "  Voltaireans  "  and  numerous  unquestioning  believers  in 
the  infallibility  of  the  Encyclopedic.  What  is  a  little  more  sur- 
prising is,  that  the  new  philosophy  sometimes  found  its  way  into 
the  ecclesiastical  seminaries.  The  famous  Speranski  relates  that 
in  the  seminary  of  St.  Petersburg  one  of  his  professors,  when  not 
in  a  state  of  intoxication,  was  in  the  habit  of  preaching  the  doctrines 
of  Voltaire  and  Diderot ! 


ST.  PETEESBURG  AXD  EUROPEAX  IXFLUEXCE  373 

The  rise  of  the  sentimental  school  in  Western  Europe  produced 
an  important  cliange  in  Russian  literature,  by  undermining  the 
inordinate  admiration  for  the  French  pseudo-classical  school. 
Florian,  Eichardson,  Sterne,  Eousseau,  and  Bernardin  de  St.  Pierre 
found  first  translators,  and  then  imitators,  and  soon  the  loud-sound- 
ing declamation  and  wordy  ecstatic  despair  of  the  stage  heroes  were 
drowned  in  the  deep-drawn  sighs  and  plaintive  wailings  of  amorous 
swains  and  peasant-maids  forsaken.  The  mania  seems  to  have  been 
in  Russia  even  more  severe  than  in  the  countries  where  it  origin- 
ated. Full-grown,  bearded  men  wept  because  they  had  not  been 
born  in  peaceful  primitive  times,  "  when  all  men  were  shepherds 
and  brothers."  Hundreds  of  sighing  youths  and  maidens  visited 
the  scenes  described  by  the  sentimental  writers,  and  wandered  by 
the  rivers  and  ponds  in  which  despairing  heroines  had  drowned 
themselves.  People  talked,  wrote,  and  meditated  about  "  the  s}Tn- 
pathy  of  hearts  created  for  each  other,"  "  the  soft  communion  of 
sympathetic  souls,"  and  much  more  of  the  same  kind.  Sentimental 
journeys  became  a  favourite  amusement,  and  formed  the  subject 
of  very  popular  books,  containing  maudlin  absurdities  likely  to 
produce  nowadays  mirth  rather  than  tears.  One  traveller,  for  in- 
stance, throws  himself  on  his  knees  before  an  old  oak  and  makes 
a  speech  to  it ;  another  weeps  daily  on  the  grave  of  a  favourite  dog, 
and  constantly  longs  to  marry  a  peasant  girl;  a  third  talks  love 
to  the  moon,  sends  kisses  to  the  stars,  and  wishes  to  press  the 
heavenly  orbs  to  his  bosom!  For  a  time  the  public  would  read 
nothing  but  absurd  productions  of  this  sort,  and  Karamzin,  the 
great  literary  authority  of  the  time,  expressly  declared  that  the  true 
function  of  Art  was  "  to  disseminate  agreeable  impressions  in  the 
region  of  the  sentimental." 

The  love  of  French  philosophy  vanished  as  suddenly  as  the  inor- 
dinate admiration  of  the  French  pseudo-classical  literature.  When 
the  great  Revolution  broke  out  in  Paris  the  fashionaljle  philosophic 
literature  in  St.  Petersburg  disappeared.  Men  who  talked  about 
political  freedom  and  the  rights  of  man,  without  thinking  for  a 
moment  of  limiting  the  autocratic  power  or  of  emancipating  their 
serfs,  were  naturally  surprised  and  frightened  on  discovering  what 
the  liberal  principles  could  effect  when  applied  to  real  life.  Horri- 
fied by  the  awful  scenes  of  the  Terror,  they  hastened  to  divest  them- 
selves of  the  principles  which  led  to  such  results,  and  sank  into  a 
kind  of  optimistic  conservatism  that  harmonised  well  with  the 
virtuous  sentimentalism  in  vogue.  In  this  the  Empress  herself 
gave  the  example.     The  Imperial  disciple  and  friend  of  the  Ency- 


374  EUSSIA 

clopgedists    became    in    the    last    years    of    her    reign    a    decided 
reactionnaire. 

During  the  Napoleonic  wars,  when  the  patriotic  feelings  were 
excited,  there  was  a  violent  hostility  to  foreign  intellectual  influ- 
ence ;  and  feeble  intermittent  -attempts  were  made  to  throw  ofE  the 
intellectual  bondage.  The  invasion  of  the  country  in  1812  by  the 
Grande  Armee,  and  the  burning  of  Moscow,  added  abundant  fuel 
to  this  patriotic  fire.  For  some  time  any  one  who  ventured  to 
express  even  a  moderate  admiration  for  French  culture  incurred 
the  risk  of  being  stigmatised  as  a  traitor  to  his  country  and  a  rene- 
gade to  the  national  faith.  But  this  patriotic  fanaticism  soon 
evaporated,  and  exaggerations  of  the  ultra-national  party  became 
the  object  of  satire  and  parody,  ^lien  the  political  danger  was 
past,  and  people  resumed  their  ordinary  occupations,  those  who 
loved  foreign  literature  returned  to  their  old  favourites — or,  as  the 
ultra-patriots  called  it,  to  their  "  wallowing  in  the  mire  "—simply 
because  the  native  literature  did  not  supply  them  with  what  they 
desired.  "  We  are  quite  ready,"  they  said  to  their  upbraiders,  "  to 
admire  your  great  works  as  soon  as  they  appear,  but  in  the  mean- 
time please  allow  us  to  enjoy  what  we  possess."  Thus  in  the  last 
years  of  the  reign  of  Alexander  I.  the  patriotic  opposition  to  West 
European  literature  gradually  ceased,  and  a  new  period  of  unre- 
stricted intellectual  importation  began. 

The  intellectual  merchandise  now  brought  into  the  country  was 
very  different  from  that  which  had  been  imported  in  the  time  of 
Catherine.  The  French  Eevolution,  the  Xapoleonic  domination, 
the  patriotic  wars,  the  restoration  of  the  Bourbons,  and  the  other 
great  events  of  that  memorable  epoch,  had  in  the  interval  produced 
profound  changes  in  the  intellectual  as  well  as  the  political  con- 
dition of  Western  Europe.  During  the  Napoleonic  wars  Eussia 
had  become  closely  associated  with  Germany ;  and  now  the  peculiar 
intellectual  fermentation  which  was  going  on  among  the  German 
educated  classes  was  reflected  in  the  society  of  St.  Petersburg.  It 
did  not  appear,  indeed,  in  the  printed  literature,  for  the  Press- 
censure  had  been  recently  organised  on  the  principles  laid  down  by 
Metternich,  but  it  was  none  the  less  violent  on  that  account.  ^Vllilst 
the  periodicals  were  filled  with  commonplace  meditations  on  youth, 
spring,  the  love  of  Art,  and  similar  innocent  topics,  the  young  gen- 
eration was  discussing  in  the  salons  all  the  burning  questions  which 
Metternich  and  his  adherents  were  endeavouring  to  extinguish. 

These  discussions,  if  discussions  they  might  be  called,  were  not 
of  a  very  serious  kind.     In  true  dilettante  style  the  fashionable 


ST.  PETEKSBURG  AND  EUROPEAN  INFLUENCE  3T5 

young  philosophers  culled  from  the  newest  books  the  newest 
thoughts  and  theories,  and  retailed  them  in  the  salon  or  the  ball- 
room. And  they  were  always  sure  to  find  attentive  listeners.  The 
more  astounding  the  idea  or  dogma,  the  more  likely  was  it  to  be 
favoura])ly  received.  No  matter  whether  it  came  from  the  Ration- 
alists, the  jVfystics,  the  Freemasons,  or  the  Methodists,  it  was  cer- 
tain to  find  favour,  provided  it  was  novel  and  presented  in  an 
elegant  form.  The  eclectic  minds  of  that  curious  time  could  de- 
rive equal  satisfaction  from  the  brilliant  discourses  of  the  reaction- 
ary Jesuitical  De  Maistre,  the  revolutionary  odes  of  Pushkin,  and 
the  mysticism  of  Frau  von  Kriidener.  For  the  majority  the  vague 
tlieosophic  doctrines  and  the  projects  for  a  spiritual  union  of  gov- 
ernments and  peoples  had  perhaps  the  greatest  charm,  being 
specially  commended  by  the  fact  tliat  they  enjoyed  the  protection 
and  sympathy  of  the  Emperor.  Pious  souls  discovered  in  the  mys- 
tical lucubrations  of  Jung-Stilling  and  Baader  the  final  solution 
of  all  existing  difficulties — political,  social,  and  philosophical.  Men 
of  less  dreamy  temperament  put  their  faith  in  political  economy 
and  constitutional  theories,  and  sought  a  foundation  for  their 
favourite  schemes  in  the  past  history  of  the  country  and  in  the 
supposed  fundamental  peculiarities  of  the  national  character.  Like 
the  young  German  democrats,  who  were  then  talking  enthusiasti- 
cally about  Teutons,  Cheruskers,  Skalds,  the  shade  of  Arminius, 
and  the  heroes  of  the  Niebelungen,  these  young  Russian  savants 
recognised  in  early  Russian  history — when  reconstructed  according 
to  their  own  fancy — lofty  political  ideals,  and  dreamed  of  resusci- 
tating the  ancient  institutions  in  all  their  pristine  imaginary 
splendour. 

Each  age  has  its  peculiar  social  and  political  panaceas.  One 
generation  puts  its  trust  in  religion,  another  in  philanthropy,  a 
third  in  written  constitutions,  a  fourth  in  universal  sufErage,  a 
fifth  in  popular  education.  In  the  Epoch  of  the  Restoration,  as  it 
is  called,  the  favourite  panacea  all  over  the  Continent  was  secret 
political  association.  Very  soon  after  the  overthrow  of  Napoleon 
the  peoples  who  had  risen  in  arms  to  obtain  political  independence 
discovered  that  they  had  merely  changed  masters.  The  Princes 
reconstructed  Europe  according  to  their  own  convenience,  without 
paying  much  attention  to  patriotic  aspirations,  and  forgot  their 
promises  of  liberal  institutions  as  soon  as  they  were  again  firmly 
seated  on  their  thrones.  This  was  naturally  for  many  a  bitter 
deception.  The  young  generation,  excluded  from  all  share  in 
political  life  and  gagged  by  the  stringent  police  supervision,  sought 


376  RUSSIA 

to  realise  its  political  aspirations  by  means  of  secret  societies,  re- 
sembling more  or  less  the  Masonic  brotherhoods.  There  were  tlie 
Burschenschaften  in  Germany;  the  Union,  and  the  "Aide  toi  et 
le  del  faidera,"  in  France;  the  Order  of  the  Hammer  in  Spain; 
the  Carbonari  in  Italy ;  and  the  Hetairai  in  Greece.  In  Eussia  the 
young  nobles  followed  the  prevailing  fashion.  Secret  societies  were 
formed,  and  in  December,  1825,  an  attempt  was  made  to  raise  a 
military  insurrection  in  St.  Petersburg,  for  the  purpose  of  deposing 
the  Imperial  family  and  proclaiming  a  republic;  but  the  attempt 
failed,  and  the  vague  Utopian  dreams  of  the  romantic  would-be 
reformers  were  swept  away  by  grape-shot. 

This  "December  catastrophe,"  still  vividly  remembered,  was 
for  the  society  of  St.  Petersburg  like  the  giving  way  of  the  floor 
in  a  crowded  ball-room.  But  a  moment  before,  all  had  been  ani- 
mated, careless,  and  happy;  now  consternation  was  depicted  on 
every  face.  The  salons,  that  but  yesterday  had  been  ringing  with 
lively  discussions  on  morals,  aesthetics,  politics,  and  theology,  were 
now  silent  and  deserted.  Many  of  those  who  had  been  wont  to 
lead  the  causeries  had  been  removed  to  the  cells  of  the  fortress, 
and  those  who  had  not  been  arrested  trembled  for  themselves  or 
their  friends;  for  nearly  all  had  of  late  dabbled  more  or  less  in 
the  theory  and  practice  of  revolution.  The  announcement  that 
five  of  the  conspirators  had  been  condemned  to  the  gallows  and  the 
others  sentenced  to  transportation  did  not  tend  to  calm  the  con- 
sternation. Society  was  like  a  discomfited  child,  who,  amidst  the 
delight  and  excitement  of  letting  off  fireworks,  has  had  its  fingers 
severely  burnt. 

The  sentimental,  wavering  Alexander  I.  had  been  succeeded  by 
his  stern,  energetic  brother  Nicholas,  and  the  command  went  forth 
that  there  should  be  no  more  fireworks,  no  more  dilettante  phil- 
osophising or  political  aspirations.  There  was,  however,  little 
need  for  such  an  order.  Society  had  been,  for  the  moment  at 
least,  effectually  cured  of  all  tendencies  to  political  dreaming.  It 
had  discovered,  to  its  astonishment  and  dismay,  that  these  new 
ideas,  which  were  to  bring  temporal  salvation  to  humanity,  and 
to  make  all  men  happy,  virtuous,  refined,  and  poetical,  led  in 
reality  to  exile  and  the  scaffold !  The  pleasant  dream  was  at  an 
end,  and  the  fashionable  world,  giving  up  its  former  habits,  took 
to  harmless  occupations — card-playing,  dissipation,  and  the  read- 
ing of  French  light  literature.  "The  French  quadrille,"  as  a 
writer  of  the  time  tersely  expresses  it,  "has  taken  the  place  of 
Adam  Smith." 


ST.  PETERSBURG  AND  EUROPEAN  INFLUENCE  377 

When  the  storm  had  passed,  the  life  of  the  salons  began  anew, 
but  it  was  very  different  from  what  it  had  been.  There  was  no 
longer  any  talk  about  political  economy,  theology,  popular  educa- 
tion, administrative  abuses,  social  and  political  reforms.  Every- 
thing that  had  any  relation  to  politics  in  the  wider  sense  of  the 
term  was  by  tacit  consent  avoided.  Discussions  there  were  as  of 
old,  but  they  were  now  confined  to  literary  topics,  theories  of  art, 
and  similar  innocent  subjects. 

This  indifference  or  positive  repugnance  to  philosophy  and 
political  science,  strengthened  and  prolonged  by  the  repressive  sys- 
tem of  administration  adopted  by  Nicholas,  was  of  course  fatal  to 
the  many-sided  intellectual  activity  which  had  flourished  during 
the  preceding  reign,  but  it  was  by  no  means  unfavourable  to  the  cul- 
tivation of  imaginative  literature.  On  the  contrary,  by  excluding 
those  practical  interests  which  tend  to  disturb  artistic  production 
and  to  engross  the  attention  of  the  public,  it  fostered  what  was 
called  in  the  phraseology  of  that  time  "  the  pure-hearted  worship 
of  the  Muses."  We  need  not,  therefore,  be  surprised  to  find  that 
the  reign  of  Nicholas,  which  is  commonly  and  not  unjustly 
described  as  an  epoch  of  social  and  intellectual  stagnation,  may  be 
called  in  a  certain  sense  the  Golden  Age  of  Russian  literature. 

Already  in  the  preceding  reign  the  struggle  between  the  Classical 
and  the  Romantic  school — between  the  adherents  of  traditional 
jpsthetic  principles  and  the  partisans  of  untrammelled  poetic  in- 
spiration— which  was  being  carried  on  in  Western  Europe,  was 
reflected  in  Russia.  A  group  of  young  men  belonging  to  the  aris- 
tocratic society  of  St.  Petersburg  embraced  with  enthusiasm  the 
new  doctrines,  and  declared  war  against  "  classicism,"  under 
which  term  they  understood  all  that  was  antiquated,  dry,  and  pe- 
dantic. Discarding  the  stately,  lumbering,  unwieldy  periods  which 
had  hitherto  been  in  fashion,  they  wrote  a  light,  elastic,  vigorous 
style,  and  formed  a  literary  society  for  the  express  purpose  of 
ridiculing  the  most  approved  classical  writers.  The  new  principles 
found  many  adherents,  and  the  new  style  many  admirers,  but 
this  only  intensified  the  hostility  of  the  literary  Conservatives. 
The  staid,  respectable  leaders  of  the  old  school,  who  had  all  their 
lives  kept  the  fear  of  Boileau  before  their  eyes  and  considered  his 
precepts  as  the  infallible  utterances  of  aesthetic  wisdom,  thundered 
against  the  impious  innovations  as  unmistakable  symptoms  of 
literary  decline  and  moral  degeneracy — representing  the  boisterous 
young  iconoclasts  as  dissipated  Don  Juans  and  dangerous  free- 
thinkers. 


378  EUSSIA 

Thus  for  some  time  in  Eussia,  as  in  Western  Europe,  "  a  terrible 
war  raged  on  Parnassus."  At  first  the  Government  frowned  at 
the  innovators,  on  account  of  certain  revolutionary  odes  which  one 
of  their  number  had  written;  but  when  the  Eomantic  Muse,  hav- 
ing turned  away  from  the  present  as  essentially  prosaic,  went  back 
into  the  distant  past  and  soared  into  the  region  of  sublime  ab- 
stractions, the  most  keen-eyed  Press  Censors  found  no  reason  to 
condemn  her  worship,  and  the  authorities  placed  almost  no  restric- 
tions on  free  poetic  inspiration.  Eomantic  poetry  acquired  the 
protection  of  the  Government  and  the  patronage  of  the  Court,  and 
the  names  of  Zhukofski,  Pushkin,  and  Lermontof — the  three  chief 
representatives  of  the  Eussian  Eomantic  school — became  house- 
hold words  in  all  ranks  of  the  educated  classes. 

These  three  great  luminaries  of  the  literary  world  were  of  course 
attended  by  a  host  of  satellites  of  various  magnitudes,  who  did  all 
in  their  power  to  refute  the  romantic  principles  by  reductiones  ad 
ahsurdum.  Endowed  for  the  most  part  with  considerable  facility 
of  composition,  the  poetasters  poured  forth  their  feelings  with 
torrential  recklessness,  demanding  freedom  for  their  inspiration, 
and  cursing  the  age  that  fettered  them  with  its  prosaic  cares,  its 
cold  reason,  and  its  dry  science.  At  the  same  time  the  dramatists 
and  novelists  created  heroes  of  immaculate  character  and  angelic 
purity,  endowed  with  all  the  cardinal  virtues  in  the  superlative 
degree ;  and,  as  a  contrast  to  these,  terrible  Satanic  personages  with 
savage  passions,  gleaming  daggers,  deadly  poisons,  and  all  manner 
of  aimless  melodramatic  villainy.  These  stilted  productions, 
interspersed  with  light  satirical  essays,  historical  sketches,  literary 
criticism,  and  amusing  anecdotes,  formed  the  contents  of  the 
periodical  literature,  and  completely  satisfied  the  wants  of  the  read- 
ing public.  Almost  no  one  at  that  time  took  any  interest  in  public 
affairs  or  foreign  politics.  The  acts  of  the  Government  which 
were  watched  most  attentively  were  the  promotions  in  the  service 
and  the  conferring  of  decorations.  The  publication  of  a  new  tale 
by  Zagoskin  or  Marlinski — two  writers  now  well-nigh  forgotten — 
seemed  of  much  greater  importance  than  any  amount  of  legisla- 
tion, and  such  events  as  the  French  Eevolution  of  1830  paled  before 
the  publication  of  a  new  poem  by  Pushkin. 

The  Transcendental  philosophy,  which  in  Germany  went  hand 
in  hand  with  the  Eomantic  literature,  found  likewise  a  faint  reflec- 
tion in  Eussia.  A  number  of  young  professors  and  students  in 
]\Ioscow,  who  had  become  ardent  admirers  of  German  literature, 
passed  from  the  works  of  Schiller,  Goethe,  and  Hoffmann  to  the 


ST.  PETERSBURG  AND  EUROPEAN  INFLUENCE  3T9 

writing  of  Schelling  and  Hegel.  Trained  in  the  Romantic  school, 
these  young  philosophers  found  at  first  a  special  charm  in  Schell- 
ing's  mystical  system,  teeming  with  hazy  poetical  metaphors,  and 
presenting  a  misty  grandiose  picture  of  the  universe ;  but  gradually 
they  felt  the  want  of  some  logical  basis  for  their  speculations,  and 
Hegel  became  their  favourite.  Gallantly  they  struggled  with  the 
uncouth  terminology  and  epigrammatic  paradoxes  of  the  great 
thinker,  and  strove  to  force  their  way  through  the  intricate  mazes 
of  his  logical  formula.  With  the  ardour  of  neophytes  they  looked 
at  every  phenomenon — even  the  most  trivial  incident  of  common 
life — from  the  philosophical  point  of  view,  talked  day  and  night 
about  principles,  ideas,  subjectivity,  Weltauffassung,  and  similar 
abstract  entities,  and  habitually  attacked  the  "  hydra  of  unphil- 
osophy  "  by  analysing  the  phenomena  presented  and  relegating  tlie 
ingredient  elements  to  the  recognised  categories.  In  ordinary  life 
they  were  men  of  quiet,  grave,  contemplative  demeanour,  but  their 
faces  could  flush  and  their  blood  boil  when  they  discussed  the  all- 
important  question,  whether  it  is  possible  to  pass  logically  from 
Pure  Being  through  Nonentity  to  the  conception  of  Development 
and  Definite  Existence ! 

"We  know  how  in  Western  Europe  Romanticism  and  Transcen- 
dentalism, in  their  various  forms,  sank  into  oblivion,  and  were 
replaced  by  a  literature  which  had  a  closer  connection  with  ordi- 
nary prosaic  wants  and  plain  everyday  life.  The  educated  public 
became  weary  of  the  Romantic  writers,  who  were  always  "  sighing 
like  a  furnace,"  delighting  in  solitude,  cold  eternity,  and  moonshine, 
deluging  the  world  with  their  heart-gushings,  and  calling  on  the 
heavens  and  the  earth  to  stand  aghast  at  their  Promethean  agonis- 
ing or  their  Wertherean  despair.  Healthy  human  nature  revolted 
against  the  poetical  enthusiasts  who  had  lost  the  faculty  of  seeing 
things  in  their  natural  light,  and  who  constantly  indulged  in  that 
morbid  self-analysis  which  is  fatal  to  genuine  feeling  and  vigorous 
action.  And  in  this  healthy  reaction  the  philosophers  fared  no 
better  than  the  poets,  with  whom,  indeed,  they  had  much  in  com- 
mon. Shutting  their  eyes  to  the  visible  world  around  them,  they 
had  busied  themselves  with  burrowing  in  the  mysterious  depths  of 
Absolute  Being,  grappling  with  the  ego  and  the  non-ego,  construc- 
ting the  great  world,  visible  and  invisible,  out  of  their  own  puny 
internal  self-consciousness,  endeavouring  to  appropriate  all  depart- 
ments of  human  thought,  and  imparting  to  every  subject  they 
touched  the  dryness  and  rigidity  of  an  algebraical  formula.  Grad- 
ually men  with  real  human  sympathies  began  to  perceive  that  from 


380  RUSSIA 

all  this  philosophical  turmoil  little  real  advantage  was  to  be 
derived.  It  became  only  too  evident  that  the  philosophers  were 
perfectly  reconciled  with  all  the  evil  in  the  world,  provided  it  did 
not  contradict  their  theories;  that  they  were  men  of  the  same  type 
as  the  physician  in  Moliere's  comedy,  whose  chief  care  was  that 
his  patients  should  die  selon  les  ordonnances  de  la  medicine. 

In  Russia  the  reaction  first  appeared  in  the  aesthetic  literature. 
Its  first  influential  representative  was  Gogol  (b.  1808,  d.  1852), 
who  may  be  called,  in  a  certain  sense,  the  Russian  Dickens.  A 
minute  comparison  of  those  two  great  humourists  would  perhaps 
show  as  many  points  of  contrast  as  of  similarity,  but  there  is  a 
strong  superficial  resemblance  between  them.  They  both  possessed 
an  inexhaustible  supply  of  broad  humour  and  an  imagination  of 
singular  vividness.  Both  had  the  power  of  seeing  the  ridiculous 
side  of  common  things,  and  the  talent  of  producing  caricatures 
that  had  a  wonderful  semblance  of  reality.  A  little  calm  reflection 
would  suffice  to  show  that  the  characters  presented  are  for  the  most 
part  psychological  impossibilities;  but  on  first  making  their  ac- 
quaintance we  are  so  struck  with  one  or  two  life-like  characteristics 
and  various  little  details  dexterously  introduced,  and  at  the  same 
time  we  are  so  carried  away  by  the  overflowing  fun  of  the  narrative, 
that  we  have  neither  time  nor  inclination  to  use  our  critical  faculties. 
In  a  very  short  time  Gogol's  fame  spread  throughout  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  Empire,  and  many  of  his  characters  became  as 
familiar  to  his  countrymen  as  Sam  Weller  and  Mrs.  Gamp  were 
to  Englishmen.  His  descriptions  were  so  graphic — so  like  the 
world  which  everybody  knew !  The  characters  seemed  to  be  old 
acquaintances  hit  ofi'  to  the  life;  and  readers  revelled  in  that 
peculiar  pleasure  which  most  of  us  derive  from  seeing  our  friends 
successfully  mimicked.  Even  the  Iron  Tsar  could  not  resist  the 
fun  and  humour  of  "The  Inspector"  (Revizor),  and  not  only 
laughed  heartily,  but  also  protected  the  author  against  the  tyranny 
of  the  literary  censors,  who  considered  that  the  piece  was  not 
written  in  a  sufficiently  "  well-intentioned  "  tone.  In  a  word,  the 
reading  public  laughed  as  it  had  never  laughed  before,  and  this 
wholesome  genuine  merriment  did  much  to  destroy  the  morbid 
appetite  for  Byronic  heroes  and  Romantic  affectation. 

The  Romantic  Muse  did  not  at  once  abdicate,  but  with  the  spread 
of  Gogol's  popularity  her  reign  was  practically  at  an  end.  In  vain 
some  of  the  conservative  critics  decried  the  new  favourite  as  talent- 
less, prosaic,  and  vulgar.  The  public  were  not  to  be  robbed  of  their 
amusement  for  the  sake  of  any  abstract  aesthetic  considerations; 


ST.  PETERSBURG  AND  EUROPEAN  INFLUENCE  381 

and  young  authors,  taking  Gogol  for  their  model,  chose  their  sub- 
jects from  real  life,  and  endeavoured  to  delineate  with  minute 
truthfulness. 

This  new  intellectual  movement  was  at  first  purely  literary,  and 
affected  merely  the  manner  of  writing  novels,  tales,  and  poems. 
The  critics  who  had  previously  demanded  beauty  of  form  and 
elegance  of  expression  now  demanded  accuracy  of  description, 
condemned  the  aspirations  towards  so-called  high  art,  and  praised 
loudly  those  who  produced  the  best  literary  photographs.  But 
authors  and  critics  did  not  long  remain  on  this  purely  aesthetic 
standpoint.  The  authors,  in  describing  reality,  began  to  indicate 
moral  approval  and  condemnation,  and  the  critics  began  to  pass 
from  the  criticism  of  the  representations  to  the  criticism  of  the 
realities  represented.  A  poem  or  a  tale  was  often  used  as  a  peg 
on  which  to  hang  a  moral  lecture,  and  the  fictitious  characters 
were  soundly  rated  for  their  sins  of  omission  and  commission. 
Much  was  said  about  the  defence  of  the  oppressed,  female  emanci- 
pation, honour,  and  humanitarianism ;  and  ridicule  was  unspar- 
ingly launched  against  all  forms  of  ignorance,  apathy,  and  the 
spirit  of  routine.  The  ordinary  refrain  was  that  the  public  ought 
now  to  discard  what  was  formerly  regarded  as  poetical  and  sub- 
lime, and  to  occupy  itself  with  practical  concerns — with  the  real 
wants  of  social  life. 

The  literary  movement  was  thus  becoming  a  movement  in 
favour  of  social  and  political  reforms  when  it  was  suddenly 
arrested  by  political  events  in  the  West.  The  February  Revolution 
in  Paris,  and  the  political  fermentation  which  appeared  during 
1848-49  in  almost  every  country  of  Europe,  alarmed  the  Emperor 
Nicholas  and  his  counsellors.  A  Russian  army  was  sent  into  Austria 
to  suppress  the  Hungarian  insurrection  and  save  the  Hapsburg 
dynasty,  and  the  most  stringent  measures  were  taken  to  prevent  dis- 
orders at  home.  One  of  the  first  precautions  for  the  preservation 
of  domestic  tranquillity  was  to  muzzle  the  Press  more  firmly 
than  before,  and  to  silence  the  aspirations  towards  reform  and 
progress;  thenceforth  nothing  could  be  printed  which  was  not  in 
strict  accordance  with  the  ultra-patriotic  theory  of  Russian  his- 
tory, as  expressed  by  a  leading  official  personage :  "  The  past 
has  been  admirable,  the  present  is  more  than  magnificent,  and 
the  future  will  surpass  all  that  the  human  imagination  can 
conceive ! "  The  alarm  caused  by  the  revolutionary  disorders 
spread  to  the  non-official  world,  and  gave  rise  to  much  patriotic 
self-congratulation.     "The  nations  of    the  West,"    it    was    said. 


382  KUSSIA 

"envy  us,  and  if  they  knew  us  better — if  they  could  see  how 
happy  and  prosperous  we  are — they  would  envy  us  still  more.  We 
ought  not,  however,  to  withdraw  from  Europe  our  solicitude;  its 
hostility  should  not  deprive  us  of  our  high  mission  of  saving  order 
and  restoring  rest  to  the  nations;  we  ought  to  teach  them  to  obey 
authority  as  we  do.  It  is  for  us  to  introduce  the  saving  principle 
of  order  into  a  world  that  has  fallen  a  prey  to  anarchy.  Eussia 
ought  not  to  abandon  that  mission  which  has  been  entrusted  to 
her  by  the  heavenly  and  by  the  earthly  Tsar."  * 

Men  who  saw  in  the  significant  political  eruption  of  1848  noth- 
ing but  an  outburst  of  meaningless,  aimless  anarchy,  and  who 
believed  that  their  country  was  destined  to  restore  order  throughout 
the  civilised  world,  had  of  course  little  time  or  inclination  to  think 
of  putting  their  own  house  in  order.  No  one  now  spoke  of  the 
necessity  of  social  reorganisation :  the  recentlji  awakened  aspirations 
and  expectations  seemed  to  be  completely  forgotten.  The  critics  re- 
turned to  their  old  theory  that  art  and  literature  should  be  culti- 
vated for  their  own  sake  and  not  used  as  a  vehicle  for  the  propa- 
gation of  ideas  foreign  to  their  nature.  It  seemed,  in  short,  as 
if  all  the  prolific  ideas  which  had  for  a  time  occupied  the  public 
attention  had  been  merely  "writ  in  water,"  and  had  now  disap- 
peared without  leaving  a  trace  behind  them. 

In  reality  the  new  movement  was  destined  to  reappear  very  soon 
with  tenfold  force ;  but  the  account  of  its  reappearance  and  develop- 
ment belongs  to  a  future  chapter.  Meanwhile  I  may  formulate  the 
general  conclusion  to  be  drawn  from  the  foregoing  pages.  Ever 
since  the  time  of  Peter  the  Great  there  has  been  such  a  close  con- 
nection between  Eussia  and  Western  Europe  that  every  intellectual 
movement  which  has  appeared  in  France  and  Germany  has  been 
reflected — albeit  in  an  exaggerated,  distorted  form — in  the  educated 
society  of  St.  Petersburg  and  Moscow.  Thus  the  window  which 
Peter  opened  in  order  to  enable  his  subjects  to  look  into  Europe  has 
well  served  its  purpose. 

♦These  words  were  written  by  TchaadSef,  who,  a  few  years  before, 
had  vigorously  attacked  the  Slavophils  for  enouncing  similar  views. 


CHAPTEE    XXVII 

THE   CRIMEAN   WAR   AND   ITS   CONSEQUENCES 

The  Emperor  Nicholas  and  his  System — ^The  Men  with  Aspirations  and 
the  Apathetically  Contented — Nation:.!  Humiliation — Popular  Dis- 
content and  che  Manuscript  Litcratuie — Death  of  Nicholas — Alex- 
ander II. — New  Spirit — Reform  E;lt^-i-siaf^m — 'l,ha)ige  in  the  Teriod- 
ical  Literature — ^The  Kdlokol — The  Conserva.  ves — The  Tchindvniks 
— First  Specific  Proposals — Joint-Stock  Companies — The  Serf  Ques- 
tion Comes  to  the  Front 

'T'HE  Russians  frankly  admit  that  they  were  beaten  in  the 
*  Crimean  War,  but  they  regard  the  heroic  defence  of  Sebastopol 
as  one  of  the  most  glorious  events  in  the  military  annals  of  their 
country.  Nor  do  they  altogether  regret  the  result  of  the  struggle. 
Often  in  a  half-jocular,  half-serious  tone  they  say  that  they  had 
reason  to  be  grateful  to  the  Allies.  And  there  is  much  truth  in 
this  paradoxical  statement.  The  Crimean  War  inaugurated  a  new 
epoch  in  the  national  history.  It  gave  the  death-blow  to  the 
repressive  system  of  the  Emperor  Nicholas,  and  produced  an  in- 
tellectual movement  and  a  moral  revival  which  led  to  gigantic 
results, 

"  The  affair  of  December,"  1825 — I  mean  the  abortive  attempt 
at  a  military  insurrection  in   St.   Petersburg,  to  which   I  have 
alluded  in  the  foregoing  chapter — gave  the  key-note  to  Nicholas's 
reign.    The  armed  attempt  to  overthrow  the  Imperial  power,  end- 
>  ing  in  the  execution  or  exile  of  many  young  members  of  the  first 
/  families,  struck  terror  into  the  Noblesse,  and  prepared  the  way  for 
//a  period  of  repressive  police  administration.     Nicholas  had  none 
/   of  the  moral  limpness  and  vacillating  character  of  his  predecessor. 
His  was  one  of  those  simple,  vigorous,  tenacious,  straightforward 
natures — more  frequently  to  be  met  with   among  the  Teutonic 
than  among  the  Slav  races — whose  conceptions  are  all  founded  on 
a  few  deep-rooted,  semi-instinctive  convictions,  and  who  are  utterly 
incapable  of  accommodating  themselves  with  histrionic  cleverness 
to  the  changes  of  external  circumstances.     From  his  early  youth 
he  had  shown  a  strong  liking  for  military  discipline    and  a  de- 
cided repugnance  to  the  humanitarianism  and  liberal  principles 
then  in  fashion.     With  "  the  rights  of  man,"  "  the  spirit  of  the 

383 


384  EUSSIA 

age,"  and  similar  philosophical  abstractions,  his  strong,  domineer- 
ing nature  had  no  s}Tiipathy;  and  for  the  vague,  loud-sounding 
phrases  of  philosophic  liberalism  he  had  a  most  profound  contempt. 
"Attend  to  your  military  duties,"  he  was  wont  to  say  to  his 
ofiEicers  before  his  accession ;  "  don't  trouble  your  heads  with 
philosophy.  I  cannot  bear  philosophers ! "  The  tragic  event 
which  formed  the  prelude  to  his  reign  naturally  confirmed  and 
fortified  his  previous  convictions.  The  representatives  of  liberal- 
ism, who  could  talk  so  eloquently  about  duty  in  the  abstract,  had, 
whilst  wearing  the  uniform  of  the  Imperial  Guard,  openly  dis- 
obeyed the  repeated  orders  of  their  superior  officers  and  attempted 
to  shake  the  allegiance  of  the  troops  for  the  purpose  of  overthrow- 
ing the  Imperial  power!  A  man  who  was  at  once  soldier  and 
autocrat,  by  nature  as  well  as  by  position,  could  of  course  admit 
no  extenuating  circumstances.  The  incident  stereotyped  his  char- 
acter for  life,  and  made  him  the  sworn  enemy  of  liberalism  and 
the  fanatical  defender  of  autocracy,  not  only  in  his  own  country, 
but  throughout  Europe.  In  European  politics  he  saw  two  forces 
struggling  for  mastery — monarchy  and  democracy,  which  were  in 
his  opinion  identical  with  order  and  anarchy;  and  he  was  always 
ready  to  assist  his  brother  sovereigns  in  putting  down  democratic 
movements.  In  his  own  Empire  he  endeavoured  by  every  means 
in  his  power  to  prevent  the  introduction  of  the  dangerous  ideas. 
For  this  purpose  a  stringent  intellectual  quarantine  was  established 
on  the  western  frontier.  All  foreign  books  and  newspapers,  ex- 
cept those  of  the  most  harmless  kind,  were  rigorously  excluded. 
Native  writers  were  placed  under  strict  supervision,  and  peremp- 
torily silenced  as  soon  as  they  departed  from  what  was  considered 
a  "well-intentioned"  tone.  The  number  of  university  students 
was  diminished,  the  chairs  for  political  science  were  suppressed,  and 
the  military  schools  multiplied.  Russians  were  prevented  from 
travelling  abroad,  and  foreigners  who  visited  the  country  were 
closely  watched  by  the  police.  By  these  and  similar  measures  it 
was  hoped  that  Eussia  would  be  preserved  from  the  dangers  of 
revolutionary  agitation. 

Nicholas  has  been  called  the  Don  Quixote  of  Autocracy,  and  the 
comparison  which  the  term  implies  is  true  in  many  points.  By 
character  and  aims  he  belonged  to  a  time  that  had  passed  away; 
but  failure  and  mishap  could  not  shake  his  faith  in  his  ideal,  and 
made  no  change  in  his  honest,  stubborn  nature,  which  was  as 
loyal  and  chivalresque  as  that  of  the  ill-fated  Knight  of  La 
Mancha.    In  spite  of  all  evidence  to  the  contrary,  he  believed  in 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR  AXD  ITS  CONSEQUENCES     385 

the  practical  omnipotcnco  of  autocTacy.  He  imagined  that  as  his 
authority  was  theoretically  unlimited,  so  his  power  could  work 
miracles.  By  nature  and  training  a  soldier,  he  considered  govern- 
ment a  slightly  modified  form  of  military  discipline,  and  looked 
on  the  nation  as  an  army  which  might  ho  made  to  perform  any 
intellectual  or  economic  evolutions  that  he  might  sec  fit  to  com- 
mand. All  social  ills  seemed  to  him  the  consequence  of  disohe- 
dience  to  his  orders,  and  he  knew  only  one  remedy — more  dis- 
cipline. Any  expression  of  doubt  as  to  the  wisdom  of  his  policy, 
or  any  criticism  of  existing  regulations,  he  treated  as  an  act  of 
insubordination  which  a  wise  sovereign  ought  not  to  tolerate.  If 
he  never  said,  "  L'Etat — c'est  moi!  "  it  was  because  he  considered 
the  fact  so  self-evident  tliat  it  did  not  need  to  be  stated.  Hence 
any  attack  on  the  administration,  even  in  the  person  of  the  most 
insignificant  official,  was  an  attack  on  himself  and  on  the  mon- 
archical principle  which  he  represented.  The  people  must  believe — • 
and  faith,  as  we  know,  comes  not  by  sight — that  they  lived  under 
the  best  possible  government.  To  doubt  this  was  political  heresy. 
An  incautious  word  or  a  foolish  joke  against  the  Government  was 
considered  a  serious  crime,  and  might  be  punished  by  a  long  exile 
in  some  distant  and  inhospitable  part  of  the  Empire.  Progress 
should  by  all  means  be  made,  but  it  must  be  made  by  word  of 
command,  and  in  the  way  ordered.  Private  initiative  in  any  form 
was  a  thing  on  no  account  to  be  tolerated.  Nicholas  never  suspected 
that  a  ruler,  however  well-intentioned,  energetic,  and  legally  auto- 
cratic he  may  be,  can  do  but  little  without  the  co-operation  of  his 
people.  Experience  constantly  showed  him  the  fruitlessness  of  his 
efforts,  but  he  paid  no  attention  to  its  teachings.  He  had  formed 
once  for  all  his  theory  of  government,  and  for  thirty  years  he  acted 
according  to  it  with  all  the  blindness  and  obstinacy  of  a  reckless, 
fanatical  doctrinaire.  Even  at  the  close  of  his  reign,  when  the 
terrible  logic  of  facts  had  proved  his  system  to  be  a  mistake — 
when  his  armies  had  been  defeated,  his  best  fleet  destroyed,  his 
ports  blockaded,  and  his  treasury  well-nigh  emptied — he  could  not 
recant.  "My  successor,"  he  is  reported  to  have  said  on  his  death- 
bed, "  may  do  as  he  pleases,  but  I  cannot  change." 

Had  Nicholas  lived  in  the  old  patriarchal  times,  when  kings  were 
the  uncontrolled  "  shepherds  of  the  people,"  he  would  perhaps 
have  been  an  admirable  ruler ;  but  in  the  nineteenth  century  he  was 
a  flagrant  anachronism.  His  system  of  administration  completely 
broke  down.  In  vain  he  multiplied  formalities  and  inspectors, 
and  punished  severely  the  few  delinquents  who  happened  by  some 


386  EUSSIA 

accident  to  be  brought  to  justice;  the  officials  continued  to  pilfer, 
extort,  and  misgovern  in  every  possible  way.  Though  the  country 
was  reduced  to  what  would  be  called  in  Europe  "  a  state  of  siege," 
the  inhabitants  might  still  have  said — as  they  are  reported  to  have 
declared  a  thousand  years  before — "  Our  land  is  great  and  fertile, 
but  there  is  no  order  in  it." 

In  a  nation  accustomed  to  political  life  and  to  a  certain  amount 
of  self-government,  any  approach  to  the  system  of  Xicholas  would, 
of  course,  have  produced  wide-spread  dissatisfaction  and  violent 
hatred  against  the  ruling  power.  But  in  Eussia  at  that  time  no 
such  feelings  were  awakened.  The  educated  classes — and  a  fortiori 
the  uneducated — were  profoundly  indifferent  not  only  to  political 
questions,  but  also  to  ordinary  public  affairs,  whether  local  or 
Imperial,  and  were  quite  content  to  leave  them  in  the  hands  of 
those  who  were  paid  for  attending  to  them.  In  common  with  the 
uneducated  peasantry,  the  nobles  had  a  boundless  respect — one 
might  almost  say  a  superstitious  reverence — not  only  for  the  per- 
son, but  also  for  the  will  of  the  Tsar,  and  were  ready  to  show  un- 
questioning obedience  to  his  commands,  so  long  as  these  did  not 
interfere  with  their  accustomed  mode  of  life.  The  Tsar  desired 
them  not  to  trouble  their  heads  with  political  questions,  and  to 
leave  all  public  matters  to  the  care  of  the  Administration;  and  in 
this  respect  the  Imperial  will  coincided  so  well  with  their  per- 
sonal inclinations  that  they  had  no  difficulty  in  complying  with  it. 

When  the  Tsar  ordered  those  of  them  who  held  office  to  refrain 
from  extortion  and  peculation,  his  orders  were  not  so  punctiliously 
obeyed,  but  in  this  disobedience  there  was  no  open  opposition — 
no  assertion  of  a  right  to  pilfer  and  extort.  As  the  disobedience 
proceeded,  not  from  a  feeling  of  insubordination,  but  merely  from 
the  weakness  that  official  flesh  is  heir  to,  it  was  not  regarded  as 
very  heinous.  In  the  aristocratic  circles  of  St.  Petersburg  and 
Moscow  there  was  the  same  indifference  to  political  questions  and 
public  affairs.  All  strove  to  have  the  reputation  of  being  "well- 
intentioned,"  which  was  the  first  requisite  for  those  who  desired 
Court  favour  or  advancement  in  the  public  service;  and  those 
whose  attention  was  not  entirely  occupied  with  official  duties,  card- 
playing,  and  the  ordinary  routine  of  everyday  life,  cultivated 
helles-UUres  or  the  fine  arts.  In  short,  the  educated  classes  in 
Eussia  at  that  time  showed  a  complete  indifference  to  political  and 
social  questions,  an  apathetic  acquiescence  in  the  system  of  ad- 
ministration adopted  by  the  Government,  and  an  unreasoning  con- 
tentment with  the  existing  state  of  things. 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR  AND  ITS  CONSEQUENCES     387 

About  the  year  1845,  when  the  reaction  against  Romanticism 
was  awakening  in  the  reading  public  an  interest  in  the  affairs 
of  real  life,*  began  to  appear  what  may  be  called  "the  men 
with  aspirations,"  a  little  band  of  generous  enthusiasts,  strongly 
resembling  the  youth  in  Longfellow's  poem  who  carries  a  banner 
with  the  device  "Excelsior,"  and  strives  ever  to  climb  higher, 
without  having  any  clear  notion  of  where  he  was  going  or  of 
what  he  is  to  do  when  he  reaches  the  summit.  At  first  they 
had  little  more  than  a  sentimental  enthusiasm  for  the  true,  the 
beautiful,  and  the  good,  and  a  certain  Platonic  love  for  free  in- 
stitutions, liberty,  enlightenment,  progress,  and  everything  that 
was  generally  comprehended  at  that  period  under  the  term 
"liberal."  Gradually,  under  the  influence  of  current  French 
literature,  their  ideas  became  a  little  clearer,  and  they  began  to 
look  on  reality  around  them  with  a  critical  eye.  They  could  per- 
ceive, without  much  effort,  the  unrelenting  tyranny  of  the  Ad- 
ministration, the  notorious  venality  of  the  tribunals,  the  reckless 
squandering  of  the  public  money,  the  miserable  condition  of  the 
serfs,  the  systematic  strangulation  of  all  independent  opinion  or 
private  initiative,  and,  above  all,  the  profound  apathy  of  the  upper 
classes,  who  seemed  quite  content  with  things  as  they  were. 

With  such  ugly  facts  staring  them  in  the  face,  and  with  the  habit 
of  looking  at  things  from  the  moral  point  of  view,  these  men  could 
understand  how  hollow  and  false  were  the  soothing  or  triumphant 
phrases  of  official  optimism.  They  did  not,  indeed,  dare  to  express 
their  indignation  publicly,  for  the  authorities  would  allow  no  public 
expression  of  dissatisfaction  with  the  existing  state  of  things,  but 
they  disseminated  their  ideas  among  their  friends  and  acquaint- 
ances by  means  of  conversation  and  manuscript  literature,  and 
some  of  them,  as  university  professors  and  writers  in  the  periodical 
Press,  contrived  to  awaken  in  a  certain  section  of  the  young 
generation  an  ardent  enthusiasm  for  enlightenment  and  progress, 
and  a  vague  hope  that  a  brighter  day  was  about  to  dawn. 

Not  a  few  sympathised  with  these  new  conceptions  and  aspira- 
tions, but  the  great  majority  of  the  nobles  regarded  them — espe- 
cially after  the  French  Revolution  of  1848 — as  revolutionary  and 
dangerous.  Thus  the  educated  classes  became  divided  into  two 
sections,  which  have  sometimes  been  called  the  Liberals  and  the 
Conservatives,  but  which  might  be  more  properly  designated  the 
men  with  aspirations  and  the  apathetically  contented.  These 
latter  doubtless  felt  occasionally  the  irksomeness  of  the  existing 

*  Tide  supra,  p.  377  et  scq. 


388  EUSSIA 

system,  but  they  had  always  one  consolation — if  they  were  op- 
pressed at  home  they  were  feared  abroad.  The  Tsar  was  at  least 
a  thorough  soldier,  possessing  an  enormous  and  well-equipped 
army  by  which  he  might  at  any  moment  impose  his  will  on 
Europe.  Ever  since  the  glorious  days  of  1812,  when  Napoleon 
was  forced  to  make  an  ignominious  retreat  from  the  ruins  of 
Moscow,  the  belief  that  the  Eussian  soldiers  were  superior  to  all 
others,  and  that  the  Eussian  army  was  invincible,  had  become  an 
article  of  the  popular  creed;  and  the  respect  which  the  voice  of 
Nicholas  commanded  in  Western  Europe  seemed  to  prove  that  the 
fact  was  admitted  by  foreign  nations.  In  these  and  similar  con- 
siderations the  apathetically  contented  found  a  justification  for 
their  lethargy. 

When  it  became  evident  that  Eussia  was  about  to  engage  in  a 
trial  of  strength  with  the  Western  Powers,  this  optimism  became 
general.  "  The  heavy  burdens/'  it  was  said,  "  which  the  people 
have  had  to  bear  were  necessary  to  make  Eussia  the  first  military 
Power  in  Europe,  and  now  the  nation  will  reap  the  fruits  of  its 
long-suffering  and  patient  resignation.  The  West  will  learn  that 
her  boasted  liberty  and  liberal  institutions  are  of  little  service  in 
the  hour  of  danger,  and  the  Eussians  who  admire  such  institutions 
will  be  constrained  to  admit  that  a  strong,  all-directing  autocracy 
is  the  only  means  of  preserving  national  greatness."  As  the  pa- 
triotic fervour  and  military  enthusiasm  increased,  nothing  was 
heard  but  praises  of  Nicholas  and  his  system.  The  war  was  re- 
garded by  many  as  a  kind  of  crusade — even  the  Emperor  spoke 
about  the  defence  of  "the  native  soil  and  the  holy  faith" — and 
the  most  exaggerated  expectations  were  entertained  of  its  results. 
The  old  Eastern  Question  was  at  last  to  be  solved  in  accordance 
with  Eussian  aspirations,  and  Nicholas  was  about  to  realise 
Catherine  II.'s  grand  scheme  of  driving  the  Turks  out  of  Europe. 
The  date  at  which  the  troops  would  arrive  at  Constantinople  was 
actively  discussed,  and  a  Slavophil  poet  called  on  the  Emperor  to 
lie  down  in  Constantinople,  and  rise  up  as  Tsar  of  a  Panslavonic 
Empire.  Some  enthusiasts  even  expected  the  speedy  liberation  of 
Jerusalem  from  the  power  of  the  Infidel.  To  the  enemy,  who 
might  possibly  hinder  the  accomplishment  of  these  schemes,  very 
little  attention  was  paid.  "We  have  only  to  throw  our  hats  at 
them!  "  {SMpkami  zahiddem)  became  a  favourite  expression. 

There  were,  however,  a  few  men  in  whom  the  prospect  of  the 
coming  struggle  awoke  very  different  thoughts  and  feelings.  They 
could  not  share  the  sanguine  expectations  of  those  who  were  confi- 


THE  CEIMEAN  WAR  AND  ITS  CONSEQUENCES     389 

dent  of  success.  "  What  preparations  have  we  made,"  they  asked, 
"for  the  struggle  with  civilisation,  which  now  sends  its  forces 
against  us?  With  all  our  vast  territory  and  countless  population 
we  are  incapable  of  coping  with  it.  When  we  talk  of  the  glorious 
campaign  against  Napoleon,  we  forget  that  since  that  time  Eu- 
rope has  been  steadily  advancing  on  the  road  of  progress  while  we 
have  been  standing  still.  We  march  not  to  victory,  but  to  defeat, 
and  the  only  grain  of  consolation  which  we  have  is  that  Russia 
will  learn  by  experience  a  lesson  that  will  be  of  use  to  her  in  the 
future."  * 

These  prophets  of  evil  found,  of  course,  few  disciples,  and  were 
generally  regarded  as  unworthy  sons  of  the  Fatherland — almost  as 
traitors  to  their  country.  But  their  predictions  were  confirmed  by 
events.  The  Allies  were  victorious  in  the  Crimea,  and  even  the 
despised  Turks  made  a  successful  stand  on  the  line  of  the  Danube. 
In  spite  of  the  efforts  of  the  Government  to  suppress  all  unpleas- 
ant intelligence,  it  soon  became  known  that  the  military  organisa- 
tion was  little,  if  at  all,  better  than  the  civil  administration — that 
the  individual  bravery  of  soldiers  and  officers  was  neutralised  by 
the  incapacity  of  the  generals,  the  venality  of  the  officials,  and  the 
shameless  peculation  of  the  commissariat  department.  The  Em- 
peror, it  was  said,  had  drilled  out  of  the  officers  all  energy,  indi- 
viduality, and  moral  force.  Almost  the  only  men  who  showed 
judgment,  decision,  and  energy  were  the  officers  of  the  Black  Sea 
fleet,  which  had  been  less  subjected  to  the  prevailing  system.  As 
the  struggle  went  on,  it  became  evident  how  weak  the  country 
really  was — how  deficient  in  the  resources  necessary  to  sustain  a 
prolonged  conflict.  "  Another  year  of  war,"  writes  an  eye-witness 
in  1855,  "  and  the  whole  of  Southern  Russia  will  be  ruined."  To 
meet  the  extraordinary  demands  on  the  Treasury,  recourse  was  had 
to  an  enormous  issue  of  paper  money;  but  the  rapid  depreciation 
of  the  currency  showed  that  this  resource  would  soon  be  exhausted. 
Militia  regiments  were  everywhere  raised  throughout  the  country, 
and  many  proprietors  spent  large  sums  in  equipping  volunteer 
corps;  but  very  soon  this  enthusiasm  cooled  when  it  was  found 
that  the  patriotic  efforts  enriched  the  jobbers  without  inflicting  any 
serious  injury  on  the  enemy. 

Under  tlie  sting  of  the  great  national  humiliation,  the  upper 
classes  awoke  from  their  optimistic  resignation.  They  had  borne 
patiently  the  oppression  of  a  semi-military  administration,   and 

*  These  are  the  words  of  Granovski. 


390  KUSSIA 

for  this!  The  system  of  Nicholas  had  been  put  to  a  crucial  test, 
and  found  wanting.  The  policy  which  had  sacrificed  all  to  increase 
the  military  power  of  the  Empire  was  seen  to  be  a  fatal  error,  and 
the  worthlessness  of  the  drill-sergeant  regime  was  proved  by  bitter 
experience.  Those  administrative  fetters  which  had  for  more  than 
a  quarter  of  a  century  cramped  every  spontaneous  movement  had 
failed  to  fulfil  even  the  narrow  purpose  for  which  they  had  been 
forged.  They  had,  indeed,  secured  a  certain  external  tranquillity 
during  those  troublous  times  when  Europe  was  convulsed  by  revo- 
lutionary agitation;  but  this  tranquillity  was  not  that  of  healthy 
normal  action,  but  of  death — and  underneath  the  surface  lay  secret 
and  rapidly  spreading  corruption.  The  army  still  possessed  that 
dashing  gallantry  which  it  had  displayed  in  the  campaigns  of 
Suvorof,  that  dogged,  stoical  bravery  which  had  checked  the  ad- 
vance of  Napoleon  on  the  field  of  Borodino,  and  that  wondrous 
power  of  endurance  which  had  often  redeemed  the  negligence  of 
generals  and  the  defects  of  the  commissariat;  but  the  result  was 
now  not  victory,  but  defeat.  How  could  this  be  explained  except 
by  the  radical  defects  of  that  system  which  had  been  long  prac- 
tised with  such  inflexible  perseverance?  The  Government  had 
imagined  that  it  could  do  everything  by  its  own  wisdom  and 
energy,  and  in  reality  it  had  done  nothing,  or  worse  than  nothing. 
The  higher  officers  had  learned  only  too  well  to  be  mere  automata; 
the  ameliorations  in  the  military  organisation,  on  which  Nicholas 
had  always  bestowed  special  attention,  were  found  to  exist  for 
the  most  part  only  in  the  official  reports;  the  shameful  exploits 
of  the  commissariat  department  were  such  as  to  excite  the  indig- 
nation of  those  who  had  long  lived  in  an  atmosphere  of  official 
jobbery  and  peculation;  and  the  finances,  which  people  had  gen- 
erally supposed  to  be  in  a  highly  satisfactory  condition,  had 
become  seriously  crippled  by  the  first  great  national  effort. 

This  deep  and  wide-spread  dissatisfaction  was  not  allowed  to 
appear  in  the  Press,  but  it  found  very  free  expression  in  the  man- 
uscript literature  and  in  conversation.  In  almost  every  house — I 
mean,  of  course,  among  the  educated  classes — words  were  spoken 
which  a  few  months  before  would  have  seemed  treasonable,  if  not 
blasphemous.  Philippics  and  satires  in  prose  and  verse  were  writ- 
ten by  the  dozen,  and  circulated  in  hundreds  of  copies.  A  pasquil 
on  the  Commander  in  Chief,  or  a  tirade  against  the  Government, 
was  sure  to  be  eagerly  read  and  warmly  approved  of.  As  a  speci- 
men of  this  kind  of  literature,  and  an  illustration  of  the  public 
opinion  of  the  time,  I  may  translate  here  one  of  those  metrical 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAE  AND  ITS  CONSEQUENCES     391 

tirades.      Though    it    was    never    printed,    it    obtained    a    wide 
circulation : 

" '  God  has  placed  me  over  Russia,'  said  the  Tsar  to  us,  '  and 
you  must  bow  down  before  me,  for  my  throne  is  His  altar.  Trouble 
not  yourselves  with  public  affairs,  for  I  think  for  you  and  watch 
over  you  every  hour.  My  watchful  eye  detects  internal  evils  and 
the  machinations  of  foreign  enemies;  and  I  have  no  need  of  coun- 
sel, for  God  inspires  me  with  wisdom.  Be  proud,  therefore,  of 
being  my  slaves,  0  Russians,  and  regard  my  will  as  your  law.' 

"We  listened  to  these  words  with  deep  reverence,  and  gave  a 
tacit  consent;  and  what  was  the  result?  Under  mountains  of  offi- 
cial papers  real  interests  were  forgotten.  The  letter  of  the  law 
was  observed,  but  negligence  and  crime  were  allowed  to  go  unpun- 
ished. While  grovelling  in  the  dust  before  ministers  and  directors 
of  departments  in  the  hope  of  receiving  tcliins  and  decorations, 
the  officials  stole  unblushingly ;  and  theft  became  so  common  that 
he  who  stole  the  most  was  the  most  respected.  The  merits  of  offi- 
cers were  decided  at  reviews;  and  he  who  obtained  the  rank  of 
General  was  supposed  capable  of  becoming  at  once  an  able  gov- 
ernor, an  excellent  engineer,  or  a  most  wise  senator.  Those  who 
were  appointed  governors  were  for  the  most  part  genuine  satraps, 
the  scourges  of  the  provinces  entrusted  to  their  care.  The  other 
offices  were  filled  up  with  as  little  attention  to  the  merits  of  the 
candidates.  A  stable-boy  became  Press  censor!  an  Imperial  fool 
became  admiral!  Kleinmichel  became  a  count!  In  a  word,  the 
country  was  handed  over  to  the  tender  mercies  of  a  band  of  robbers. 

"  And  what  did  we  Russians  do  all  this  time  ? 

"  We  Russians  slept !  With  groans  the  peasant  paid  his  yearly 
dues;  with  groans  the  proprietor  mortgaged  the  second  half  of  his 
estate ;  groaning,  we  all  paid  our  heav}'  tribute  to  the  officials.  Oc- 
casionally, with  a  grave  shaking  of  the  head,  we  remarked  in  a 
whisper  that  it  was  a  shame  and  a  disgrace — that  there  was  no 
justice  in  the  courts — that  millions  were  squandered  on  Imperial 
tours,  kiosks,  and  pavilions — that  everything  was  wrong;  and 
then,  with  an  easy  conscience,  we  sat  down  to  our  rubber,  praised 
the  acting  of  Rachel,  criticised  the  singing  of  Frezzolini,  bowed  low 
to  venal  magnates,  and  squabbled  with  each  other  for  advancement 
in  the  very  service  which  we  so  severely  condemned.  If  we  did  not 
obtain  the  place  we  wished  we  retired  to  our  ancestral  estates, 
where  we  talked  of  the  crops,  fattened  in  indolence  and  gluttony, 
and  lived  a  genuine  animal  life.  I,f  any  one,  amidst  the  general 
lethargy,  suddenly  called  upon  us  to  rise  and  fight  for  the  truth 


392  RUSSIA 

and  for  Eussia,  how  ridiculous  did  he  appear!  How  cleverly  the 
Pharisaical  official  ridiculed  him,  and  how  quickly  the  friends  of 
yesterday  showed  him  the  cold  shoulder !  Under  the  anathema  of 
public  opinion,  in  some  distant  Siberian  mine  he  recognised  what  a 
heinous  sin  it  was  to  disturb  the  heavy  sleep  of  apathetic  slaves. 
Soon  he  was  forgotten,  or  remembered  as  an  unfortunate  mad- 
man ;  and  the  few  who  said,  *  Perhaps  after  all  he  was  right/  has- 
tened to  add,  '  but  that  is  none  of  our  business.' 

"  But  amidst  all  this  we  had  at  least  one  consolation,  one  thing 
to  be  proud  of — the  might  of  Russia  in  the  assembly  of  kings. 
*  What  need  we  care,'  we  said,  *  for  the  reproaches  of  foreign  na- 
tions? We  are  stronger  than  those  who  reproach  us.'  And  when 
at  great  reviews  the  stately  regiments  marched  past  with  waving 
standards,  glittering  helmets,  and  sparkling  bayonets,  when  we 
heard  the  loud  hurrah  with  which  the  troops  greeted  the  Emperor, 
then  our  hearts  swelled  with  patriotic  pride,  and  we  were  ready 
to  repeat  the  words  of  the  poet — 

"  Strong  is  our  native  country,  and  great  the  Russian  Tsar." 

Then  British  statesmen,  in  company  with  the  crowned  conspirator 
of  France,  and  with  treacherous  Austria,  raised  Western  Europe 
against  us,  but  we  laughed  scornfully  at  the  coming  storm.  '  Let 
the  nations  rave,'  we  said ;  '  we  have  no  cause  to  be  afraid.  The 
Tsar  doubtless  foresaw  all,  and  has  long  since  made  the  necessary 
preparations.'  Boldly  we  went  forth  to  fight,  and  confidently 
awaited  the  moment  of  the  struggle. 

"  And  lo !  after  all  our  boasting  we  were  taken  by  surprise,  and 
caught  unawares,  as  by  a  robber  in  the  dark.  The  sleep  of  innate 
stupidity  blinded  our  Ambassadors,  and  our  Foreign  Minister  sold 
us  to  our  enemies.*  Where  were  our  millions  of  soldiers  ?  Where 
was  the  well-considered  plan  of  defence?  One  courier  brought 
the  order  to  advance;  another  brought  the  order  to  retreat;  and 
the  army  wandered  about  without  definite  aim  or  purpose.  With 
loss  and  shame  we  retreated  from  the  forts  of  Silistcia,  and  the 
pride  of  Eussia  was  humbled  before  the  Hapsburg  eagle.  The  sol- 
diers fought  well,  but  the  parade-admiral  (Menshikof)— the  am- 
phibious hero  of  lost  battles— did  not  know  the  geography  of  his 
own  country,  and  sent  his  troops  to  certain  destruction. 

"Awake,  0  Russia!    Devoured  by  foreign  enemies,  crushed  by 

*  Many  people  at  that  time  imagined  that  Count  Nesselrode,  who  was 
then  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs,  was  a  traitor  to  his  adopted  country. 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR  AND  ITS  CONSEQUENCES     393 

slavery,  shamefully  oppressed  by  stupid  authorities  and  spies, 
awaken  from  your  long  sleep  of  ignorance  and  apathy !  You  have 
been  long  enough  held  in  bondage  by  the  successors  of  the  Tartar 
Khan.  Stand  forward  calmly  before  the  throne  of  the  despot, 
and  demand  from  him  an  account  of  the  national  disaster.  Say 
to  him  boldly  that  his  throne  is  not  the  altar  of  God,  and  that  God 
did  not  condemn  us  to  be  slaves.  Russia  entrusted  to  you,  0  Tsar, 
the  supreme  power,  and  you  were  as  a  God  upon  earth.  And  what 
have  you  done  ?  Blinded  by  ignorance  and  passion,  you  have  lusted 
after  power  and  have  forgotten  Russia.  You  have  spent  your  life 
in  reviewing  troops,  in  modifying  uniforms,  and  in  appending 
your  signature  to  the  legislative  projects  of  ignorant  charlatans. 
You  created  the  despicable  race  of  Press  censors,  in  order  to  sleep 
in  peace — in  order  not  to  know  the  wants  and  not  to  hear  the 
groans  of  the  people — in  order  not  to  listen  to  Truth.  You  buried 
Truth,  rolled  a  great  stone  to  the  door  of  the  sepulchre,  placed  a 
strong  guard  over  it,  and  said  in  the  pride  of  your  heart :  For  her 
there  is  no  resurrection!  But  the  third  day  has  dawned,  and 
Truth  has  arisen  from  the  dead. 

"  Stand  forward,  0  Tsar,  before  the  judgment-seat  of  history 
and  of  God!  You  have  mercilessly  trampled  Truth  under  foot, 
you  have  denied  Freedom,  you  have  been  the  slave  of  your  own 
passions.  By  your  pride  and  obstinacy  you  have  exhausted  Russia 
and  raised  the  world  in  arms  against  us.  Bow  down  before  your 
brethren  and  humble  yourself  in  the  dust !  Crave  pardon  and  ask 
advice!  Throw  yourself  into  the  arms  of  the  people!  There  is 
now  no  other  salvation  !  " 

The  innumerable  tirades  of  which  the  above  is  a  fair  specimen 
were  not  very  remarkable  for  literary  merit  or  political  wisdom. 
For  the  most  part  they  were  simply  bits  of  bombastic  rhetoric 
couched  in  doggerel  rhyme,  and  they  have  consequently  been  long 
since  consigned  to  well-merited  oblivion — so  completely  that  it  is 
now  difficult  to  obtain  copies  of  them.*  They  have,  however,  an 
historical  interest,  because  they  express  in  a  more  or  less  exagger- 
ated form  the  public  opinion  and  prevalent  ideas  of  the  educated 
classes  at  that  moment.  In  order  to  comprehend  their  real  sig- 
nificance, we  must  remember  that  the  writers  and  readers  were 
not  a  band  of  conspirators,  but  ordinary,  respectable,  well-inten- 
tioned people,  who  never  for  a  moment  dreamed  of  embarking  in 
revolutionary  designs.     It  was  the  same  society  that  had  been  a 

*  I  am  indebted  for  the  copies  which  I  possess  to  friends  who  copied 
and  collected  these  pamphlets  at  the  time. 


394  RUSSIA 

few  months  before  so  indifferent  to  all  political  questions,  and 
even  now  there  was  no  clear  conception  as  to  how  the  loud-sounding 
phrases  could  be  translated  into  action.  We  can  imagine  the  com- 
ical discomfiture  of  those  who  read  and  listened  to  these  appeals,  if 
the  "despot"  had  obeyed  their  summons,  and  suddenly  appeared 
before  them. 

Was  the  movement,  then,  merely  an  outburst  of  childish  petu- 
lance? Certainly  not.  The  public  were  really  and  seriously  con- 
vinced that  things  were  all  wrong,  and  they  were  seriously  and 
enthusiastically  desirous  that  a  new  and  better  order  of  things 
should  be  introduced.  It  must  be  said  to  their  honour  that  they 
did  not  content  themselves  with  accusing  and  lampooning  the 
individuals  who  were  supposed  to  be  the  chief  culprits.  On  the 
contrary,  they  looked  reality  boldly  in  the  face,  made  a  public 
confession  of  their  past  sins,  sought  conscientiously  the  causes 
which  had  produced  the  recent  disasters,  and  endeavoured  to  find 
means  by  which  such  calamities  might  be  prevented  in  the  future. 
The  public  feeling  and  aspirations  were  not  strong  enough  to  con- 
quer the  traditional  respect  for  the  Imperial  will  and  create  an 
open  opposition  to  the  Autocratic  Power,  but  they  were  strong 
enough  to  do  great  things  by  aiding  the  Government,  if  the  Em- 
peror voluntarily  undertook  a  series  of  radical  reforms. 

What  Nicholas  would  have  done,  had  he  lived,  in  face  of  this  na- 
tional awakening,  it  is  diSicult  to  say.  He  declared,  indeed,  that 
he  could  not  change,  and  we  can  readily  believe  that  his  proud 
spirit  would  have  scorned  to  make  concessions  to  the  principles 
which  he  had  always  condemned;  but  he  gave  decided  indications 
in  the  last  days  of  his  life  that  his  old  faith  in  his  system  was 
somewhat  shaken,  and  he  did  not  exhort  his  son  to  persevere  in 
the  path  along  which  he  himself  had  forced  his  way  with  such 
obstinate  consistency.  It  is  useless,  however,  to  speculate  on  pos- 
sibilities. Whilst  the  Government  had  still  to  concentrate  all  its 
energies  on  the  defence  of  the  country,  the  Iron  Tsar  died,  and  was 
succeeded  by  his  son,  a  man  of  a  very  different  tj^e. 

Of  a  kind-hearted,  humane  disposition,  sincerely  desirous  of 
maintaining  the  national  honour,  but  singularly  free  from  mili- 
tary ambition  and  imbued  with  no  fanatical  belief  in  the  drill- 
sergeant  system  of  government,  Alexander  II.  was  by  no  means 
insensible  to  the  spirit  of  the  time.  He  had,  however,  none 
of  the  sentimental  enthusiasm  for  liberal  institutions  which  had 
characterised  his  uncle,  Alexander  I.  On  the  contrary,  he 
had  inherited  from  his  father  a  strong  dislike  to  sentimental- 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR  AND  ITS  CONSEQUENCES     395 

ism  and  rhetoric  of  all  kinds.  This  dislike,  Joined  to  a  goodly 
portion  of  sober  common-sense,  a  limited  confidence  in  his  own 
judgment,  and  a  consciousness  of  enormous  responsibility,  pre- 
vented him  from  being  carried  away  by  the  prevailing  excitement. 
With  all  that  was  generous  and  humane  in  the  movement  he  thor- 
oughly sympathised,  and  he  allowed  the  popular  ideas  and  aspira- 
tions to  find  free  utterance ;  but  he  did  not  at  once  commit  himself 
to  any  definite  policy,  and  carefully  refrained  from  all  exaggerated 
expressions  of  reforming  zeal. 

As  soon,  however,  as  peace  had  been  concluded,  there  were  un- 
mistakable symptoms  that  the  rigorously  repressive  system  of 
Nicholas  was  about  to  be  abandoned.  In  the  manifesto  announc- 
ing the  termination  of  hostilities  the  Emperor  expressed  his  con- 
viction that  hy  the  combined  efforts  of  the  Government  and  the 
people,  the  public  administration  would  be  improved,  and  that 
justice  and  mercy  would  reign  in  the  courts  of  law.  Apparently 
as  a  preparation  for  this  great  work,  to  be  undertaken  by  the  Tsar 
and  his  people  in  common,  the  ministers  began  to  take  the  public 
into  their  confidence,  and  submitted  to  public  criticism  many  offi- 
cial data  which  had  hitherto  been  regarded  as  State  secrets.  The 
Minister  of  the  Interior,  for  instance,  in  his  annual  report,  spoke 
almost  in  the  tone  of  a  penitent,  and  confessed  openly  that  the 
morality  of  the  officials  under  his  orders  left  much  to  be  desired. 
He  declared  that  the  Emperor  now  showed  a  paternal  confidence  in 
his  people,  and  as  a  proof  of  this  he  mentioned  the  significant  fact 
that  9,000  persons  had  been  liberated  from  police  supervision. 
The  other  branches  of  the  Administration  underwent  a  similar 
transformation.  The  haughty,  dictatorial  tone  which  had  hith- 
erto been  used  by  superiors  to  their  subordinates,  and  by  all  ranks 
of  officials  to  the  public,  was  replaced  by  one  of  considerate  po- 
liteness. About  the  same  time  those  of  the  Decembrists  who  were 
still  alive  were  pardoned.  The  restrictions  regarding  the  number 
of  students  in  each  university  were  abolished,  the  difficulty  of  ob- 
taining foreign  passports  was  removed,  and  the  Press  censors 
became  singularly  indulgent.  Though  no  decided  change  had 
been  made  in  the  laws,  it  was  universally  felt  that  the  spirit  of 
Nicholas  was  no  more. 

The  public,  anxiously  seeking  after  a  sign,  readily  took  these 
symptoms  of  change  as  a  complete  confirmation  of  their  ardent 
hopes,  and  leaped  at  once  to  the  conclusion  that  a  vast,  all-embrac- 
ing system  of  radical  reform  was  about  to  be  undertaken — not 
secretly  by  the  Administration,  as  had  been  the  custom  in  the 


396  RUSSIA 

preceding  reign  when  any  little  changes  had  to  be  made,  but  pub- 
licly, by  the  Government  and  the  people  in  common.  "  The  heart 
trembles  with  joy,"  said  one  of  the  leading  organs  of  the  Press, 
"  in  expectation  of  the  great  social  reforms  that  are  about  to  be 
effected — reforms  that  are  thoroughly  in  accordance  with  the  spirit, 
the  wishes,  and  the  expectations  of  the  public."  "The  old  har- 
mony and  community  of  feeling,"  said  another,  "which  has  always 
existed  between  the  government  and  the  people,  save  during 
short  exceptional  periods,  has  been  fully  re-established.  The  ab- 
sence of  all  sentiment  of  caste,  and  the  feeling  of  common  origin 
and  brotherhood  which  binds  all  classes  of  the  Eussian  people  into 
a  homogeneous  whole,  will  enable  Eussia  to  accomplish  peacefully 
and  without  effort  not  only  those  great  reforms  which  cost  Europe 
centuries  of  struggle  and  bloodshed,  but  also  many  which  the  na- 
tions of  the  West  are  still  unable  to  accomplish,  in  consequence 
of  feudal  traditions  and  caste  prejudices."  The  past  was  depicted 
in  the  blackest  colours,  and  the  nation  was  called  upon  to  begin 
a  new  and  glorious  epoch  of  its  history.  "We  have  to  struggle," 
it  was  said,  "in  the  name  of  the  highest  truth  against  egotism 
and  the  puny  interests  of  the  moment;  and  we  ought  to  prepare 
our  children  from  their  infancy  to  take  part  in  that  struggle 
which  awaits  every  honest  man.  We  have  to  thank  the  war  for 
opening  our  eyes  to  the  dark  sides  of  our  political  and  social  or- 
ganisation, and  it  is  now  our  duty  to  profit  by  the  lesson.  But  it 
must  not  be  supposed  that  the  Government  can,  single-handed, 
remedy  the  defects.  The  destinies  of  Eussia  are,  as  it  were,  a 
stranded  vessel  which  the  captain  and  crew  cannot  move,  and 
which  nothing,  indeed,  but  the  rising  tide  of  the  national  life  can 
raise  and  float." 

Hearts  beat  quicker  at  the  sound  of  these  calls  to  action. 
Many  heard  this  new  teaching,  if  we  may  believe  a  contemporary 
authority,  "  with  tears  in  their  eyes  " ;  then,  "  raising  boldly  their 
heads,  they  made  a  solemn  vow  that  they  would  act  honourably, 
perseveringly,  fearlessly."  Some  of  those  who  had  formerly  yielded 
to  the  force  of  circumstances  now  confessed  their  misdemeanours 
with  bitterness  of  heart.  "  Tears  of  repentance,"  said  a  popular 
poet,  "give  relief,  and  call  us  to  new  exploits."  Eussia  was  com- 
pared to  a  strong  giant  who  awakes  from  sleep,  stretches  his 
brawny  limbs,  collects  his  thoughts,  and  prepares  to  atone  for  his 
long  inactivity  by  feats  of  untold  prowess.  All  believed,  or  at 
least  assumed,  that  the  recognition  of  defects  would  necessarily 
entail  their  removal.    When  an  actor  in  one  of  the  St.  Petersburg 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR  AND  ITS  CONSEQUENCES     397 

theatres  shouted  from  the  stage,  "Let  us  proclaim  throughout 
all  Russia  that  the  time  has  come  for  tearing  up  evil  hy  the 
roots!"  the  audience  gave  way  to  the  most  frantic  enthusiasm. 
"  Altogether  a  joyful  time,"  says  one  who  took  part  in  tlie  excite- 
ment, "  as  when,  after  the  long  winter,  the  genial  hreath  of  spring 
glides  over  the  cold,  petrified  earth,  and  nature  awakens  from  her 
deathlike  sleep.  Speech,  long  restrained  by  police  and  censorial 
regidations,  now  flows  smoothly,  majestically,  like  a  mighty  river 
that  has  just  been  freed  from  ice." 

Under  these  influences  a  multitude  of  newspapers  and  periodi- 
cals were  founded,  and  the  current  literature  entirely  changed  its 
character.  The  purely  literary  and  historical  questions  which  had 
hitherto  engaged  the  attention  of  the  reading  public  were  thrown 
aside  and  forgotten,  unless  they  could  be  made  to  illustrate  some 
principle  of  political  or  social  science.  Criticisms  on  style  and 
diction,  explanations  of  aesthetic  principles,  metaphysical  discus- 
sions— all  this  seemed  miserable  trifling  to  men  who  wished  to 
devote  themselves  to  gigantic  practical  interests.  "  Science,"  it 
was  said,  "  has  now  descended  from  the  heights  of  philosophic  ab- 
straction into  the  arena  of  real  life."  The  periodicals  were  accord- 
ingly filled  with  articles  on  railways,  banks,  free-trade,  education, 
agriculture,  communal  institutions,  local  self-government,  joint- 
stock  companies,  and  with  crushing  philippics  against  personal 
and  national  vanity,  inordinate  luxury,  administrative  tyranny,  and 
the  habitual  peculation  of  the  officials.  This  last-named  subject 
received  special  attention.  During  the  preceding  reign  any  attempt 
to  criticise  publicly  the  character  or  acts  of  an  official  was  regarded 
as  a  very  heinous  offence;  now  there  was  a  deluge  of  sketches, 
tales,  comedies,  and  monologues,  describing  the  corruption  of  the 
Administration,  and  explaining  the  ingenious  devices  by  which 
the  tchinovniks  increased  their  scanty  salaries.  The  public  would 
read  nothing  that  had  not  a  direct  or  indirect  bearing  on  the 
questions  of  the  day,  and  whatever  had  such  a  bearing  was  read 
with  interest.  It  did  not  seem  at  all  strange  that  a  drama  should 
be  written  in  defence  of  free-trade,  or  a  poem  in  advocacy  of  some 
peculiar  mode  of  taxation;  that  an  author  should  expound  his 
political  ideas  in  a  tale,  and  his  antagonist  reply  by  a  comedy.  A 
few  men  of  the  old  school  protested  feebly  against  this  "  prostitu- 
tion of  art,"  but  they  received  little  attention,  and  the  doctrine 
that  art  should  be  cultivated  for  its  own  sake  was  scouted  as  an 
invention  of  aristocratic  indolence.  Here  is  an  ipsa  pinxit  of  the 
literature  of  the  time :     "  Literature  has  come  to  look  at  Russia 


398  EUSSIA 

with  her  own  eyes,  and  sees  that  the  idyllic  romantic  personages 
which  the  poets  formerly  loved  to  describe  have  no  objective  exist- 
ence. Having  taken  off  her  French  glove,  she  offers  her  hand  to 
the  rude,  hard-working  labourer,  and  observing  lovingly  Eussian 
village  life,  she  feels  herself  in  her  native  land.  The  writers  of 
the  present  have  analysed  the  past,  and,  having  separated  them- 
selves from  aristocratic  litterateurs  and  aristocratic  society,  have 
demolished  their  former  idols." 

By  far  the  most  influential  periodical  at  the  commencement  of 
the  movement  was  the  Eololcol,  or  Bell,  a  fortnightly  journal 
published  in  London  by  Herzen,  who  was  at  that  time  an  impor- 
tant personage  among  the  political  refugees.  Herzen  was  a  man 
of  education  and  culture,  with  ultra-radical  opinions,  and  not 
averse  to  using  revolutionary  methods  of  reform  when  he  con- 
sidered them  necessary.  His  intimate  relations  with  many  of  the 
leading  men  in  Eussia  enabled  him  to  obtain  secret  information 
of  the  most  important  and  varied  kind,  and  his  sparkling  wit, 
biting  satire,  and  clear,  terse,  brilliant  style  secured  him  a  large 
number  of  readers.  He  seemed  to  know  everything  that  was 
done  in  the  ministries  and  even  in  the  Cabinet  of  the  Emperor,* 
and  he  exposed  most  mercilessly  every  abuse  that  came  to  his 
knowledge.  We  who  are  accustomed  to  free  political  discussion 
can  hardly  form  a  conception  of  the  avidity  with  which  his  articles 
were  read,  and  the  effect  which  they  produced.  Though  strictly 
prohibited  by  the  Press  censure,  the  KoloTcol  found  its  way  across 
the  frontier  in  thousands  of  copies,  and  was  eagerly  perused  and 
commented  on  by  all  ranks  of  the  educated  classes.  The  Emperor 
himself  received  it  regularly,  and  high-priced  delinquents  ex- 
amined it  with  fear  and  trembling.  In  this  way  Herzen  was  for 
some  years,  though  an  exile,  an  important  political  personage, 
and  did  much  to  awaken  and  keep  up  the  reform  enthusiasm. 

But  where  were  the  Conservatives  all  this  time?  How  came  it 
that  for  two  or  three  years  no  voice  was  raised  and  no  protest  made 
even  against  the  rhetorical  exaggerations  of  the  new-born  liberal- 
ism?   Where  were  the  representatives  of  the  old  regime,  who  had 

♦As  an  illustration  of  this,  the  following  anecdote  is  told:  One 
number  of  the  Kolokol  contained  a  violent  attack  on  an  important 
personage  of  the  court,  and  the  accused,  or  some  one  of  his  friends, 
considered  it  advisable  to  have  a  copy  specially  printed  for  the  Emperor 
without  the  objectionable  article.  The  Emperor  did  not  at  first  discover 
the  trick,  but  shortly  afterwards  he  leceived  from  London  a  polite  note 
containing  the  article  which  had  been  omitted,  and  informing  him  how 
he  had  been  deceived. 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR  AND  ITS  CONSEQUENCES     399 

been  so  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  Nicholas?  Where 
were  those  ministers  who  had  systematically  extinguished  the 
least  indication  of  private  initiative,  those  "satraps"  who  had 
stamped  out  the  least  symptom  of  insubordination  or  discontent, 
those  Press  censors  who  had  diligently  suppressed  the  mildest 
expression  of  liberal  opinion,  those  thousands  of  well-intentioned 
proprietors  who  had  regarded  as  dangerous  free-thinkers  and  trea- 
sonable republicans  all  who  ventured  to  express  dissatisfaction  with 
the  existing  state  of  things?  A  short  time  before,  the  Conserva- 
tives composed  at  least  nine-tenths  of  the  upper  classes,  and  now 
they  had  suddenly  and  mysteriously  disappeared. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  in  a  country  accustomed  to 
political  life,  such  a  sudden,  unopposed  revolution  in  public 
opinion  could  not  possibly  take  place.  The  key  to  the  mystery 
lies  in  the  fact  that  for  centuries  Russia  had  known  nothing  of 
political  life  or  political  parties.  Those  who  were  sometimes 
called  Conservatives  were  in  reality  not  at  all  Conservatives  in  our 
sense  of  the  term.  If  we  say  that  they  had  a  certain  amount  of 
conservatism,  we  must  add  that  it  was  of  the  latent,  passive,  un- 
reasoned kind — the  fruit  of  indolence  and  apathy.  Their  political 
creed  had  but  one  article:  Thou  shalt  love  the  Tsar  with  all  thy 
might,  and  carefully  abstain  from  all  resistance  to  his  will — 
especially  when  it  happens  that  the  Tsar  is  a  man  of  the  Nicholas 
type.  So  long  as  Nicholas  lived  they  had  passively  acquiesced  in 
his  system — active  acquiescence  had  been  neither  demanded  nor 
desired — but  when  he  died,  the  system  of  which  he  was  the 
soul  died  with  him.  What  then  could  they  seek  to  defend? 
They  were  told  that  the  system  which  they  had  been  taught 
to  regard  as  the  sheet-anchor  of  the  State  was  in  reality  the 
chief  cause  of  the  national  disasters;  and  to  this  they  could 
make  no  reply,  because  they  had  no  better  explanation  of  their  own 
to  offer.  They  were  convinced  that  the  Russian  soldier  was  the 
best  soldier  in  the  world,  and  they  knew  that  in  the  recent  war  the 
army  had  not  been  victorious;  the  system,  therefore,  must  be  to 
blame.  They  were  told  that  a  series  of  gigantic  reforms  was 
necessary  in  order  to  restore  Russia  to  her  proper  place  among  the 
nations ;  and  to  this  they  could  make  no  answer,  for  they  had  never 
studied  such  abstract  questions.  And  one  thing  they  did  know: 
that  those  who  hesitated  to  admit  the  necessity  of  gigantic  reforms 
were  branded  by  the  Press  as  ignorant,  narrow-minded,  prejudiced, 
and  egotistical,  and  were  held  up  to  derision  as  men  who  did  not 
know  the  most  elementary  principles  of  political  and  economic 


400  EUSSIA 

science.  Freely  expressed  public  opinion  was  such  a  new  phenom- 
enon in  Eussia  that  the  Press  was  able  for  some  time  to  exercise 
a  "  Liberal  "  t)Tanny  scarcely  less  severe  than  the  "  Conservative  " 
tyranny  of  the  censors  in  the  preceding  reign.  Men  who  would 
have  stood  fire  gallantly  on  the  field  of  battle  quailed  before  the 
poisoned  darts  of  Herzen  in  the  KoloTcol  Under  such  circum- 
stances, even  the  few  who  possessed  some  vague  Conservative 
convictions  refrained  from  publicly  expressing  them. 

The  men  who  had  played  a  more  or  less  active  part  during  the 
preceding  reign,  and  who  might  therefore  be  expected  to  have 
clearer  and  deeper  convictions,  were  specially  incapable  of  offering 
opposition  to  the  prevailing  Liberal  enthusiasm.  Their  Conserv- 
atism was  of  quite  as  limp  a  kind  as  that  of  the  landed  proprietors 
who  were  not  in  the  public  service,  for  under  Nicholas  the  higher 
a  man  was  placed  the  less  likely  was  he  to  have  political  convic- 
tions of  any  kind  outside  the  simple  political  creed  above  referred 
to.  Besides  this,  they  belonged  to  that  class  which  was  for  the 
moment  under  the  anathema  of  public  opinion,  and  they  had 
drawn  direct  personal  advantage  from  the  system  which  was  now 
recognised  as  the  chief  cause  of  the  national  disasters. 

For  a  time  the  name  of  tcMnavnik  became  a  term  of  reproach 
and  derision,  and  the  position  of  those  who  bore  it  was  comically 
painful.  They  strove  to  prove  that,  though  they  held  a 
post  in  the  public  service,  they  were  entirely  free  from  the 
tchinovnil-  spirit — ^that  there  was  nothing  of  the  genuine  tchin- 
Gvnik  about  them.  Those  who  had  formerly  paraded  their  tcMn 
(official  rank)  on  all  occasions,  in  season  and  out  of  season,  be- 
came half  ashamed  to  admit  that  they  had  the  rank  of  General; 
for  the  title  no  longer  commanded  respect,  and  had  become  asso- 
ciated with  all  that  was  antiquated,  formal,  and  stupid.  Among 
the  young  generation  it  was  used  most  disrespectfully  as  equiva- 
lent to  "pompous  blockhead."  Zealous  officials  who  had  lately 
regarded  the  acquisition  of  Stars  and  Orders  as  among  the  chief 
ends  of  man,  were  fain  to  conceal  those  hard-won  trophies,  lest 
some  cynical  "  Liberal "  might  notice  them  and  make  them  the 
butt  of  his  satire.  "  Look  at  the  depth  of  humiliation  to  which 
you  have  brought  the  country  " — such  was  the  chorus  of  reproach 
that  was  ever  ringing  in  their  ears — "  with  your  red  tape,  your 
Chinese  formalism,  and  your  principle  of  lifeless,  unreasoning, 
mechanical  obedience!  You  asserted  constantly  that  you  were 
the  only  true  patriots,  and  branded  with  the  name  of  traitor  those 
who  warned  you  of  the  insane  folly  of  your  conduct.     You  see 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR  AND  ITS  CONSEQUENCES     401 

now  what  it  has  all  come  to.  The  men  whom  you  helped  to  send 
to  the  mines  turn  out  to  have  been  the  true  patriots."  * 

And  to  these  reproaches  what  could  they  reply  ?  Like  a  child  who 
has  in  his  frolics  inadvertently  set  the  house  on  fire,  they  could  only 
look  contrite,  and  say  they  did  not  mean  it.  They  had  simply 
accepted  without  criticism  the  existing  order  of  things,  and  ranged 
themselves  among  those  who  were  officially  recognised  as  "  the 
well-intentioned."  If  they  had  always  avoided  the  Liberals,  and 
perhaps  helped  to  persecute  them,  it  was  simply  because  all  "  well- 
intentioned  "  people  said  that  Liberals  were  "restless"  and  dan- 
gerous to  the  State.  Those  who  were  not  convinced  of  their  errors 
simply  kept  silence,  but  the  great  majority  passed  over  to  the 
ranks  of  the  Progressists,  and  many  endeavoured  to  redeem  their 
past  by  showing  extreme  zeal  for  the  Liberal  cause. 

In  explanation  of  this  extraordinary  outburst  of  reform  enthu- 
siasm, we  must  further  remember  that  the  Russian  educated 
classes,  in  spite  of  the  severe  northern  climate  which  is  supposed 
to  make  the  blood  circulate  slowly,  are  extremely  impulsive.  They 
are  fettered  by  no  venerable  historical  prejudices,  and  are  won- 
derfully sensitive  to  the  seductive  influence  of  grandiose  projects, 
especially  when  these  excite  the  patriotic  feelings.  Then  there 
was  the  simple  force  of  reaction — the  rebound  which  naturally 
followed  the  terrific  compression  of  the  preceding  reign.  With- 
out disrespect,  the  Russians  of  that  time  may  be  compared  to 
schoolboys  who  have  just  escaped  from  the  rigorous  discipline 
of  a  severe  schoolmaster.  In  the  first  moments  of  freedom  it 
was  supposed  that  there  would  be  no  more  discipline  or  com- 
pulsion. The  utmost  respect  was  to  be  shown  to  "human  dig- 
nity," and  every  Russian  was  to  act  spontaneously  and  zealously 
at  the  great  work  of  national  regeneration.  All  thirsted  for 
reforming  activity.  The  men  in  authority  were  inundated  with 
projects  of  reform — some  of  them  anonymous,  and  others  from 
obscure  individuals;  some  of  them  practical,  and  very  many 
wildly  fantastic.  Even  the  grammarians  showed  their  sympathy 
with  the  spirit  of  the  time  by  proposing  to  expel  summarily  all 
redundant  letters  from  the  Russian  alphabet! 

The  fact  that  very  few  people  had  clear,  precise  ideas  as  to  what 

*  It  was  a  common  saying  at  that  time  that  nearly  all  the  best  men 
in  Russia  had  spent  a  part  of  their  lives  in  Siberia,  and  it  was  proposed 
to  publish  a  biographical  dictionary  of  remarkable  men,  in  which  every 

article  was  to  end  thus :     "  Exiled  to in   18 — ."     I   am   not  aware 

how  far  the  project  was  seriously  entertained,  but,  of  course,  the  book 
was  never  published. 


402  EUSSIA 

was  to  be  done  did  not  prevent,  but  rather  tended  to  increase,  the 
reform  enthusiasm.  All  had  at  least  one  common  feeling — dis- 
like to  what  had  previously  existed.  It  was  only  when  it  became 
necessary  to  forsake  pure  negation,  and  to  create  something,  that 
the  conceptions  became  clearer,  and  a  variety  of  opinions  appeared. 
At  the  first  moment  there  was  merely  unanimity  in  negation,  and 
an  impulsive  enthusiasm  for  beneficent  reforms  in  general. 

The  first  specific  proposals  were  direct  deductions  from  the  les- 
sons taught  by  the  war.  The  war  had  shown  in  a  terrible  way 
the  disastrous  consequences  of  having  merely  primitive  means  of 
communication;  the  Press  and  the  public  began,  accordingly,  to 
speak  about  the  necessity  of  constructing  railways,  roads  and  river- 
steamers.  The  war  had  shown  that  a  country  which  has  not  de- 
veloped its  natural  resources  very  soon  becomes  exhausted  if  it  has 
to  make  a  great  national  effort;  accordingly  the  public  and  the 
Press  talked  about  the  necessity  of  developing  the  natural  re- 
sources, and  about  the  means  by  which  this  desirable  end  might 
be  attained.  It  had  been  shown  by  the  war  that  a  system  of 
education  which  tends  to  make  men  mere  apathetic  automata 
cannot  produce  even  a  good  army;  accordingly  the  public  and 
the  Press  began  to  discuss  the  different  systems  of  education  and 
the  numerous  questions  of  pedagogical  science.  It  had  been 
shown  by  the  war  that  the  best  intentions  of  a  Government  will 
necessarily  be  frustrated  if  the  majority  of  the  officials  are  dis- 
honest or  incapable;  accordingly  the  public  and  the  Press  began 
to  speak  about  the  paramount  necessity  of  reforming  the  Adminis- 
tration in  all  its  branches. 

It  must  not,  however,  be  supposed  that  in  thus  laying  to  heart 
the  lessons  taught  by  the  war  and  endeavouring  to  profit  by  them, 
the  Russians  were  actuated  by  warlike  feelings,  and  desired  to 
avenge  themselves  as  soon  as  possible  on  their  victorious  enemies. 
On  the  contrary,  the  whole  movement  and  the  spirit  which  ani- 
mated it  were  eminently  pacific.  Prince  Gortchakof's  saying, 
"  La  Russie  ne  houde  pas,  elle  se  recueUle,"  was  more  than  a 
diplomatic  repartee — it  was  a  true  and  graphic  statement  of  the 
case.  Though  the  Russians  are  very  inflammable,  and  can  be 
very  violent  when  their  patriotic  feelings  are  aroused,  they  are, 
individually  and  as  a  nation,  singularly  free  from  rancour  and  the 
spirit  of  revenge.  After  the  termination  of  hostilities  they  really 
bore  little  malice  towards  the  Western  Powers,  except  towards 
Austria,  which  was  believed  to  have  been  treacherous  and  un- 
grateful to  the  country  that  had  saved  her  in  1849.     Their  pa- 


THE  CEIMEAN  WAR  AND  ITS  CONSEQUENCES     403 

triotism  now  took  the  form,  not  of  revenge,  but  of  a  desire  to  raise 
their  country  to  the  level  of  the  Western  nations.  If  they  thought 
of  military  matters  at  all,  they  assumed  that  military  power  would 
be  obtained  as  a  natural  and  inevitable  result  of  high  civilisation 
and  good  government. 

As  a  first  step  towards  the  realisation  of  the  vast  schemes  con- 
templated, voluntary  associations  began  to  be  formed  for  industrial 
and  commercial  purposes,  and  a  law  was  issued  for  the  creation 
of  limited  liability  companies.  In  the  space  of  two  years  forty- 
seven  companies  of  this  kind  were  founded,  with  a  combined 
capital  of  358  millions  of  roubles.  To  understand  the  full  sig- 
nificance of  these  figures,  we  must  know  that  from  the  founding 
of  the  first  joint-stock  company  in  1799  down  to  1853  only  twenty- 
six  companies  had  been  formed,  and  their  united  capital  amounted 
only  to  thirty-two  millions  of  roubles.  Thus  in  the  space  of  two 
years  (1857-58)  eleven  times  as  much  capital  was  subscribed  to 
joint-stock  companies  as  had  been  subscribed  during  half  a  century 
previous  to  the  war.  The  most  exaggerated  expectations  were 
entertained  as  to  the  national  and  private  advantages  which  must 
necessarily  result  from  these  undertakings,  and  it  became  a  pa- 
triotic duty  to  subscribe  liberally.  The  periodical  literature 
depicted  in  glowing  terms  the  marvellous  results  that  had  been 
obtained  in  other  countries  by  the  principle  of  co-operation,  and 
sanguine  readers  believed  that  they  had  discovered  a  patriotic  way 
of  speedily  becoming  rich. 

These  were,  however,  mere  secondary  matters,  and  the  public 
were  anxiously  waiting  for  the  Government  to  begin  the  grand 
reforming  campaign.  When  the  educated  classes  awoke  to  the 
necessity  of  great  reforms,  there  was  no  clear  conception  as  to 
how  the  great  work  should  be  undertaken.  There  was  so  much 
to  be  done  that  it  was  no  easy  matter  to  decide  what  should  be 
done  first.  Administrative,  judicial,  social,  economical,  financial, 
and  political  reforms  seemed  all  equally  pressing.  Gradually, 
however,  it  became  evident  that  precedence  must  be  given  to  the 
question  of  serfage.  It  was  absurd  to  speak  about  progress, 
humanitarianism,  education,  self-government,  equality  in  the  eye 
of  the  law,  and  similar  matters,  so  long  as  one  half  of  the  popula- 
tion was  excluded  from  the  enjoyment  of  ordinary  civil  rights.  So 
long  as  serfage  existed  it  was  mere  mockery  to  talk  about  re- 
organising Russia  according  to  the  latest  results  of  political  and 
social  science.  How  could  a  system  of  even-handed  justice  be 
introduced  when  twenty  millions  of  the  peasantry  were  subject  to 


404  RUSSIA 

the  arbitrary  will  of  the  landed  proprietors?  How  could  agricul- 
tural or  industrial  progress  be  made  without  free  labour?  How 
could  the  Government  take  active  measures  for  the  spread  of 
national  education  when  it  had  no  direct  control  over  one-half  of 
the  peasantry?  Above  all,  how  could  it  be  hoped  that  a  great 
moral  regeneration  could  take  place,  so  long  as  the  nation  volun- 
tarily retained  the  stigma  of  serfage  and  slavery? 

All  this  was  very  generally  felt  by  the  educated  classes,  but  no 
one  ventured  to  raise  the  question  until  it  should  be  known  what 
were  the  views  of  the  Emperor  on  the  subject.  How  the  question 
was  gradually  raised,  how  it  was  treated  by  the  nobles,  and  how 
it  was  ultimately  solved  by  the  famous  law  of  February  19th 
(March  3d),  1861,*  I  now  propose  to  relate. 

*  February  19th  according  to  the  old  style,  which  is  still  used  In 
Russia,  and  March  3d  according  to  our  method  of  reckoning. 


CHAPTER    XXVIII 

THE    SERB^S 

The  Rural  Population  in  Ancient  Times — The  Peasantry  in  the 
Eighteenth  Century— How  Was  This  Change  Effected?— The  Com- 
mon Explanation  Inaccurate — Serfage  the  Result  of  Permanent 
Economic  and  Political  Causes — Origin  of  the  Aducriptio  Glehae — Its 
Consequences — Serf  Insurrection — Turning-point  in  the  History  of 
Serfage — Serfage  in  Russia  and  in  Western  Europe — State  Peasants 
— Numhers  and  Geographical  Distribution  of  the  Serf  Population — 
Serf  Dues— Legal  and  Actual  I'ower  of  the  Proprietors— The  Serfs' 
Means  of  Defence — Fugitives — Domestic  Serfs — Strange  Advertise- 
ments in  the  Moscow  Gazette — Moral  Influence  of  Serfage. 

BEFORE  proceeding  to  describe  the  Emancipation,  it  may  be 
well  to  explain  briefly  how  the  Russian  peasants  became  serfs, 
and  what  serfage  in  Russia  really  was. 

In  the  earliest  period  of  Russian  history  the  rural  population  was 
composed  of  three  distinct  classes.  At  the  bottom  of  the  scale 
stood  the  slaves,  who  were  very  numerous.  Their  numbers  were 
continually  augmented  by  prisoners  of  war,  by  freemen  who  volun- 
tarily sold  themselves  as  slaves,  by  insolvent  debtors,  and  by  cer- 
tain categories  of  criminals.  Immediately  above  the  slaves  were 
the  free  agricultural  labourers,  who  had  no  permanent  domicile, 
but  wandered  about  the  country  and  settled  temporarily  where  they 
happened  to  find  work  and  satisfactory  remuneration.  In  the 
third  place,  distinct  from  these  two  classes,  and  in  some  respects 
higher  in  the  social  scale,  were  the  peasants  properly  so  called.* 

These  peasants  proper,  who  may  be  roughly  described  as  small 
farmers  or  cottiers,  were  distinguished  from  the  free  agricultural 
labourers  in  two  respects :  they  were  possessors  of  land  in  property 
or  usufruct,  and  they  were  members  of  a  rural  Commune.  The 
Communes  were  free  primitive  corporations  which  elected  their 
office-bearers  from  among  the  heads  of  families,  and  sent  delegates 
to  act  as  judges  or  assessors  in  the  Prince's  Court.  Some  of  the 
Communes  possessed  land  of  their  own,  whilst  others  were  settled 

*  My  chief  authority  for  the  early  history  of  the  peasantry  has  been 
Belief,  "  KrestySnye  na  RusI,"  Moscow,  18U0 ;  a  most  able  and  con- 
scientious work. 

405 


•/ 


406  EUSSIA 

on  the  estates  of  the  landed  proprietors  or  on  the  extensive  do- 
mains of  the  monasteries.  In  the  latter  case  the  peasant  paid  a 
fixed  yearly  rent  in  money,  in  produce,  or  in  labour,  according  to 
the  terms  of  his  contract  with  the  proprietor  or  the  monastery ;  but 
he  did  not  thereby  sacrifice  in  any  way  his  personal  liberty.  As 
soon  as  he  had  fulfilled  the  engagements  stipulated  in  the  contract 
and  had  settled  accounts  with  the  owner  of  the  land,  he  was  free  to 
change  his  domicile  as  he  pleased. 

If  we  turn  now  from  these  early  times  to  the  eighteenth  century, 
we  find  that  the  position  of  the  rural  population  has  entirely 
changed  in  the  interval.  The  distinction  between  slaves,  agricul- 
tural labourers,  and  peasants  has  completely  disappeared.  All 
three  categories  have  melted  together  into  a  common  class,  called 
serfs,  who  are  regarded  as  the  property  of  the  landed  proprietors 
or  of  the  State.  "  The  proprietors  sell  their  peasants  and  domestic 
servants  not  even  in  families,  but  one  by  one,  like  cattle,  as  is  done 
nowhere  else  in  the  whole  world,  from  which  practice  there  is  not 
a  little  wailing."  *  And  yet  the  Government,  whilst  professing  to 
regret  the  existence  of  the  practice,  takes  no  energetic  measures  to 
prevent  it.  On  the  contrary,  it  deprives  the  serfs  of  all  legal  pro- 
tection, and  expressly  commands  that  if  any  serf  shall  dare  to 
present  a  petition  against  his  master,  he  shall  be  punished  with  the 
knout  and  transported  for  life  to  the  mines  of  Nertchinsk.  (Ukaz 
of  August  22d,  1767.t) 

How  did  this  important  change  take  place,  and  how  is  it  to  be 
explained  ? 

If  we  ask  any  educated  Russian  who  has  never  specially  occupied 
himself  with  historical  investigations  regarding  the  origin  of  serf- 
age in  Eussia,  he  will  probably  reply  somewhat  in  this  fashion: 
^'  In  Eussia  slavery  has  never  existed  ( !),  and  even  serfage  in  the 
West-European  sense  has  never  been  recognised  by  law!  In 
ancient  times  the  rural  population  was  completely  free,  and  every 
peasant  might  change  his  domicile  on  St.  George's  Day — that  is 
to  say,  at  the  end  of  the  agricultural  year.  This  right  of  migra- 
tion was  abolished  by  Tsar  Boris  Godunof — who,  by  the  way,  was 
half  a  Tartar  and  more  than  half  a  usurper — and  herein  lies  the 
essence  of  serfage  in  the  Eussian  sense.  The  peasants  have  never 
been  the  property  of  the  landed  proprietors,  but  have  always  been 

*  These  words  are  taken  from  an  Imperial  uKaz  of  April  15th,  1721. 
Polnoye  Sobranye  Zakonov,  No.  3,770. 

tThis  is  an  ukaz  of  the  liberal  and  tolerant  Catherine!  How  she 
reconciled  it  with  her  respect  and  admiration  for  Beccaria's  humane 
views  on  criminal  law  she  does  not  explain. 


THE    SERFS  407 

personally  free ;  and  the  only  legal  restriction  on  their  liberty  was 
that  they  were  not  allowed  to  change  their  domicile  without  the 
permission  of  the  proprietor.  If  so-called  serfs  were  sometimes 
sold,  the  practice  was  simply  an  abuse  not  justified  by  legislation." 

This  sim})lc  explanation,  in  which  may  be  detected  a  note  of 
patriotic  pride,  is  almost  universally  accepted  in  Russia;  but  it 
contains,  like  most  popular  conceptions  of  the  distant  past,  a 
curious  mixture  of  fact  and  fiction.  Serious  historical  investiga- 
tion tends  to  show  that  the  power  of  the  proprietors  over  the 
peasants  came  into  existence,  not  suddenly,  as  the  result  of  an 
ukaz,  but  gradually,  as  a  consequence  of  permanent  economic  and 
political  causes,  and  that  Boris  Godunof  was  not  more  to  blame  than 
many  of  his  predecessors  and  successors.* 

Although  the  peasants  in  ancient  Russia  were  free  to  wander 
about  as  they  chose,  there  appeared  at  a  very  early  period — long 
before  the  reign  of  Boris  Godunof — a  decided  tendency  in  the 
Princes,  in  the  proprietors,  and  in  the  Communes,  to  prevent 
migration.  This  tendency  will  be  easily  understood  if  we  remem- 
ber that  land  without  labourers  is  useless,  and  that  in  Russia  at 
that  time  the  population  was  small  in  comparison  with  the  amount 
of  reclaimed  and  easily  reclaimable  land.  The  Prince  desired  to 
have  as  many  inhabitants  as  possible  in  his  principality,  because 
the  amount  of  his  regular  revenues  depended  on  the  number  of 
the  population.  The  landed  proprietor  desired  to  have  as  many 
peasants  as  possible  on  his  estate,  to  till  for  him  the  land  which  he 
reserved  for  his  own  use,  and  to  pay  him  for  the  remainder  a 
yearly  rent  in  money,  produce,  or  labour.  The  free  Communes 
desired  to  have  a  number  of  members  suflBcient  to  keep  the  whole 
of  the  Communal  land  under  cultivation,  because  each  Commune 
had  to  pay  yearly  to  the  Prince  a  fixed  sum  in  money  or  agricul- 
tural produce,  and  the  greater  the  number  of  able-bodied  members, 
the  less  each  individual  had  to  pay.  To  use  the  language  of  polit- 
ical economy,  the  Princes,  the  landed  proprietors,  and  the  free 
Communes  all  appeared  as  buyers  in  the  labour  market;  and  the 
demand  was  far  in  excess  of  the  supply.  Nowadays  when  young 
colonies  or  landed  proprietors  in  an  outlying  corner  of  the  world 
are  similarly  in  need  of  labour,  they  seek  to  supply  the  want  by 
organising  a  regular  system  of  importing  labourers — using  illegal 
violent  means,  such  as  kidnapping  expeditions,  merely  as  an  ex- 

*  See  especially  Pobedonostsef,  in  the  Rt'isski  Testnik;  1858.  No.  11, 
and  "  Istoritcheskiya  izslCdovaniya  i  statj'i "  (St.  Petersburg.  1876), 
by  the  same  author;  also  Pogodiu,  in  the  Russkaya  Beseda,  1858,  No.  4. 


408  RUSSIA 

ceptional  expedient.  In  old  Russia  any  such  regularly  organised 
system  was  impossible,  and  consequently  illegal  or  violent  meas- 
ures were  not  the  exception,  but  the  rule.  The  chief  practical 
advantage  of  the  frequent  military  expeditions  for  those  who  took 
part  in  them  was  the  acquisition  of  prisoners  of  war,  who  were 
commonly  transformed  into  slaves  by  their  captors.  If  it  be 
true,  as  some  assert,  that  only  unbaptised  prisoners  were  legally 
considered  lawful  booty,  it  is  certain  that  in  practice,  before  the 
unification  of  the  principalities  under  the  Tsars  of  Moscow,  little 
distinction  was  made  in  this  respect  between  unbaptised  foreigners 
and  Orthodox  Russians.*  A  similar  method  was  sometimes  em- 
ployed for  the  acquisition  of  free  peasants:  the  more  powerful 
proprietors  organised  kidnapping  expeditions,  and  carried  off  by 
force  the  peasants  settled  on  the  land  of  their  weaker  neighbours. 

Under  these  circumstances  it  was  only  natural  that  those  who 
possessed  this  valuable  commodity  should  do  all  in  their  power  to 
keep  it.  Many,  if  not  all,  of  the  free  Communes  adopted  the 
simple  measure  of  refusing  to  allow  a  member  to  depart  until  he 
had  found  some  one  to  take  his  place.  The  proprietors  never,  so 
far  as  we  know,  laid  down  formally  such  a  principle,  but  in  prac- 
tice they  did  all  in  their  power  to  retain  the  peasants  actually  settled 
on  their  estates.  For  this  purpose  some  simply  employed  force, 
whilst  others  acted  under  cover  of  legal  formalities.  The  peas- 
ant who  accepted  land  from  a  proprietor  rarely  brought  with  him 
the  necessary  implements,  cattle,  and  capital  to  begin  at  once  his 
occupations,  and  to  feed  himself  and  his  family  till  the  ensuing 
harvest.  He  was  obliged,  therefore,  to  borrow  from  his  landlord, 
and  the  debt  thus  contracted  was  easily  converted  into  a  means  of 
preventing  his  departure  if  he  wished  to  change  his  domicile.  We 
need  not  enter  into  further  details.  The  proprietors  were  the  capi- 
talists of  the  time.  Frequent  bad  harvests,  plagues,  fires,  military 
raids,  and  similar  misfortunes  often  reduced  even  prosperous 
peasants  to  beggary.  The  muzhik  was  probably  then,  as  now, 
only  too  ready  to  accept  a  loan  without  taking  the  necessary  pre- 
cautions for  repaying  it.  The  laws  relating  to  debt  were  ter- 
ribly severe,  and  there  was  no  powerful  judicial  organisation  to 
protect  the  weak.  If  we  remember  all  this,  we  shall  not  be  sur- 
prised to  learn  that  a  considerable  part  of  the  peasantry  were 
practically  serfs  before  serfage  was  recognised  by  law. 

*  On  this  subject  see  Tchitcherin,  "  Opyty  po  istorii  Russkago  prava," 
Moscow,  1858,  p.  162  et  seq. ;  and  Lokhvitski,  "  O  plenuykh  po  drevnemu 
RGsskomu  prSvu,"  Moscow,  1855. 


THE    SERFS  409 

So  long  as  the  country  was  broken  up  into  independent  princi- 
palities, and  each  land-owner  was  almost  an  independent  Prince 
on  his  estate,  the  peasants  easily  found  a  remedy  for  these  abuses 
in  flight.  They  fled  to  a  neighbouring  proprietor  who  could  pro- 
tect them  from  their  former  landlord  and  his  claims,  or  they 
took  refuge  in  a  neighbouring  principality,  where  they  were,  of 
course,  still  safer.  All  this  was  changed  when  the  independent 
principalities  were  transformed  into  the  Tsardom  of  iluscovy. 
The  Tsars  had  new  reasons  for  opposing  the  migration  of  the 
peasants  and  new  means  for  preventing  it.  The  old  Princes  had 
simply  given  grants  of  land  to  those  who  served  them,  and  left  the 
grantee  to  do  with  his  land  what  seemed  good  to  him;  the  Tsars, 
on  the  contrary,  gave  to  those  who  served  them  merely  the  usu- 
fruct of  a  certain  quantity  of  land,  and  carefully  proportioned  the 
quantity  to  the  rank  and  the  obligations  of  the  receiver.  In  this 
change  there  was  plainly  a  new  reason  for  fixing  the  peasants 
to  the  soil.  The  real  value  of  a  grant  depended  not  so  much  on 
the  amount  of  land  as  on  the  number  of  peasants  settled  on  it, 
and  hence  any  migration  of  the  population  was  tantamount  to  a 
removal  of  the  ancient  landmarks — that  is  to  say,  to  a  disturbance 
of  the  arrangements  made  by  the  Tsar.  Suppose,  for  instance, 
that  the  Tsar  granted  to  a  Boyar  or  some  lesser  dignitary  an 
estate  on  which  were  settled  twenty  peasant  families,  and  that 
afterwards  ten  of  these  emigrated  to  neighbouring  proprietors. 
In  this  case  the  recipient  might  justly  complain  that  he  had  lost 
half  of  his  estate — though  the  amount  of  land  was  in  no  way 
diminished — and  that  he  was  consequently  unable  to  fulfil  his 
obligations.  Such  complaints  would  be  rarely,  if  ever,  made  by 
the  great  dignitaries,  for  they  had  the  means  of  attracting  peasants 
to  their  estates ;  *  but  the  small  proprietors  had  good  reason  to 
complain,  and  the  Tsar  was  bound  to  remove  their  grievances. 
The  attaching  of  the  peasants  to  the  soil  was,  in  fact,  the  natural 
consequence  of  feudal  tenures — an  integral  part  of  the  ]\Iuscovite 
political  system.  The  Tsar  compelled  the  nobles  to  serve  him,  and 
was  unable  to  pay  them  in  money.  He  was  obliged,  therefore, 
to  procure  for  them  some  other  means  of  livelihood.     Evidently 

*  There  are  plain  indications  in  tlie  documents  of  the  time  that  the 
great  dignitaries  were  at  tirst  hostile  to  the  ailsvriptio  ylchac.  We  find 
a  similar  phenomenon  at  a  much  more  recent  date  in  Little  Russia. 
Long  after  serfage  had  heen  legalised  in  that  region  by  Catherine  IL, 
the  great  proprietors,  such  as  Ilumyantsef,  Razumofski,  Bezborodko, 
continued  to  attract  to  their  estates  the  peasants  of  the  smaller  pro- 
prietors. See  the  article  of  Pogodin  in  the  Russkaya  Bcseda,  1858,  No. 
4,  p.  104. 


410  RUSSIA 

the  simplest  method  of  solving  the  diflBculty  was  to  give  them 
land,  with  a  certain  number  of  labourers,  and  to  prevent  the 
labourers  from  migrating. 

Towards  the  free  Communes  the  Tsar  had  to  act  in  the  same 
way  for  similar  reasons.  The  Communes,  like  the  nobles,  had 
obligations  to  the  Sovereign,  and  could  not  fulfil  them  if  the 
peasants  were  allowed  to  migrate  from  one  locality  to  another. 
They  were,  in  a  certain  sense,  the  property  of  the  Tsar,  and  it  was 
only  natural  that  the  Tsar  should  do  for  himself  what  he  had 
done  for  his  nobles. 

With  these  new  reasons  for  fixing  the  peasants  to  the  soil  came, 
as  has  been  said,  new  means  of  preventing  migration.  Formerly 
it  was  an  easy  matter  to  flee  to  a  neighbouring  principality,  but 
now  all  the  principalities  were  combined  under  one  ruler,  and  the 
foundations  of  a  centralised  administration  were  laid.  Severe 
fugitive  laws  were  issued  against  those  who  attempted  to  change 
their  domicile  and  against  the  proprietors  who  should  harbour 
the  runaways.  Unless  the  peasant  chose  to  face  the  difficulties  of 
"  squatting "  in  the  inhospitable  northern  forests,  or  resolved  to 
brave  the  dangers  of  the  steppe,  he  could  nowhere  escape  the 
heavy  hand  of  Moscow.* 

The  indirect  consequences  of  thus  attaching  the  peasants  to  the 
soil  did  not  at  once  become  apparent.  The  serf  retained  all  the 
civil  rights  he  had  hitherto  enjoyed,  except  that  of  changing  his 
domicile.  He  could  still  appear  before  the  courts  of  law  as  a  free 
man,  freely  engage  in  trade  or  industry,  enter  into  all  manner  of 
contracts,  and  rent  land  for  cultivation. 

But  as  time  wore  on,  the  change  in  the  legal  relation  between 
the  two  classes  became  apparent  in  real  life.  In  attaching  the 
peasantry  to  the  soil,  the  Government  had  been  so  thoroughly 
engrossed  with  the  direct  financial  aim  that  it  entirely  overlooked, 
or  wilfully  shut  its  eyes  to,  the  ulterior  consequences  which  must 
necessarily  flow  from  the  policy  it  adopted.  It  was  evident  that 
as  soon  as  the  relation  between  proprietor  and  peasant  was  re- 
moved from  the  region  of  voluntary  contract  by  being  rendered 
indissoluble,  the  weaker  of  the  two  parties  legally  tied  together 

*  The  above  account  of  the  origin  of  serfage  in  Russia  is  founded  on 
a  careful  examination  of  the  evidence  which  we  possess  on  the  subject, 
but  I  must  not  conceal  the  fact  that  some  of  the  statements  are  founded 
on  inference  rather  than  on  direct,  unequivocal  documentary  evidence. 
The  whole  question  is  one  of  great  difficulty,  and  will  in  all  probability 
not  be  satisfactorily  solved  until  a  large  number  of  the  old  local  Land- 
Registers  {Pistsoviya  Knigi)  have  been  published  and  carefully  studied. 


THE    SERFS  "  411 

must  fall  completely  under  the  power  of  the  stronger,  unless  ener- 
getically protected  by  the  law  and  the  Administration.  To  this 
inevitable  consequence  the  Government  paid  no  attention.  So 
far  from  endeavouring  to  protect  the  peasantry  from  the  oppres- 
sion of  the  proprietors,  it  did  not  even  determine  by  law  the 
mutual  obligations  which  ought  to  exist  ])etwecn  the  two  classes. 
Taking  advantage  of  this  omission,  the  proprietors  soon  began  to 
impose  whatever  obligations  they  thought  fit;  and  as  they  had  no 
legal  means  of  enforcing  fulfilment,  they  gradually  introduced  a 
patriarchal  jurisdiction  similar  to  that  which  they  exercised  over 
their  slaves,  with  fines  and  corporal  punishment  as  means  of 
coercion.  From  this  they  ere  long  proceeded  a  step  further,  and 
began  to  sell  their  peasants  without  the  land  on  which  they  were 
settled.  At  first  this  was  merely  a  flagrant  abuse  unsanctioned  by 
law,  for  the  peasant  had  never  been  declared  the  private  property 
of  the  landed  proprietor;  but  the  Government  tacitly  sanctioned 
the  practice,  and  even  exacted  dues  on  such  sales,  as  on  the  sale 
of  slaves.  Finally  the  right  to  sell  peasants  without  land  was 
formally  recognised  by  various  Imperial  ukuzes.* 

The  old  Communal  organisation  still  existed  on  the  estates  of 
the  proprietors,  and  had  never  been  legally  deprived  of  its  author- 
ity, but  it  was  now  powerless  to  protect  the  members.  The  pro- 
prietor could  easily  overcome  any  active  resistance  by  selling  or 
converting  into  domestic  servants  the  peasants  who  dared  to  oppose 
his  will. 

The  peasantry  had  thus  sunk  to  the  condition  of  serfs,  prac- 
tically deprived  of  legal  protection  and  subject  to  the  arbitrary  will 
of  the  proprietors;  but  they  were  still  in  some  respects  legally 
and  actually  distinguished  from  the  slaves  on  the  one  hand 
and  the  "  free  wandering  people  "  on  the  other.  These  distinc- 
tions were  obliterated  by  Peter  the  Great  and  his  immediate  suc- 
cessors. 

To  effect  his  great  civil  and  military  reforms,  Peter  required 
an  annual  revenue  such  as  his  predecessors  had  never  dreamed 
of,  and  he  was  consequently  always  on  the  look-out  for  some  new 
object  of  taxation.  When  looking  about  for  this  purpose,  his  eye 
naturally  fell  on  the  slaves,  the  domestic  servants,  and  the  free 
agricultural  labourers.  None  of  these  classes  paid  taxes — a  fact 
which  stood  in  flagrant  contradiction  with  his  fundamental  prin- 
ciple of  polity,  that  every  subject  should  in  some  way  serve  the 

*  For  instance,  the  ukazes  of  October  13th,  1075,  and  June  25th,  1682. 
See  Belaef,  pp.  203-209. 


412  RUSSIA 

State.  He  caused,  therefore,  a  national  census  to  be  taken,  in 
which  all  the  various  classes  of  the  rural  population — slaves, 
domestic  servants,  agricultural  labourers,  peasants — should  be 
inscribed  in  one  category;  and  he  imposed  equally  on  all  the  mem- 
bers of  this  category  a  poll-tax,  in  lieu  of  the  former  land-tax, 
which  had  lain  exclusively  on  the  peasants.  To  facilitate  the  col- 
lection of  this  tax  the  proprietors  were  made  responsible  for  their 
serfs ;  and  the  "  free  wandering  people  "  who  did  not  wish  to  enter 
the  army  were  ordered,  under  pain  of  being  sent  to  the  galleys, 
to  inscribe  themselves  as  members  of  a  Commune  or  as  serfs  to 
some  proprietor. 

These  measures  had  a  considerable  influence,  if  not  on  the  actual 
position  of  the  peasantry,  at  least  on  the  legal  conceptions  regard- 
ing them.  By  making  the  proprietor  pay  the  poll-tax  for  his  serfs, 
as  if  they  were  slaves  or  cattle,  the  law  seemed  to  sanction  the  idea 
that  they  were  part  of  his  goods  and  chattels.  Besides  this,  it 
introduced  the  entirely  new  principle  that  any  member  of  the  rural 
population  not  legally  attached  to  the  land  or  to  a  proprietor  should 
be  regarded  as  a  vagrant,  and  treated  accordingly.  Thus  the 
principle  that  every  subject  should  in  some  way  serve  the  State 
had  found  its  complete  realisation.  There  was  no  longer  any 
room  in  Russia  for  free  men. 

The  change  in  the  position  of  the  peasantry,  together  with  the 
hardships  and  oppression  by  which  it  was  accompanied,  naturally 
increased  fugitivism  and  vagrancy.  Thousands  of  serfs  ran  away 
from  their  masters  and  fled  to  the  steppe  or  sought  enrolment  in 
the  army.  To  prevent  this  the  Government  considered  it  neces- 
sary to  take  severe  and  energetic  measures.  The  serfs  were  for- 
bidden to  enlist  without  the  permission  of  their  masters,  and  those 
who  persisted  in  presenting  themselves  for  enrolment  were  to  be 
beaten  "cruelly"  (zliestoJco)  with  the  knout,  and  sent  to  the 
mines.*  The  proprietors,  on  the  other  hand,  received  the  right 
to  transport  without  trial  their  unruly  serfs  to  Siberia,  and  even 
to  send  them  to  the  mines  for  life.f 

If  these  stringent  measures  had  any  effect  it  was  not  of  long 
duration,  for  there  soon  appeared  among  the  serfs  a  still  stronger 
spirit  of  discontent  and  insubordination,  which  threatened  to  pro- 
duce a  general  agrarian  rising,  and  actually  did  create  a  movement 
resembling  in  many  respects  the  Jacquerie  in  France  and  the 
Peasant  War  in  Germany.     A  glance  at  the  causes  of  this  move- 

*  Ukaz  of  June  2d,  1742. 

t  See  ukaz  of  January  17tb,  17G5,  and  of  January  28th,  1766. 


THE    SERFS  413 

ment  will  help  us  to  understand  the  real  nature  of  serfage  in 
Russia. 

Up  to  this  point  serfage  had,  in  spite  of  its  flagrant  abuses,  a 
certain  theoretical  justification.  It  was,  as  we  have  seen,  merely 
a  part  of  a  general  political  system  in  which  obligatory  service 
was  imposed  on  all  classes  of  the  population.  The  serfs  served 
the  nobles  in  order  that  the  nobles  might  serve  the  Tsar.  In 
1762  this  theory  was  entirely  overturned  by  a  manifesto  of  Peter 
III.  abolishing  the  obligatory  service  of  the  Noblesse.  According 
to  strict  justice  this  act  ought  to  have  been  followed  by  the  libera- 
tion of  the  serfs,  for  if  the  nobles  were  no  longer  obliged  to  serve 
the  State  they  had  no  just  claim  to  the  service  of  the  peasants. 
The  Government  had  so  completely  forgotten  the  original  meaning 
of  serfage  that  it  never  thought  of  carrying  out  the  measure  to  its 
logical  consequences,  but  the  peasantry  held  tenaciously  to  the 
ancient  conceptions,  and  looked  impatiently  for  a  second  manifesto 
liberating  them  from  the  power  of  the  proprietors.  Reports  were 
spread  that  such  a  manifesto  really  existed,  and  was  being  con- 
cealed by  the  nobles.  A  spirit  of  insubordination  accordingly 
appeared  among  the  rural  population,  and  local  insurrections 
broke  out  in  several  parts  of  the  Empire. 

At  this  critical  moment  Peter  III.  was  dethroned  and  assassi- 
nated by  a  Court  conspiracy.  The  peasants,  who,  of  course,  knew 
nothing  of  the  real  motives  of  the  conspirators,  supposed  that  the 
Tsar  had  been  assassinated  by  those  who  wished  to  preserve  serf- 
age, and  believed  him  to  be  a  martyr  in  the  cause  of  Emancipation. 
At  the  news  of  the  catastrophe  their  hopes  of  Emancipation  fell, 
but  soon  they  were  revived  by  new  rumours.  The  Tsar,  it  was 
said,  had  escaped  from  the  conspirators  and  was  in  hiding.  Soon 
he  would  appear  among  his  faithful  peasants,  and  with  their  aid 
would  regain  his  throne  and  punish  the  wicked  oppressors. 
Anxiously  he  was  awaited,  and  at  last  the  glad  tidings  came  that 
he  had  appeared  in  the  Don  country,  that  thousands  of  Cossacks 
had  joined  his  standard,  that  he  was  everywhere  putting  the  pro- 
prietors to  death  without  mercy,  and  that  he  would  soon  arrive  in 
the  ancient  capital ! 

Peter  III.  was  in  reality  in  his  grave,  but  there  was  a  terrible 
element  of  truth  in  these  reports.  A  pretender,  a  Cossack  called 
Pugatchef,  had  really  appeared  on  the  Don,  and  had  assumed  the 
role  which  the  peasants  expected  the  late  Tsar  to  play.  Advanc- 
ing through  the  country  of  the  Lower  Volga,  he  took  several  places 
of  importance,  put  to  death  all  the  proprietors  he   could   find, 


414  RUSSIA 

defeated  on  more  than  one  occasion  the  troops  sent  against  him, 
and  threatened  to  advance  into  the  heart  of  the  Empire.  It 
seemed  as  if  the  old  troublous  times  were  about  to  be  renewed — 
as  if  the  country  was  once  more  to  be  pillaged  by  those  wild  Cos- 
sacks of  the  southern  steppe.  But  the  pretender  showed  himself 
incapable  of  playing  the  part  he  had  assumed.  His  inhuman 
cruelty  estranged  many  who  would  otherwise  have  followed  him, 
and  he  was  too  deficient  in  decision  and  energy  to  take  advantage 
of  favourable  circumstances.  If  it  be  true  that  he  conceived  the 
idea  of  creating  a  peasant  empire  (muzhitshoe  tsdrstvo),  he  was 
not  the  man  to  realise  such  a  scheme.  After  a  series  of  mistakes 
and  defeats  he  was  taken  prisoner,  and  the  insurrection  was 
quelled.* 

Meanwhile  Peter  III.  had  been  succeeded  by  his  consort, 
Catherine  II.  As  she  had  no  legal  right  to  the  throne,  and  was 
by  birth  a  foreigner,  she  could  not  gain  the  affections  of  the  people, 
and  was  obliged  to  court  the  favour  of  the  ISToblesse.  In  such  a 
difficult  position  she  could  not  venture  to  apply  her  humane  prin- 
ciples to  the  question  of  serfage.  Even  during  the  first  years  of 
her  reign,  when  she  had  no  reason  to  fear  agrarian  disturb- 
ances, she  increased  rather  than  diminished  the  power  of  the 
proprietors  over  their  serfs,  and  the  Pugatchef  affair  confirmed  her 
in  this  line  of  policy.  During  her  reign  serfage  may  be  said  to 
have  reached  its  climax.  The  serfs  were  regarded  by  the  law  as 
part  of  the  master's  immovable  property  f — as  part  of  the  working 
capital  of  the  estate — and  as  such  they  were  bought,  sold,  and 
given  as  presents  |  in  hundreds  and  thousands,  sometimes  with 
the  land,  and  sometimes  without  it,  sometimes  in  families,  and 
sometimes  individually.  The  only  legal  restriction  was  that  they 
should  not  be  offered  for  sale  at  the  time  of  the  conscription,  and 
that  they  should  at  no  time  be  sold  publicly  by  auction,  because 

*  Whilst  living  among  tlie  Bashkirs  of  the  province  of  Samara  in  1872 
I  found  some  interesting  traditions  regarding  this  pretender.  Though 
nearly  a  century  had  elapsed  since  his  death  (1775),  his  name,  his 
personal  appeai'ance,  and  his  exploits  were  well  known  even  to  the 
younger  generation.  My  informants  firmly  believed  that  he  was  not  an 
impostor,  but  the  genuine  Tsar,  dethroned  by  his  ambitious  consort, 
and  that  he  never  was  taken  prisoner,  but  "  went  away  into  foreign 
lands."  When  I  asked  whether  he  was  still  alive,  and  whether  he 
might  not  one  day  return,  they  replied  that  they  did  not  know. 

t  See  ukaz  of  October  7th,  1792. 

t  As  an  example  of  making  pi-esents  of  serfs,  the  following  may  be 
cited.  Count  Panin  presented  some  of  his  subordinates  for  an  Imperial 
recompense,  and  on  receiving  a  refusal,  made  them  a  present  of  4000 
serfs  from  his  own  estates. — Belaef,  p.  320. 


THE    SERFS  415 

such  a  custom  was  considered  as  "unbecoming  in  a  European 
State."  In  all  other  respects  the  serfs  might  be  treated  as  private 
property ;  and  this  view  is  to  be  found  not  only  in  the  legislation, 
but  also  in  the  popular  conceptions.  It  became  customary — a 
custom  that  continued  down  to  the  year  1861 — to  compute  a 
noble's  fortune,  not  by  his  yearly  revenue  or  the  extent  of  his 
estate,  but  by  the  number  of  his  serfs.  Instead  of  saying  that  a 
man  had  so  many  hundreds  or  thousands  a  year,  or  so  many  acres, 
it  was  commonly  said  that  he  had  so  many  hundreds  or  thousands  of 
"  souls."  And  over  these  "  souls  "  he  exercised  the  most  unlimited 
authority.  The  serfs  had  no  legal  means  of  self-defence.  The 
Government  feared  that  the  granting  to  them  of  judicial  or  adminis- 
trative protection  would  inevitably  awaken  in  them  a  spirit  of 
insubordination,  and  hence  it  was  ordered  that  those  who  presented 
complaints  should  be  punished  with  the  knout  and  sent  to  the 
mines.*  It  was  only  in  extreme  cases,  when  some  instance  of  atro- 
cious cruelty  happened  to  reach  the  ears  of  the  Sovereign,  that  the 
authorities  interfered  with  the  proprietor's  jurisdiction,  and  these 
cases  had  not  the  slightest  influence  on  the  proprietors  in  general. t 
The  last  years  of  the  eighteenth  century  may  be  regarded  as 
the  turning-point  in  the  history  of  serfage.  Up  till  that  time  the 
power  of  the  proprietors  had  steadily  increased,  and  the  area 
of  serfage  had  rapidly  expanded.  Under  the  Emperor  Paul 
(1796-1801)  we  find  the  first  decided  symptoms  of  a  reaction. 
He  regarded  the  proprietors  as  his  most  efiicient  officers  of  police, 
but  he  desired  to  limit  their  authority,  and  for  this  purpose  issued 
an  ukaz  to  the  effect  that  the  serfs  should  not  be  forced  to  work 
for  their  masters  more  than  three  days  in  the  week.  With  the 
accession  of  Alexander  I.,  in  1801,  commenced  a  long  series  of 
abortive  projects  for  a  general  emancipation,  and  endless  attempts 
to  correct  the  more  glaring  abuses ;  and  during  the  reign  of  Nicho- 
las no  less  than  six  committees  were  formed  at  different  times  to 
consider  the  question.     But  the  practical  result  of  these  efforts 

*  See  the  ukazes  of  August  22d,  17G7,  and  March  30th,  1781. 

t  Perhaps  the  most  horrible  case  on  record  is  that  of  a  certain  lady 
called  Saltykof,  who  was  brought  to  justice  in  17G8.  According  to  the 
ukaz  regarding  her  crimes,  she  had  killed  by  inhuman  tortures  in  the 
course  of  ten  or  eleven  years  about  a  hundred  of  her  serfs,  chiefly  of 
the  female  sex,  and  among  them  several  young  girls  of  eleven  and  twelve 
years  of  age.  According  to  popular  belief  her  cruelty  proceeded  from 
"cannibal  propensities,  but  this  was  not  confirmed  by  the  judicial  investi- 
gation. Details  in  the  Riisftlci  Arkhiv,  1SC,5,  pp.  G44-G52.  The  atroci- 
ties practised  on  the  estate  of  Count  Araktcheyef,  the  favourite  of  Alex- 
ander I.,  at  the  commencement  of  last  century,  have  been  frequently 
described,  and  are  scarcely  less  revolting. 


416  RUSSIA 

was  extremely  small.  The  custom  of  giving  grants  of  land  with 
peasants  was  abolished;  certain  slight  restrictions  were  placed  on 
the  authority  of  the  proprietors;  a  number  of  the  worst  specimens 
of  the  class  were  removed  from  the  administration  of  their  estates; 
a  few  who  were  convicted  of  atrocious  cruelty  were  exiled  to 
Siberia ;  *  and  some  thousands  of  serfs  were  actually  emancipated ; 
but  no  decisive  radical  measures  were  attempted,  and  the  serfs 
did  not  receive  even  the  right  of  making  formal  complaints. 
Serfage  had,  in  fact,  come  to  be  regarded  as  a  vital  part  of  the 
State  organisation,  and  the  only  sure  basis  for  autocracy.  It  was 
therefore  treated  tenderly,  and  the  rights  and  protection  accorded 
by  various  ukazes  were  almost  entirely  illusory. 

If  we  compare  the  development  of  serfage  in  Eussia  and  in 
Western  Europe,  we  find  very  many  points  in  common,  but  in 
Eussia  the  movement  had  certain  peculiarities.  One  of  the  most 
important  of  these  was  caused  by  the  rapid  development  of  the 
Autocratic  Power.  In  feudal  Europe,  where  there  was  no  strong 
central  authority  to  control  the  Noblesse,  the  free  rural  Communes 
entirely,  or  almost  entirely,  disappeared.  They  were  either  appro- 
priated by  the  nobles  or  voluntarily  submitted  to  powerful  landed 
proprietors  or  to  monasteries,  and  in  this  way  the  whole  of  the 
reclaimed  land,  with  a  few  rare  exceptions,  became  the  property 
of  the  nobles  or  of  the  Church.  In  Eussia  we  find  the  same 
movement,  but  it  was  arrested  by  the  Imperial  power  before  all 
the  land  had  been  appropriated.  The  nobles  could  reduce  to  serf- 
age the  peasants  settled  on  their  estates,  but  they  could  not  take 
possession  of  the  free  Communes,  because  such  an  appropriation 
would  have  infringed  the  rights  and  diminished  the  revenues  of 
the  Tsar.  Down  to  the  commencement  of  the  last  century,  it 
is  true,  large  grants  of  land  with  serfs  were  made  to  favoured 
individuals  among  the  Noblesse,  and  in  the  reign  of  Paul  (1796- 
1801)  a  considerable  number  of  estates  were  affected  to  the  use 
of  the  Imperial  family  under  the  name  of  appanages  (Udyelniya 
imeniya) ;  but  on  the  other  hand,  the  extensive  Church  lands, 
when  secularised  by  Catherine  II.,  were  not  distributed  among 
the  nobles,  as  in  many  other  countries,  but  were  transformed  into 
State  Domains.     Thus,  at  the  date  of  the  Emancipation  (1861), 

*  Speranski,  for  instance,  when  Governor  of  the  province  of  Penza, 
brought  to  justice,  among  others,  a  proprietor  who  had  caused  one  of 
his  serfs  to  be  flogged  to  deatlk,  and  a  lady  who  had  murdered  a  serf 
boy  by  pricking  him  with  a  pen-knife  because  he  had  neglected  to  take 
proper  care  of  a  tame  rabbit  committed  to  his  charge ! — Korflf,  "  Zhizn 
Speranskago,"  II.,  p.  127,  note. 


THE    SERFS  417 

by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  territory  l)elonged  to  the  State,  and 
one-half  of  the  rural  population  were  so-called  State  Peasants 
( Gosuddrstvenniye  Icrestyanye ) . 

Regarding  the  condition  of  these  State  Peasants,  or  Peasants 
of  the  Domains,  as  they  are  sometimes  called,  I  may  say  briefly 
that  they  were,  in  a  certain  sense,  serfs,  being  attaclied  to  the  soil 
like  the  others ;  but  their  condition  was,  as  a  rule,  somewhat  better 
than  the  serfs  in  the  narrower  acceptation  of  the  term.  They  had 
to  suffer  much  from  the  tyranny  and  extortion  of  the  special  ad- 
ministration under  which  they  lived,  but  they  had  more  land  and 
more  liberty  than  was  commonly  enjoyed  on  the  estates  of  resident 
proprietors,  and  their  position  was  much  less  precarious.  It  is 
often  asserted  that  the  oHicials  of  the  Domains  were  worse  than 
the  serf-owners,  because  they  had  not  the  same  interest  in  the 
prosperity  of  the  peasantry;  but  this  a  'priori  reasoning  does  not 
stand  the  test  of  experience. 

It  is  not  a  little  interesting  to  observe  the  numerical  proportion 
and  geographical  distribution  of  these  two  rural  classes.  In  Euro- 
pean Russia,  as  a  whole,  about  three-eighths  of  the  population  were 
composed  of  serfs  belonging  to  the  nobles ;  *  but  if  we  take  the 
provinces  separately  we  find  great  variations  from  this  average. 
In  five  provinces  the  serfs  were  less  than  three  per  cent.,  while  in 
others  they  formed  more  than  seventy  per  cent,  of  the  population ! 
This  is  not  an  accidental  phenomenon.  In  the  geographical  dis- 
tribution of  serfage  we  can  see  reflected  the  origin  and  history  of 
the  institution. 

If  we  were  to  construct  a  map  showing  the  geographical  dis- 
tribution of  the  serf  population,  we  should  at  once  perceive  that 
serfage  radiated  from  Moscow.  Starting  from  that  city  as  a 
centre  and  travelling  in  any  direction  towards  the  confines  of 
the  Empire,  we  find  that,  after  making  allowance  for  a  few  dis- 
turbing local  influences,  the  proportion  of  serfs  regularly  declines 
in  the  successive  provinces  traversed.  In  the  region  representing 
the  old  Muscovite  Tsardom  they  form  considerably  more  than  a 

*  The  exact  numbers,  according  to  official  data,  were — 

Entire  Population  60,909,309 

Peasantry  of  all  Classes  49,486,065 

Of  these  latter  there  were — 

State  Peasants  23,138,191 

Peasants   on   the   Lands   of   Proprietors         ...         23,022,390 
Peasants  of  the  Appanages  and  other  Depart- 
ments           3,326,084 


49,486,665 


418  KUSSIA 

half  of  the  rural  population.  Immediately  to  the  south  and  east 
of  this,  in  the  territory  that  was  gradually  annexed  during  the 
seventeenth  and  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  propor- 
tion varies  from  twenty-five  to  fifty  per  cent.,  and  in  the  more 
recently  annexed  provinces  it  steadily  decreases  till  it  almost 
reaches  zero. 

We  may  perceive,  too,  that  the  percentage  of  serfs  decreases 
towards  the  north  much  more  rapidly  than  towards  the  east  and 
south.  This  points  to  the  essentially  agricultural  nature  of  serfage 
in  its  infancy.  In  the  south  and  east  there  was  abundance  of 
rich  "black  earth '^  celebrated  for  its  fertility,  and  the  nobles  in 
quest  of  estates  naturally  preferred  this  region  to  the  inhospitable 
north,  with  its  poor  soil  and  severe  climate. 

A  more  careful  examination  of  the  supposed  map  *  would  bring 
out  other  interesting  facts.  Let  me  notice  one  by  way  of  illustra- 
tion. Had  serfage  been  the  result  of  conquest  we  should  have 
found  the  Slavonic  race  settled  on  the  State  Domains,  and  the 
Finnish  and  Tartar  tribes  supplying  the  serfs  of  the  nobles.  In 
reality  we  find  quite  the  reverse ;  the  Finns  and  Tartars  were  nearly 
all  State  Peasants,  and  the  serfs  of  the  proprietors  were  nearly 
all  of  Slavonic  race.  This  is  to  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that 
the  Finnish  and  Tartar  tribes  inhabit  chiefly  the  outlying  regions, 
in  which  serfage  never  attained  such  dimensions  as  in  the  centre 
of  the  Empire. 

The  dues  paid  by  the  serfs  were  of  three  kinds:  labour,  money, 
and  farm  produce.  The  last-named  is  so  unimportant  that  it  may 
be  dismissed  in  a  few  words.  It  consisted  chiefly  of  eggs,  chickens, 
lambs,  mushrooms,  wild  berries,  and  linen  cloth.  The  amount 
of  these  various  products  depended  entirely  on  the  will  of  the  mas- 
ter. The  other  two  kinds  of  dues,  as  more  important,  we  must 
examine  more  closely. 

When  a  proprietor  had  abundance  of  fertile  land  and  wished 
to  farm  on  his  own  account,  he  commonly  demanded  from  his 
serfs  as  much  labour  as  possible.  Under  such  a  master  the  serfs 
were  probably  free  from  money  dues,  and  fulfilled  their  obligations 
to  him  by  labouring  in  his  fields  in  summer  and  transporting  his 
grain  to  market  in  winter.  When,  on  the  contrary,  a  land-owner 
had  more  serf  labour  at  his  disposal  than  he  required  for  the  culti- 
vation of  his  fields,  he  put  the  superfluous  serfs  "  on  ohrol-," — 

♦Such  a  map  was  actually  constructed  by  Troinitski  ("Krepostnoe 
Naseleniye  v  Rossli,"  St.  Petersburg,  1861),  but  it  is  not  nearly  bo 
graphic  as  is  might  have  been. 


THE    SERFS  419 

that  is  to  say,  he  allowed  them  to  go  and  work  where  they  pleased 
on  condition  of  paying  him  a  fixed  yearly  sum.  Sometimes  the 
proprietor  did  not  farm  at  all  on  his  own  account,  in  which  case 
he  put  all  the  serfs  "on  ohrok/'  and  generally  gave  to  the  Com- 
mune in  usufruct  the  whole  of  the  arable  land  and  pasturage.  In 
this  way  the  Mir  played  tlie  part  of  a  tenant. 

We  have  here  the  basis  for  a  simple  and  important  classification 
of  estates  in  the  time  of  serfage:  (1)  Estates  on  which  the 
dues  were  exclusively  in  labour;  (2)  estates  on  which  the  dues 
were  partly  in  labour  and  partly  in  money;  and  (3)  estates  on 
which  the  dues  were  exchisively  in  money. 

In  the  manner  of  exacting  the  labour  dues  there  was  consid- 
erable variety.  According  to  the  famous  manifesto  of  Paul  I.,  the 
peasant  could  not  be  compelled  to  work  more  than  three  days  in 
the  week ;  but  this  law  was  by  no  means  universally  observed,  and 
those  who  did  observe  it  had  various  methods  of  applying  it.  A  few 
took  it  literally  and  laid  down  a  rule  that  the  serfs  should  work  for 
them  three  definite  days  in  the  week — for  example,  every  Monday, 
Tuesday,  and  ^Yednesday — but  this  was  an  extremely  inconvenient 
method,  for  it  prevented  the  field  labour  from  being  carried  on 
regularly.  A  much  more  rational  system  was  that  according  to 
which  one-half  of  the  serfs  worked  the  first  three  days  of  the  week, 
and  the  other  half  the  remaining  three.  In  this  way  there  was, 
without  any  contravention  of  the  law,  a  regular  and  constant  supply 
of  labour.  It  seems,  however,  that  the  great  majority  of  the  pro- 
prietors followed  no  strict  method,  and  paid  no  attention  whatever 
to  Paul's  manifesto,  which  gave  to  the  peasants  no  legal  means  of 
making  formal  complaints.  They  simply  summoned  daily  as  many 
labourers  as  they  required.  The  evil  consequences  of  this  for  the 
peasants'  crops  were  in  part  counteracted  by  making  the  peasants 
sow  their  own  grain  a  little  later  than  that  of  the  proprietor,  so 
that  the  master's  harvest  work  was  finished,  or  nearly  finished, 
before  their  grain  was  ripe.  This  combination  did  not,  however, 
always  succeed,  and  in  cases  where  there  was  a  conflict  of  interests, 
the  serf  was,  of  course,  the  losing  party.  All  that  remained  for 
him  to  do  in  such  cases  was  to  work  a  little  in  his  own  fields  before 
six  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  after  nine  o'clock  at  night,  and  in 
order  to  render  this  possible  he  economised  his  strength,  and 
worked  as  little  as  possible  in  his  master's  fields  during  the 
day. 

It  has  frequently  been  remarked,  and  with  much  truth — though 
the  indiscriminate  application  of  the  principle  has  often  led  to 


420  EUSSIA 

unjustifiable  legislative  inactivity — that  the  practical  result  of  in- 
stitutions depends  less  on  the  intrinsic  abstract  nature  of  the 
institutions  themselves  than  on  the  character  of  those  who  work 
them.  So  it  was  with  serfage.  When  a  proprietor  habitually 
acted  towards  his  serfs  in  an  enlightened,  rational,  humane  way, 
they  had  little  reason  to  complain  of  their  position,  and  their  life 
was  much  easier  than  that  of  many  men  who  live  in  a  state  of 
complete  individual  freedom  and  unlimited,  unrestricted  competi- 
tion. However  paradoxical  the  statement  may  seem  to  those  who  are 
in  the  habit  of  regarding  all  forms  of  slavery  from  the  sentimental 
point  of  view,  it  is  unquestionable  that  the  condition  of  serfs  under 
such  a  proprietor  as  I  have  supposed  was  more  enviable  than  that  of 
the  majority  of  English  agricultural  labourers.  Each  family  had 
a  house  of  its  own,  with  a  cabbage-garden,  one  or  more  horses, 
one  or  two  cows,  several  sheep,  poultry,  agricultural  implements, 
a  share  of  the  Communal  land,  and  everything  else  necessary  for 
carrying  on  its  small  farming  operations;  and  in  return  for  this 
it  had  to  supply  the  proprietor  with  an  amount  of  labour  which 
was  by  no  means  oppressive.  If,  for  instance,  a  serf  had  three 
adult  sons — and  the  households,  as  I  have  said,  were  at  that  time 
generally  numerous — two  of  them  might  work  for  the  proprietor 
whilst  he  himself  and  the  remaining  son  could  attend  exclusively 
to  the  family  affairs.  By  the  events  which  used  to  be  called 
"the  visitations  of  God"  he  had  no  fear  of  being  permanently 
ruined.  If  his  house  was  burnt,  or  his  cattle  died  from  the  plague, 
or  a  series  of  "  bad  years "  left  him  without  seed  for  his  fields, 
he  could  always  count  upon  temporary  assistance  from  his  master. 
He  was  protected,  too,  against  all  oppression  and  exactions  on  the 
part  of  the  officials ;  for  the  police,  when  there  was  any  call  for  its 
interference,  applied  to  the  proprietor,  who  was  to  a  certain  extent 
responsible  for  his  serfs.  Thus  the  serf  might  live  a  tranquil,  con- 
tented life,  and  die  at  a  ripe  old  age,  without  ever  having  been 
conscious  that  serfage  was  a  grievous  burden. 

If  all  the  serfs  had  lived  in  this  way  we  might,  perhaps,  regret 
that  the  Emancipation  was  ever  undertaken.  In  reality  there  was, 
as  the  French  say,  le  revers  de  la  medaille,  and  serfage  generally 
appeared  under  a  form  very  different  from  that  which  I  have  just 
depicted.  The  proprietors  were,  unfortunately,  not  all  of  the  en- 
lightened, humane  type.  Amongst  them  were  many  who  demanded 
from  their  serfs  an  inordinate  amount  of  labour,  and  treated  them 
in  a  very  inhuman  fashion. 

These  oppressors  of  their  serfs  may  be  divided  into  four  cate- 


THE    SERFS  421 

gories.  First,  there  were  the  proprietors  who  managed  their  own 
estates,  and  oppressed  simply  for  the  purpose  of  increasing  their 
revenues.  Secondly,  there  were  a  number  of  retired  officers  who 
wished  to  establish  a  certain  order  and  discipline  on  their  estates, 
and  who  employed  for  this  purpose  the  barbarous  measures  which 
were  at  that  time  used  in  the  army,  believing  that  merciless  corporal 
punishment  was  the  only  means  of  curing  laziness,  disorderliness 
and  other  vices.  Thirdly,  there  were  the  absentees  who  lived 
beyond  their  means,  and  demanded  from  their  steward,  under 
pain  of  giving  him  or  his  son  as  a  recruit,  a  much  greater  yearly 
sum  than  the  estate  could  be  reasonably  expected  to  yield.  Lastly, 
in  the  latter  years  of  serfage,  there  were  a  number  of  men  who 
bought  estates  as  a  mercantile  speculation,  and  made  as  much 
money  out  of  them  as  they  could  in  the  shortest  possible  space 
of  time. 

Of  all  hard  masters,  the  last-named  were  the  most  terrible. 
Utterly  indifferent  to  the  welfare  of  the  serfs  and  the  ultimate  fate 
of  the  property,  they  cut  dowTi  the  timber,  sold  the  cattle,  exacted 
heavy  money  dues  under  threats  of  giving  the  serfs  or  their  children 
as  recruits,  presented  to  the  military  authorities  a  number  of  con- 
scripts greater  than  was  required  by  law — selling  the  conscription 
receipts  (zatchetniya  hvitdntsii)  to  the  merchants  and  burghers 
who  were  liable  to  the  conscription  but  did  not  wish  to  serve — 
compelled  some  of  the  richer  serfs  to  buy  their  liberty  at  an  enor- 
mous price,  and,  in  a  word,  used  every  means,  legal  and  illegal, 
for  extracting  money.  By  this  system  of  management  they  ruined 
the  estate  completely  in  the  course  of  a  few  years ;  but  by  that  time 
they  had  realised  probably  the  whole  sum  paid,  with  a  very  fair 
profit  from  the  operation;  and  this  profit  could  be  considerably 
augmented  by  selling  a  number  of  the  peasant  families  for  trans- 
portation to  another  estate  {na  svoz),  or  Ijy  mortgaging  the  prop- 
erty in  the  OpcMnslci  Sovet — a  Government  institution  which  lent 
money  on  landed  property  without  examining  carefully  the  nature 
of  the.  security. 

As  to  the  means  which  the  proprietors  possessed  of  oppressing 
their  peasants,  we  must  distinguish  between  the  legal  and  the 
actual.  The  legal  were  almost  as  complete  as  any  one  could  desire. 
"  The  proprietor,"  it  is  said  in  the  Laws  (Vol.  IX,  §  1045,  ed.  an. 
1857),  "may  impose  on  his  serfs  every  kind  of  labour,  may  take 
from  them  money  dues  (ohrok)  and  demand  from  them  personal 
service,  with  this  one  restriction,  that  they  should  not  be  thereby 
ruined,  and  that  the  number  of  days  fixed  by  law  should  be  left 


422  RUSSIA 

to  them  for  their  own  work."  *  Besides  this,  he  had  the  right  to 
transform  peasants  into  domestic  servants,  and  might,  instead  of 
employing  them  in  his  own  service,  hire  them  out  to  others  who 
had  the  rights  and  privileges  of  Noblesse  (§§  1047-48).  For 
all  offences  committed  against  himself  or  against  any  one  under 
his  jurisdiction  he  could  subject  the  guilty  ones  to  corporal  pun- 
ishment not  exceeding  forty  lashes  with  the  birch  or  fifteen  blows 
with  the  stick  (§  1053)  ;  and  if  he  considered  any  of  his  serfs  as  in- 
corrigible, he  could  present  them  to  the  authorities  to  be  drafted  into 
the  army  or  transported  to  Siberia  as  he  might  desire  (§§  1053-55), 
In  cases  of  insubordination,  where  the  ordinary  domestic  means 
of  discipline  did  not  suffice,  he  could  call  in  the  police  and  the 
military  to  support  his  authority. 

Such  were  the  legal  means  by  which  the  proprietor  might 
oppress  his  peasants,  and  it  will  be  readily  understood  that  they 
were  very  considerable  and  very  elastic.  By  law  he  had  the  power 
to  impose  any  dues  in  labour  or  money  which  he  might  think  fit, 
and  in  all  cases  the  serfs  were  ordered  to  be  docile  and  obedient 
(§  1027).  Corporal  punishment,  though  restricted  by  law,  he 
could  in  reality  apply  to  any  extent.  Certainly  none  of  the  serfs, 
and  very  few  of  the  proprietors,  were  aware  that  the  law  placed  any 
restriction  on  this  right.  All  the  proprietors  were  in  the  habit 
of  using  corporal  punishment  as  they  thought  proper,  and  unless 
a  proprietor  became  notorious  for  inhuman  cruelty  the  authori- 
ties never  thought  of  interfering.  But  in  the  eyes  of  the  peasants 
corporal  punishment  was  not  the  worst.  What  they  feared  infi- 
nitely more  than  the  birch  or  the  stick  was  the  proprietor's  power 
of  giving  them  or  their  sons  as  recruits.  The  law  assumed  that 
this  extreme  means  would  be  employed  only  against  those  serfs 
who  showed  themselves  incorrigibly  vicious  or  insubordinate;  but 
the  authorities  accepted  those  presented  without  making  any  inves- 
tigations, and  consequently  the  proprietor  might  use  this  power 
as  an  effective  means  of  extortion. 

Against  these  means  of  extortion  and  oppression  the  serfs  had 
no  legal  protection.  The  law  provided  them  with  no  means  of 
resisting  any  injustice  to  which  they  might  be  subjected,  or  of 
bringing  to  punishment  the  master  who  oppressed  and  ruined 
them.     The   Government,   notwithstanding   its   sincere   desire   to 

*  I  give  here  the  references  to  the  Code,  because  Russians  commonly 
believe  and  assert  that  the  hiring  out  of  serfs,  the  infliction  of  corporal 
punishment,  and  similar  practices  were  merely  abuses  unauthorised  by 
law. 


THE    SERFS  423 

protect  them  from  inordinate  burdens  and  cruel  treatment,  rarely 
interfered  between  the  master  and  his  serfs,  being  afraid  of  thereljy 
undermining  the  authority  of  the  proprietors,  and  awakening 
among  the  peasantry  a  spirit  of  insubordination.  The  serfs  were 
left,  therefore,  to  their  own  resources,  and  had  to  defend  them- 
selves as  best  they  could.  The  simplest  way  was  open  mutiny ; 
but  this  was  rarely  employed,  for  they  knew  by  experience  that 
any  attempt  of  the  kind  would  be  at  once  put  dowTi  by  the  military 
and  mercilessly  punished.  Much  more  favourite  and  efficient 
methods  were  passive  resistance,  flight,  and  fire-raising  or  murder. 

We  might  naturally  suppose  that  an  unscrupulous  proprietor, 
armed  with  the  enormous  legal  and  actual  power  which  I  have 
just  described,  could  very  easily  extort  from  his  peasants  anything 
he  desired.  In  reality,  however,  the  process  of  extortion,  when 
it  exceeded  a  certain  measure,  was  a  very  difficult  operation.  The 
Russian  peasant  has  a  capacity  of  patient  endurance  that  would 
do  honour  to  a  martyr,  and  a  power  of  continued,  dogged,  passive 
resistance  such  as  is  possessed,  I  believe,  by  no  other  class  of  men 
in  Europe;  and  these  qualities  formed  a  very  powerful  barrier 
against  the  rapacity  of  unconscientious  proprietors.  As  soon  as 
the  serfs  remarked  in  their  master  a  tendency  to  rapacity  and 
extortion,  they  at  once  took  measures  to  defend  themselves.  Their 
first  step  was  to  sell  secretly  the  live  stock  they  did  not  actually 
require,  and  all  their  movable  property  except  the  few  articles 
necessary  for  everyday  use;  then  the  little  capital  realised  was 
carefully  hidden. 

When  this  had  been  effected,  the  proprietor  might  threaten 
and  punish  as  he  liked,  but  he  rarely  succeeded  in  unearthing 
the  treasure.  Many  a  peasant,  under  such  circumstances,  bore 
patiently  the  most  cruel  punishment,  and  saw  his  sons  taken 
away  as  recruits,  and  yet  he  persisted  in  declaring  that  he  had 
no  money  to  ransom  himself  and  his  children.  A  spectator  in 
such  a  case  would  prol)ably  have  advised  him  to  give  up  his  little 
store  of  money,  and  thereby  liberate  himself  from  persecution; 
but  the  peasants  reasoned  otherwise.  They  were  convinced,  and 
not  without  reason,  that  the  sacrifice  of  their  little  capital  would 
merely  put  off  the  evil  day,  and  that  the  persecution  would  very 
soon  recommence.  In  this  way  they  would  have  to  suffer  as 
before,  and  have  the  additional  mortification  of  feeling  that  they 
had  spent  to  no  purpose  the  little  that  they  possessed.  Their 
fatalistic  belief  in  the  "perhaps"  (avos')  came  here  to  their 
aid.     Perhaps  the  proprietor  might  become  weary  of  his  efforts 


424  .  RUSSIA 

when  he  saw  that  they  led  to  no  result,  or  perhaps  something  might 
occur  which  would  remove  the  persecutor. 

It  always  happened,  however,  that  when  a  proprietor  treated 
his  serfs  with  extreme  injustice  and  cruelty,  some  of  them  lost 
patience,  and  sought  refuge  in  flight.  As  the  estates  lay  perfectly 
open  on  all  sides,  and  it  was  utterly  impossible  to  exercise  a  strict 
supervision,  nothing  was  easier  than  to  run  away,  and  the  fugitive 
might  be  a  hundred  miles  off  before  his  absence  was  noticed.  But 
the  oppressed  serf  was  reluctant  to  adopt  such  an  extreme  measure. 
He  had  almost  always  a  wife  and  family,  and  he  could  not  possibly 
take  them  with  him ;  flight,  therefore,  was  expatriation  for  life  in 
its  most  terrible  form.  Besides  this,  the  life  of  a  fugitive  was  by 
no  means  enviable.  He  was  liable  at  any  moment  to  fall  into  the 
hands  of  the  police,  and  to  be  put  into  prison  or  sent  back  to  his 
master.  So  little  charm,  indeed,  did  this  life  present  that  not  infre- 
quently after  a  few  months  or  a  few  years  the  fugitive  returned  of 
his  own  accord  to  his  former  domicile. 

Regarding  fugitives  or  passportless  wanderers  in  general,  I  may 
here  remark  parenthetically  that  there  were  two  kinds.  In  the 
first  place,  there  was  the  young,  able-bodied  peasant,  who  fled  from 
the  oppression  of  his  master  or  from  the  conscription.  Such  a 
fugitive  almost  always  sought  out  for  himself  a  new  domicile — 
generally  in  the  southern  provinces,  where  there  was  a  great 
scarcity  of  labourers,  and  where  many  proprietors  habitually  wel- 
comed all  peasants  who  presented  themselves,  without  making  any 
inquiries  as  to  passports.  In  the  second  place,  there  were  those 
who  chose  fugitivism  as  a  permanent  mode  of  life.  These  were, 
for  the  most  part,  men  or  women  of  a  certain  age — widowers  or 
widows — who  had  no  close  family  ties,  and  who  were  too  infirm 
or  too  lazy  to  work.  The  majority  of  these  assumed  the  character 
of  pilgrims.  As  such  they  could  always  find  enough  to  eat,  and 
could  generally  even  collect  a  few  roubles  with  which  to  grease  the 
palm  of  any  zealous  police-officer  who  should  arrest  them.  For  a 
life  of  this  kind  Russia  presented  peculiar  facilities.  There  was 
abundance  of  monasteries,  where  all  comers  could  live  for  three 
days  without  questions  being  asked,  and  where  those  who  were 
willing  to  do  a  little  work  for  the  patron  saint  might  live  for  a 
much  longer  period.  Then  there  were  the  towns,  where  the  rich 
merchants  considered  almsgiving  as  very  profitable  for  salvation. 
And,  lastly,  there  were  the  villages,  where  a  professing  pilgrim 
was  sure  to  be  hospitably  received  and  entertained  so  long  as  he 
refrained  from  stealing  and  other  acts  too  grossly  inconsistent  with 


THE    SERFS  425 

his  assumed  character.  For  those  who  contented  themselves  with 
simple  fare,  and  did  not  seek  to  avoid  the  usual  privations  of  a 
wanderer's  life,  these  ordinary  means  of  subsistence  were  amply 
sufficient.  Those  who  were  more  ambitious  and  more  cunning 
often  employed  their  talents  with  great  success  in  the  world  of  the 
Old  Ritualists  and  Sectarians. 

The  last  and  most  desperate  means  of  defense  which  the  serfs 
possessed  were  fire-raising  and  murder.  With  regard  to  the 
amount  of  fire-raising  there  are  no  trustworthy  statistics.  "With 
regard  to  the  number  of  agrarian  murders  I  once  obtained  some 
interesting  statistical  data,  but  unfortunately  lost  them.  I  may 
say,  however,  that  these  cases  were  not  very  numerous.  This  is  to 
be  explained  in  part  by  the  patient,  long-suffering  character  of 
the  peasantry,  and  in  part  by  the  fact  that  the  great  majority  of 
the  proprietors  were  by  no  means  such  inhuman  taskmasters  as 
is  sometimes  supposed.  When  a  case  did  occur,  the  xVdministration 
always  made  a  strict  investigation — punishing  the  guilty  with  ex- 
emplary severity,  and  taking  no  account  of  the  provocation  to 
which  they  had  been  subjected.  The  peasantry,  on  the  contrary — 
at  least,  when  the  act  was  not  the  result  of  mere  personal  ven- 
geance— secretly  sympathised  with  "the  unfortunates,"  and  long 
cherished  their  memory  as  that  of  men  who  had  suffered  for 
the  Mir. 

In  speaking  of  the  serfs  I  have  hitherto  confined  my  attention 
to  the  members  of  the  Mir,  or  rural  Commune — that  is  to  say,  the 
peasants  in  the  narrower  sense  of  the  term ;  but  besides  these  there 
were  the  Dvorovuye,  or  domestic  servants,  and  of  these  I  must  add 
a  word  or  two. 

The  Dvorovuye  were  domestic  slaves  rather  than  serfs  in  the 
proper  sense  of  the  term.  Let  us,  however,  avoid  wounding  un- 
necessarily Russian  sensibilities  by  the  use  of  the  ill-sounding  word. 
We  may  call  the  class  in  question  "  domestics  " — rememl^ering,  of 
course,  that  they  were  not  quite  domestic  servants  in  the  ordinary 
sense.  They  received  no  wages,  were  not  at  liberty  to  change  mas- 
ters, possessed  almost  no  legal  rights,  and  might  be  punished,  hired 
out,  or  sold  by  their  owners  without  any  infraction  of  the  written 
law. 

These  "  domestics  "  were  very  numerous — out  of  all  proportion 
to  the  work  to  be  performed — and  could  consequently  lead  a  very 
lazy  life ;  *  but  the  peasant  considered  it  a  great  misfortune  to  be 

*  Those  proprietors  who  kept  orchestras,  large  packs  of  hounds,  &c., 
had  sometimes  several  hundred  domestic  serfs. 


426  EUSSIA 

transferred  to  their  ranks,  for  he  thereby  lost  his  share  of  the 
Communal  land  and  the  little  independence  which  he  enjoyed.  It 
very  rarely  happened,  however,  that  the  proprietor  took  an  able- 
bodied  peasant  as  domestic.  The  class  generally  kept  up  its  num- 
bers by  the  legitimate  and  illegitimate  method  of  natural  increase ; 
and  involuntary  additions  were  occasionally  made  when  orphans 
were  left  without  near  relatives,  and  no  other  family  wished  to 
adopt  them.  To  this  class  belonged  the  lackeys,  servant-girls, 
cooks,  coachmen,  stable-boys,  gardeners,  and  a  large  number  of 
nondescript  old  men  and  women  who  had  no  very  clearly  defined 
functions.  If  the  proprietor  had  a  private  theatre  or  orchestra,  it 
was  from  this  class  that  the  actors  and  musicians  were  drawn. 
Those  of  them  who  were  married  and  had  children  occupied  a 
position  intermediate  between  the  ordinary  domestic  servant  and 
the  peasant.  On  the  one  hand,  they  received  from  the  master  a 
monthly  allowance  of  food  and  a  yearly  allowance  of  clothes,  and 
they  were  obliged  to  live  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  mansion- 
house;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  they  had  each  a  separate  house  or 
apartment,  with  a  little  cabbage-garden,  and  commonly  a  small  plot 
of  flax.  The  unmarried  ones  lived  in  all  respects  like  ordinary 
domestic  servants. 

The  number  of  these  domestic  serfs  being  generally  out  of  all 
proportion  to  the  amount  of  work  they  had  to  perform,  they 
were  imbued  with  a  hereditary  spirit  of  indolence,  and  they 
performed  lazily  and  carelessly  what  they  had  to  do.  On 
the  other  hand,  they  were  often  sincerely  attached  to  the  family 
they  served,  and  occasionally  proved  by  acts  their  fidelity  and 
attachment.  Here  is  an  instance  out  of  many  for  which  I  can 
vouch.  An  old  nurse,  whose  mistress  was  dangerously  ill,  vowed 
that,  in  the  event  of  the  patient's  recovery,  she  would  make  a  pil- 
grimage, first  to  Kief,  the  Holy  City  on  the  Dnieper,  and  after- 
wards to  Solovetsk,  a  much  revered  monastery  on  an  island  in 
the  White  Sea.  The  patient  recovered,  and  the  old  woman,  in 
fulfilment  of  her  vow,  walked  more  than  two  thousand  miles ! 

This  class  of  serfs  might  well  be  called  domestic  slaves,  but  I 
must  warn  the  reader  that  he  ought  not  to  use  the  expression  when 
speaking  with  Eussians,  because  they  are  extremely  sensitive  on  the 
point.  Serfage,  they  say,  was  something  quite  different  from 
slavery,  and  slavery  never  existed  in  Eussia. 

The  first  part  of  this  assertion  is  perfectly  true,  and  the  second 
part  perfectly  false.  In  old  times,  as  I  have  said  above,  slavery 
was  a  recognised  institution  in  Eussia  as  in  other  countries.     One 


THE    SERFS  427 

can  hardly  read  a  few  pages  of  the  old  chronicles  without  stum- 
bling on  references  to  slaves;  and  I  distinctly  remember — though 
I  cannot  at  this  moment  give  chapter  and  verse — that  one  of  the 
old  Russian  Princes  was  so  valiant  and  so  successful  in  his  wars 
that  during  his  reign  a  slave  might  he  bought  for  a  few  coppers. 
As  late  as  the  beginning  of  last  century  the  domestic  serfs  were 
sold  very  much  as  domestic  slaves  used  to  be  sold  in  countries 
where  slavery  was  recognised  as  a  legal  institution.  Here  is  an 
example  of  the  customary  advertisement;  I  take  it  almost  at  ran- 
dom from  the  Moscow  Gazette  of  1801: — 

"■  To  Be  Sold  :  three  coachmen,  well  trained  and  handsome ; 
and  two  girls,  the  one  eighteen,  and  the  other  fifteen  years  of  age, 
both  of  them  good-looking,  and  well  acquainted  with  various  kinds 
of  handiwork.  In  the  same  house  there  are  for  sale  two  hair- 
dressers ;  the  one,  twenty-one  years  of  age,  can  read,  write,  play  on 
a  musical  instrument,  and  act  as  huntsman;  the  other  can  dress 
ladies'  and  gentlemen's  hair.  In  the  same  house  are  sold  pianos 
and  organs." 

A  little  farther  on  in  the  same  number  of  the  paper,  a  first-rate 
clerk,  a  carver,  and  a  lackey  are  offered  for  sale,  and  the  reason 
assigned  is  a  superabundance  of  the  articles  in  question  (za 
izlishestvom).  In  some  instances  it  seems  as  if  the  serfs  and 
the  cattle  were  intentionally  put  in  the  same  category,  as  in  the 
following  announcement:  "In  this  house  one  can  buy  a  coach- 
man and  a  Dutch  cow  about  to  calve."  The  style  of  these  adver- 
tisements, and  the  frequent  recurrence  of  the  same  addresses,  show 
that  there  was  at  this  time  in  ]\Ioscow  a  regular  class  of  slave- 
dealers.  The  humane  Alexander  I.  prohibited  advertisements  of 
this  kind,  but  he  did  not  put  down  the  custom  which  they  repre- 
sented, and  his  successor,  Nicholas  I.,  took  no  effective  measures 
for  its  repression. 

Of  the  whole  number  of  serfs  belonging  to  the  proprietors,  the 
domestics  formed,  according  to  the  census  of  1857,  no  less  than  61 
per  cent.  (6.79),  and  their  numbers  were  evidently  rapidly  increas- 
ing, for  in  the  preceding  census  they  represented  only  4.79  per  cent, 
of  the  whole.  This  fact  seems  all  the  more  significant  when  we 
observe  that  during  this  period  the  number  of  peasant  serfs  had 
diminished. 

I  must  now  bring  this  long  chapter  to  an  end.  My  aim  has  been 
to  represent  serfage  in  its  normal,  ordinary  forms  rather  than  in 
its  occasional  monstrous  manifestations.  Of  these  latter  I  have  a 
collection  containing  ample  materials  for  a  whole  series  of  sensa- 


428  EUSSIA 

tion  novels,  but  I  refrain  from  quoting  them,  because  I  do  not 
believe  that  the  criminal  annals  of  a  country  give  a  fair  represen- 
tation of  its  real  condition.  On  the  other  hand,  I  do  not  wish  to 
whitewash  serfage  or  attenuate  its  evil  consequences.  No  great 
body  of  men  could  long  wield  such  enormous  uncontrolled  power 
without  abusing  it,*  and  no  large  body  of  men  could  long  live 
under  such  power  without  suffering  morally  and  materially  from 
its  pernicious  influence.  If  serfage  did  not  create  that  moral  apathy 
and  intellectual  lethargy  which  formed,  as  it  were,  the  atmosphere 
of  Russian  provincial  life,  it  did  much  at  least  to  preserve  it.  In 
short,  serfage  was  the  chief  barrier  to  all  material  and  moral  prog- 
ress, and  in  a  time  of  moral  awakening  such  as  that  which  I  have 
described  in  the  preceding  chapter,  the  question  of  Emancipation 
naturally  came  at  once  to  the  front. 

*  The  number  of  deposed  proprietors — or  rather  the  number  of  estates 
placed  under  curators  in  consequence  of  the  abuse  of  authority  on  the 
part  of  their  owners — amounted  in  1859  to  215.  So  at  least  I  found  in 
an  official  MS.  document  shown  to  me  by  the  late  Nicholas  Milutin. 


CHAPTER  XXIX  ^ 


THE    EMANCIPATION    OF    THE    SERFS 


The  Question  Raised — Chief  Committee — The  Nobles  of  the  Lithuanian 
Provinces — The  Tsar's  Broad  Hint  to  the  Noblesse — Enthusiasm  in 
the  Press — The  Proprietors — I'olitical  Aspirations — No  Opposition — 
The  Government— I'ublie  Opinion — Fear  of  the  Proletariat — The 
Provincial  Committees — The  Elaboration  Commission — The  Question 
Ripens — Provincial  Dei)uties — Discontent  and  Demonstrations — 
The  Manifesto — Fundamental  Principles  of  the  Law — Illusions  and 
Disappointment  of  the  Serfs — Arbiters  of  the  Peace^ — A  ('haracter- 
istic  Incident — Redemption — Who  Effected  the  Emancipation? 

TT  is  a  fundamental  principle  of  Eussian  political  organisation 
A  that  all  initiative  in  public  affairs  proceeds  from  the  Autocratic 
Power.  The  widespread  desire,  therefore,  for  the  Emancipation 
of  the  serfs  did  not  find  free  expression  so  long  as  the  Emperor 
kept  silence  regarding  his  intentions.  The  educated  classes 
watched  anxiously  for  some  sign,  and  soon  a  sign  was  given  to 
them.  In  March,  1856 — a  few  days  after  the  publication  of  the 
manifesto  announcing  the  conclusion  of  peace  with  the  Western 
Powers — his  Majesty  said  to  the  Marshals  of  Noblesse  in  Moscow : 
*'  For  the  removal  of  certain  unfounded  reports  I  consider  it  neces- 
sary to  declare  to  you  that  I  have  not  at  present  the  intention  of 
annihilating  serfage;  but  certainly,  as  you  yourselves  know,  the 
existing  manner  of  possessing  serfs  cannot  remain  unchanged.  It 
is  better  to  abolish  serfage  from  above  than  to  await  the  time  when 
it  will  begin  to  abolish  itself  from  below.  I  request  you,  gentle- 
men, to  consider  how  this  can  be  put  into  execution,  and  to  submit 
my  words  to  the  Noblesse  for  their  consideration.'' 

These  words  were  intended  to  sound  the  Noblesse  and  induce 
them  to  make  a  voluntary  proposal,  but  they  had  not  the 
desired  effect.  Abolitionist  enthusiasm  was  rare  among  the  great 
nobles,  and  those  who  really  wished  to  see  serfage  abolished  con- 
sidered the  Imperial  utterance  too  vague  and  oracular  to  justify 
them  in  taking  the  initiative.  As  no  further  steps  were  taken  for 
some  time,  the  excitement  caused  by  the  incident  soon  subsided,  and 
many  people  assmned  that  the  consideration  of  the  problem  had 
been   indefinitely   postponed.     "  The    Government,"   it   was    said, 

429 


430  EUSSIA 

"  evidently  intended  to  raise  the  question,  but  on  perceiving  the 
indifference  or  hostility  of  the  landed  proprietors,  it  became  fright- 
ened and  drew  back." 

The  Emperor  was  in  reality  disappointed.  He  had  expected 
that  his  "  faithful  Moscow  Noblesse,"  of  which  he  was  wont  to  say 
he  was  himself  a  member,  would  at  once  respond  to  his  call,  and 
that  the  ancient  capital  would  have  the  honour  of  beginning  the 
work.  And  if  the  example  were  thus  given  by  Moscow,  he  had  no 
doubt  that  it  would  soon  be  followed  by  the  other  provinces.  He 
now  perceived  that  the  fundamental  principles  on  which  the 
Emancipation  should  be  effected  must  be  laid  down  by  the  Govern- 
ment, and  for  this  purpose  he  created  a  secret  committee  com- 
posed of  several  great  officers  of  State. 

This  "  Chief  Committee  for  Peasant  Affairs,"  as  it  was  after- 
wards called,  devoted  six  months  to  studying  the  history  of  the 
question.  Emancipation  schemes  were  by  no  means  a  new 
phenomenon  in  Eussia.  Ever  since  the  time  of  Catherine  II.  the 
Government  had  thought  of  improving  the  condition  of  the  serfs, 
and  on  more  than  one  occasion  a  general  emancipation  had  been 
contemplated.  In  this  way  the  question  had  slowly  ripened,  and 
certain  fundamental  principles  had  come  to  be  pretty  generally 
recognised.  Of  these  principles  the  most  important  was  that  the 
State  should  not  consent  to  any  project  which  would  uproot  the 
peasant  from  the  soil  and  allow  him  to  wander  about  at  will;  for 
such  a  measure  would  render  the  collection  of  the  taxes  impossible, 
and  in  all  probability  produce  the  most  frightful  agrarian  dis- 
orders. And  to  this  general  principle  there  was  an  important 
corollary:  if  severe  restrictions  were  to  be  placed  on  free  migra- 
tion, it  would  be  necessary  to  provide  the  peasantry  with  land 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  villages;  otherwise  they  must 
inevitably  fall  back  under  the  power  of  the  proprietors,  and  a  new 
and  worse  kind  of  serfage  would  thus  be  created.  But  in  order 
to  give  land  to  the  peasantry  it  would  be  necessary  to  take  it  from 
the  proprietors;  and  this  expropriation  seemed  to  many  a  most 
unjustifiable  infringement  of  the  sacred  rights  of  property.  It 
was  this  consideration  that  had  restrained  Nicholas  from  taking 
any  decisive  measures  with  regard  to  serfage;  and  it  had  now 
considerable  weight  with  the  members  of  the  committee,  who  were 
nearly  all  great  land-owners. 

Notwithstanding  the  strenuous  exertions  of  the  Grand  Duke 
Constantine,  who  had  been  appointed  a  member  for  the  express 
purpose  of  accelerating  the  proceedings,  the  committee  did  not 


THE    EMANCIPATION"    OF    THE    SERFS  431 

show  as  much  zeal  and  energy  as  was  desired,  and  orders  were 
given  to  take  some  decided  step.  At  that  moment  a  convenient 
opportunity  presented  itself. 

In  the  Lithuanian  Provinces,  where  the  nobles  were  Polish  by 
origin  and  sympathies,  the  miserable  condition  of  the  peasantry 
had  induced  the  Government  in  the  preceding  reign  to  limit  the 
arbitrary  power  of  the  serf-owners  by  so-called  Inventories,  in 
which  the  mutual  obligations  of  masters  and  serfs  were  regulated 
and  defined.  These  Inventories  had  caused  great  dissatisfaction, 
and  the  proprietors  now  proposed  that  they  should  be  revised.  Of 
this  the  Government  determined  to  take  advantage.  On  the  some- 
what violent  assumption  that  these  proprietors  wished  to  emanci- 
pate their  serfs,  an  Imperial  rescript  was  prepared  approving  of 
their  supposed  desire,  and  empowering  them  to  form  committees 
for  the  preparation  of  definite  projects.*  In  the  rescript  itself 
the  word  emancipation  was  studiously  avoided,  but  there  could  be 
no  doubt  as  to  the  implied  meaning,  for  it  was  expressly  stated  in 
tlie  supplementary  considerations  that  "  the  abolition  of  serfage 
must  be  effected  not  suddenly,  but  gradually."  Four  days  later 
the  Minister  of  the  Interior,  in  accordance  with  a  secret  order 
from  the  Emperor,  sent  a  circular  to  the  Governors  and  Marshals 
of  Noblesse  all  over  Eussia  proper,  informing  them  that  the  nobles 
of  the  Lithuanian  Provinces  "  had  recognised  the  necessity  of 
liberating  the  peasants,"  and  that  "  this  noble  intention "  had 
afforded  peculiar  satisfaction  to  his  Majesty.  A  copy  of  the  re- 
script and  the  fundamental  principles  to  be  observed  accompanied 
the  circular,  "  in  case  the  nobles  of  other  provinces  should  express 
a  similar  desire." 

This  circular  produced  an  immense  sensation  throughout  the 
country.  No  one  could  for  a  moment  misunderstand  the  sug- 
gestion that  the  nobles  of  other  provinces  miglit  possibly  express  a 
desire  to  liberate  their  serfs.  Such  vague  words,  when  spoken  by 
an  autocrat,  have  a  very  definite  and  unmistakable  meaning, 
which  prudent  loyal  subjects  have  no  difficulty  in  understanding. 
If  any  doubted,  their  doubts  Avere  soon  dispelled,  for  the  Emperor, 
a  few  weeks  later,  publicly  expressed  a  hope  that,  with  the  help  of 
God  and  the  co-operation  of  the  nobles,  the  work  would  be  suc- 
cessfully accomplished. 

*  This  celebrated  document  is  known  as  "  The  Rescript  to  Nazlmof." 
More  than  once  in  the  course  of  conversation  I  did  all  in  my  power, 
within  the  limits  of  politeness  and  discretion,  to  extract  from  General 
Nazimof  a  detailed  account  of  this  important  episode,  but  my  efforts 
were  unsuccessful. 


433  RUSSIA 

The  die  was  cast,  and  the  Government  looked  anxiously  to  see 
the  result. 

The  periodical  Press — which  was  at  once  the  product  and  the 
fomenter  of  the  liberal  aspirations — hailed  the  raising  of  the  ques- 
tion with  boundless  enthusiasm.  The  Emancipation,  it  was  said, 
would  certainly  open  a  new  and  glorious  epoch  in  the  national 
history.  Serfage  was  described  as  an  ulcer  that  had  long  been 
poisoning  the  national  blood;  as  an  enormous  weight  under  which 
the  whole  nation  groaned ;  as  an  insurmountable  obstacle,  preventing 
all  material  and  moral  progress;  as  a  cumbrous  load  which  ren- 
dered all  free,  vigorous  action  impossible,  and  prevented  Russia 
from  rising  to  the  level  of  the  Western  nations.  If  Russia  had 
succeeded  in  stemming  the  flood  of  adverse  fortune  in  spite  of 
this  millstone  round  her  neck,  what  might  she  not  accomplish 
when  free  and  untrammelled?  All  sections  of  the  literary  world 
had  arguments  to  offer  in  support  of  the  foregone  conclusion.  The 
moralists  declared  that  all  the  prevailing  vices  were  the  product  of 
serfage,  and  that  moral  progress  was  impossible  in  an  atmosphere 
of  slavery;  the  lawyers  held  that  the  arbitrary  authority  of  the 
proprietors  over  the  peasants  had  no  legal  basis;  the  economists 
explained  that  free  labour  was  an  indispensable  condition  of  in- 
dustrial and  commercial  prosperity;  the  philosophical  historians 
showed  that  the  normal  historical  development  of  the  country 
demanded  the  immediate  abolition  of  this  superannuated  remnant  of 
barbarism ;  and  the  writers  of  the  sentimental,  gushing  type  poured 
forth  endless  effusions  about  brotherly  love  to  the  weak  and 
the  oppressed.  In  a  word,  the  Press  was  for  the  moment  unani- 
mous, and  displayed  a  feverish  excitement  which  demanded  a  liberal 
use  of  superlatives. 

This  enthusiastic  tone  accorded  perfectly  with  the  feelings  of  a 
large  section  of  the  nobles.  Nearly  the  whole  of  the  Noblesse  was 
more  or  less  affected  by  the  newborn  enthusiasm  for  everything 
just,  humanitarian,  and  liberal.  The  aspirations  found,  of  course, 
their  most  ardent  representatives  among  the  educated  youth;  but 
they  were  by  no  means  confined  to  the  younger  men,  who  had 
passed  through  the  universities  and  had  always  regarded  serfage 
as  a  stain  on  the  national  honour.  Many  a  Saul  was  found  among 
the  prophets.  Many  an  old  man,  with  grey  hairs  and  grand- 
children, who  had  all  his  life  placidly  enjoyed  the  fruits  of  serf 
labour,  was  now  heard  to  speak  of  serfage  as  an  antiquated  insti- 
tution which  could  not  be  reconciled  with  modern  humanitarian 
ideas ;  and  not  a  few  of  all  ages,  who  had  formerly  never  thought 


THE    EMAXCIPATION"    OF    THE    SERFS  433 

of  reading  books  or  newspapers,  now  perused  assiduously  the  peri- 
odical literature,  and  picked  up  the  liberal  and  humanitarian 
phrases  with  which  it  was  filled. 

This  Al)olitionist  fervour  was  considerably  augmented  by  certain 
political  aspirations  which  did  not  appear  in  the  newspapers,  but 
which  were  at  that  time  very  generally  entertained.  In  spite  of 
the  Press-censure  a  large  section  of  the  educated  classes  had  become 
ac(|uainted  with  the  political  literature  of  France  and  Germany, 
and  had  imbibed  therefrom  an  unbounded  admiration  for  Con- 
stitutional government.  A  Constitution,  it  was  thought,  would 
necessarily  remove  all  political  evils  and  create  something  like  a 
political  Millennium.  And  it  was  not  to  be  a  Constitution  of  the 
ordinary  sort — the  fruit  of  compromise  between  hostile  political 
parties — but  an  institution  designed  calmly  according  to  the  latest 
results  of  political  science,  and  so  constructed  that  all  classes  would 
voluntarily  contribute  to  the  general  welfare.  The  necessary  pre- 
lude to  this  happy  era  of  political  liberty  was,  of  course,  the  aboli- 
tion of  serfage.  When  the  nobles  had  given  up  their  power  over 
their  serfs  they  would  receive  a  Constitution  as  an  indemnification 
and  reward. 

There  were,  however,  many  nobles  of  the  old  school  who  remained 
impervious  to  all  these  new  feelings  and  ideas.  On  them  the  rais- 
ing of  the  Emancipation  question  had  a  very  difEerent  effect.  They 
had  no  source  of  revenue  but  their  estates,  and  they  could  not 
conceive  the  possibility  of  working  their  estates  without  serf  labour. 
If  the  peasant  was  indolent  and  careless  even  under  strict  super- 
vision, what  would  he  become  when  no  longer  under  the  authority 
of  a  master?  If  the  profits  from  farming  were  already  small, 
what  would  they  be  when  no  one  would  work  without  wages? 
And  this  was  not  the  worst,  for  it  was  quite  evident  from  the 
circular  that  the  land  question  was  to  be  raised,  and  that  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  each  estate  would  bo  transferred,  at  least  for  a 
time,  to  the  emancipated  peasants. 

To  the  proprietors  who  looked  at  the  question  in  this  way  the 
prospect  of  Emancipation  was  certainly  not  at  all  agreeable,  but 
we  must  not  imagine  that  they  felt  as  English  land-owners  would 
feel  if  threatened  by  a  similar  danger.  In  England  a  hereditary 
estate  has  for  the  family  a  value  far  beyond  what  it  would  bring 
in  the  market.  It  is  regarded  as  one  and  indivisible,  and  any  dis- 
memberment of  it  would  be  looked  upon  as  a  grave  family  mis- 
fortune. In  Russia,  on  the  contrary,  estates  have  nothing  of  this 
semi-sacred  character,  and  may  be  at  any  time  dismembered  with- 


434  KUSSIA 

out  outraging  family  feeling  or  traditional  associations.  Indeed, 
it  is  not  uncommon  that  when  a  proprietor  dies,  leaving  only  one 
estate  and  several  children,  the  property  is  broken  up  into  fractions 
and  divided  among  the  heirs.  Even  the  prospect  of  pecuniary 
sacrifice  did  not  alarm  the  Eussians  so  much  as  it  would  alarm 
Englishmen.  Men  who  keep  no  accounts  and  take  little  thought 
for  the  morrow  are  much  less  averse  to  making  pecuniary  sacri- 
fices— whether  for  a  wise  or  a  foolish  purpose — than  those  who 
carefully  arrange  their  mode  of  life  according  to  their  income. 

Still,  after  due  allowance  has  been  made  for  these  peculiarities, 
it  must  be  admitted  that  the  feeling  of  dissatisfaction  and  alarm 
was  very  widespread.  Even  Eussians  do  not  like  the  prospect  of 
losing  a  part  of  their  land  and  income.  No  protest,  however,  was 
entered,  and  no  opposition  was  made.  Those  who  were  hostile  to 
the  measure  were  ashamed  to  show  themselves  selfish  and  unpa- 
triotic. At  the  same  time  they  knew  very  well  that  the  Emperor, 
if  he  wished,  could  effect  the  Emancipation  in  spite  of  them,  and 
that  resistance  on  their  part  would  draw  down  upon  them  the 
Imperial  displeasure,  without  affording  any  compensating  advan- 
tage. They  knew,  too,  that  there  was  a  danger  from  below,  so 
that  any  useless  show  of  opposition  would  be  like  playing  with 
matches  in  a  powder-magazine.  The  serfs  would  soon  hear  that 
the  Tsar  desired  to  set  them  free,  and  they  might,  if  they  sus- 
pected that  the  proprietors  were  trying  to  frustrate  the  Tsar's 
benevolent  intentions,  use  violent  measures  to  get  rid  of  the  oppo- 
sition. The  idea  of  agrarian  massacres  had  already  taken  posses- 
sion of  many  timid  minds.  Besides  this,  all  classes  of  the  pro- 
prietors felt  that  if  the  work  was  to  be  done,  it  should  be  done  by 
the  Noblesse  and  not  by  the  bureaucracy.  If  it  were  effected  by 
the  nobles  the  interests  of  the  land-owners  would  be  duly  consid- 
ered, but  if  it  were  effected  by  the  Administration  without  their 
concurrence  and  co-operation  their  interests  would  be  neglected, 
and  there  would  inevitably  be  an  enormous  amount  of  jobbery  and 
corruption.  In  accordance  with  this  view,  the  Noblesse  corpora- 
tions of  the  various  provinces  successively  requested  permission  to 
form  committees  for  the  consideration  of  the  question,  and  during 
the  year  1858  a  committee  was  opened  in  almost  every  province  in- 
which  serfage  existed. 

In  this  way  the  question  was  apparently  handed  over  for  solution 
to  the  nobles,  but  in  reality  the  Noblesse  was  called  upon  merely 
to  advise,  and  not  to  legislate.  The  Government  had  not  only  laid 
down  the  fundamental  principles  of  the  scheme;  it  continually 


THE    EMANCIPATION    OF    THE    SERFS  435 

supervised  the  work  of  construction,  and  it  reserved  to  itself  the 
right  of  modifying  or  rejecting  the  projects  proposed  by  the  com- 
mittees. 

According  to  these  fundamental  principles  the  serfs  should  be 
emancipated  gradually,  so  that  for  some  time  they  would  remain 
attached  to  the  glebe  and  subject  to  the  authority  of  the  proprietors. 
During  this  transition  period  they  should  redeem  by  money  pay- 
ments or  labour  their  houses  and  gardens,  and  enjoy  in  usufruct  a 
certain  quantity  of  land,  sufficient  to  enable  them  to  support  them- 
selves and  to  fulfil  their  ol)ligations  to  the  State  as  well  as  to  the 
proprietor.  In  return  for  this  land  they  should  pay  a  yearly  rent 
in  money,  produce  or  labour  over  and  above  the  yearly  sum  paid 
for  the  redemption  of  their  houses  and  gardens.  As  to  what 
should  be  done  after  the  expiry  of  the  transition  period,  the  Gov- 
ernment seems  to  have  had  no  clearly  conceived  intentions.  Prob- 
ably it  hoped  that  by  that  time  the  proprietors  and  their  eman- 
cipated serfs  would  have  invented  some  convenient  modus  vivendi, 
and  that  nothing  but  a  little  legislative  regulation  would  be  neces- 
sary. But  radical  legislation  is  like  the  letting-out  of  water. 
These  fundamental  principles,  adopted  at  first  with  a  view  to 
mere  immediate  practical  necessity,  soon  acquired  a  very  different 
significance.  To  understand  this  we  must  return  to  the  periodical 
literature. 

Until  the  serf  question  came  to  be  discussed,  the  reform  aspira- 
tions were  very  vague,  and  consequently  there  was  a  remarkable 
unanimity  among  their  representatives.  The  great  majority  of 
the  educated  classes  were  unanimously  of  opinion  that  Russia  should 
at  once  adopt  from  the  West  all  those  liberal  principles  and  insti- 
tutions the  exclusion  of  which  had  prevented  the  country  from 
rising  to  the  level  of  the  Western  nations.  But  very  soon  symp- 
toms of  a  schism  became  apparent.  Whilst  the  literature  in  gen- 
eral was  still  preaching  the  doctrine  that  Russia  should  adopt 
everything  that  was  "liberal,"  a  few  voices  began  to  be  heard 
warning  the  unwary  that  much  -^vhich  bore  the  name  of  liberal 
was  in  reality  already  antiquated  and  worthless — that  Russia  ought 
not  to  follow  blindly  in  the  footsteps  of  other  nations,  but  ought 
rather  to  profit  by  their  experience,  and  avoid  the  errors  into 
which  they  had  fallen.  The  chief  of  these  errors  was,  according 
to  these  new  teachers,  the  abnormal  development  of  individual- 
ism— the  adoption  of  that  principle  of  laissez  fairs  which  forms 
the  basis  of  what  may  be  called  the  Orthodox  School  of  Political 
Economists.     Individualism  and  unrestricted  competition,  it  was 


436  EUSSIA 

said,  have  now  reached  in  the  West  an  abnormal  and  monstrous 
development.  Supported  by  the  laissez  faire  principle,  they  have 
led — and  must  always  lead — to  the  oppression  of  the  weak,  the 
tyranny  of  capital,  the  impoverishment  of  the  masses  for  the 
benefit  of  the  few,  and  the  formation  of  a  hungry,  dangerous 
Proletariat!  This  has  already  been  recognised  by  the  most  ad- 
vanced thinkers  of  France  and  Germany,  If  the  older  countries 
cannot  at  once  cure  those  evils,  that  is  no  reason  for  Russia  to 
inoculate  herself  with  them.  She  is  still  at  the  commencement  of 
her  career,  and  it  would  be  folly  for  her  to  wander  voluntarily  for 
ages  in  the  Desert,  when  a  direct  route  to  the  Promised  Land  has 
been  already  discovered. 

In  order  to  convey  some  idea  of  the  influence  which  this  teach- 
ing exercised,  I  must  here  recall,  at  the  risk  of  repeating  myself, 
what  I  said  in  a  former  chapter.  The  Eussians,  as  I  have  there 
pointed  out,  have  a  peculiar  way  of  treating  political  and  social 
questions.  Having  received  their  political  education  from  books, 
they  naturally  attribute  to  theoretical  considerations  an  importance 
which  seems  to  us  exaggerated.  When  any  important  or  trivial 
question  arises,  they  at  once  launch  into  a  sea  of  philosophical  prin- 
ciples, and  pay  less  attention  to  the  little  objects  close  at  hand  than 
to  the  big  ones  that  appear  on  the  distant  horizon  of  the  future. 
And  when  they  set  to  work  at  any  political  reform  they  begin 
a6  ovo.  As  they  have  no  traditional  prejudices  to  fetter  them,  and 
no  traditional  principles  to  lead  them,  they  naturally  take  for  their 
guidance  the  latest  conclusions  of  political  philosophy. 

Bearing  this  in  mind,  let  us  see  how  it  affected  the  Emancipation 
question.  The  Proletariat — described  as  a  dangerous  monster 
which  was  about  to  swallow  up  society  in  Western  Europe,  and 
which  might  at  any  moment  cross  the  frontier  unless  kept  out  by 
vigorous  measures — took  possession  of  the  popular  imagination, 
and  aroused  the  fears  of  the  reading  public.  To  many  it  seemed 
that  the  best  means  of  preventing  the  formation  of  a  Proletariat 
in  Eussia  was  the  securing  of  land  for  the  emancipated  serfs  and 
I  /  the  careful  preservation  of  the  rural  Commune.  "  Now  is  the 
moment,"  it  was  said,  "  for  deciding  the  important  question 
whether  Eussia  is  to  fall  a  prey,  like  the  Western  nations,  to  this 
terrible  evil,  or  whether  she  is  to  protect  herself  for  ever  against 
it.  In  the  decision  of  this  question  lies  the  future  destiny  of  the 
country.  If  the  peasants  be  emancipated  without  land,  or  if  those 
Communal  institutions  which  give  to  every  man  a  share  of  the  soil 
and  secure  this  inestimable  boon  for  the  generations  still  unborn 


THE    EMANCIPATION    OF    THE    SEEFS  437 

be  now  abolished,  a  Proletariat  will  be  rapidly  formed,  and  the 
peasantry  will  become  a  disor^^anised  mass  of  homeless  wanderers 
like  the  English  agricultural  labourers.  If,  on  the  contrary,  a 
fair  share  of  land  be  granted  to  them,  and  if  the  Commune  be 
made  proprietor  of  the  land  ceded,  the  danger  of  a  Proletariat  is 
for  ever  removed,  and  Eussia  will  thereby  set  an  example  to  the 
civilised  world!  Never  has  a  nation  had  such  an  opportunity  of 
making  an  enormous  leap  forward  on  the  road  of  progress,  and 
never  again  will  the  opportunity  occur.  The  Western  nations 
have  discovered  their  error  when  it  is  too  late — when  the  peasantry 
have  been  already  deprived  of  their  land,  and  the  labouring  classes 
of  the  towns  have  already  fallen  a  prey  to  the  insatiable  cupidity 
of  the  capitalists.  In  vain  their  most  eminent  thinkers  warn  and 
exhort.  Ordinary  remedies  are  no  longer  of  any  avail.  But 
Russia  may  avoid  these  dangers,  if  she  but  act  wisely  and  prudently 
in  this  great  matter.  The  peasants  are  still  in  actual,  if  not  legal, 
possession  of  the  land,  and  there  is  as  yet  no  Proletariat  in  the 
towTis.  All  that  is  necessary,  therefore,  is  to  al^olish  the  arbitrary 
authority  of  the  proprietors  without  expropriating  the  peasants, 
and  without  disturbing  the  existing  Communal  institutions,  which 
form  the  best  barrier  against  pauperism." 

These  ideas'  were  warmly  espoused  by  many  proprietors,  and 
exercised  a  very  great  influence  on  the  deliberations  of  the  Provincial 
Committees.  In  these  committees  there  were  generally  two  groups. 
The  majorities,  whilst  making  large  concessions  to  the  claims  of 
justice  and  expediency,  endeavoured  to  defend,  as  far  as  possible, 
the  interests  of  their  class;  the  minorities,  though  by  no  means 
indifferent  to  the  interests  of  the  class  to  which  they  belonged, 
allowed  the  more  abstract  theoretical  considerations  to  be  pre- 
dominant. At  first  the  majorities  did  all  in  their  power  to  evade 
the  fundamental  principles  laid  down  by  the  Government  as  much 
too  favourable  to  the  peasantry;  but  when  they  perceived  that 
public  opinion,  as  represented  by  the  Press,  went  much  further 
than  the  Government,  they  clung  to  these  fundamental  principles — 
which  secured  at  least  the  fee  simple  of  the  estate  to  the  land- 
lord— as  their  anchor  of  safety.  Between  the  two  parties  arose 
naturally  a  strong  spirit  of  hostility,  and  the  Government,  which 
wished  to  have  the  support  of  the  minorities,  found  it  advisable 
that  both  should  present  their  projects  for  consideration. 

As  the  Provincial  Committees  worked  independently,  there  was 
considerable  diversity  in  the  conclusions  at  which  they  arrived. 
The  task  of  codifying  these  conclusions,  and  elaborating  out  of  them 


438  EUSSIA 

a  general  scheme  of  Emancipation,  was  entrusted  to  a  special 
Imperial  Commission,  composed  partly  of  officials  and  partly  of 
landed  proprietors  named  by  the  Emperor.*  Those  who  believed 
that  the  question  had  really  been  handed  over  to  the  Noblesse 
assumed  that  this  Commission  would  merely  arrange  the  materials 
presented  by  the  Provincial  Committees,  and  that  the  Emancipa- 
tion Law  would  thereafter  be  elaborated  by  a  National  Assembly  of 
deputies  elected  by  the  nobles.  In  reality  the  Commission,  work- 
ing in  St.  Petersburg  under  the  direct  guidance  and  control  of 
the  Government,  fulfilled  a  very  difi:erent  and  much  more  important 
function.  Using  the  combined  projects  merely  as  a  storehouse 
from  which  it  could  draw  the  proposals  it  desired,  it  formed  a 
new  project  of  its  own,  which  ultimately  received,  after  undergoing 
modification  in  detail,  the  Imperial  assent.  Instead  of  being  a 
mere  chancellerie,  as  many  expected,  it  became  in  a  certain  sense 
the  author  of  the  Emancipation  Law. 

There  was,  as  we  have  seen,  in  nearly  all  the  Provincial  Com- 
mittees a  majority  and  a  minority,  the  former  of  which  strove  to 
defend  the  interests  of  the  proprietors,  whilst  the  latter  paid  more 
attention  to  theoretical  considerations,  and  endeavoured  to  secure 
for  the  peasantry  a  large  amount  of  land  and  Communal  self-gov- 
ernment. In  the  Commission  there  were  the  same  two  parties, 
but  their  relative  strength  was  very  different.  Here  the  men  of 
theory,  instead  of  forming  a  minority,  were  more  numerous  than 
their  opponents,  and  enjoyed  the  support  of  the  Government, 
which  regulated  the  proceedings.  In  its  instructions  we  see  how 
much  the  question  had  ripened  under  the  influence  of  the  theo- 
retical considerations.  There  is  no  longer  any  trace  of  the  idea 
that  the  Emancipation  should  be  gradual;  on  the  contrary,  it  is 
expressly  declared  that  the  immediate  effect  of  the  law  should  be 
the  complete  abolition  of  the  proprietor's  authority.  There  is 
even  evidence  of  a  clear  intention  of  preventing  the  proprietor  as 
far  as  possible  from  exercising  any  influence  over  his  former  serfs. 
The  sharp  distinction  between  the  land  occupied  by  the  village  and 
the  arable  land  to  be  ceded  in  usufruct  likewise  disappears,  and  it 
is  merely  said  that  efforts  should  be  made  to  enable  the  peasants  to 
become  proprietors  of  the  land  they  required. 

The  aim  of  the  Government  had  thus  become  clear  and  well 
defined.     The  task  to  be  performed  was  to  transform  the  serfs 

*  Known  as  the  RedaJctsiomiaya  Komissiya,  or  Elaboration  Commis- 
sion. Strictly  speaking,  there  were  two,  but  they  are  commonly  spoken 
of  as  one. 


THE    EMANCIPATION    OF    THE    SERFS  439 

at  once,  and  with  the  least  possible  disturbance  of  the  existing 
economic  conditions,  into  a  class  of  small  Communal  proprietors — 
that  is  to  say,  a  class  of  free  peasants  possessing  a  house  and 
garden  and  a  share  of  the  Communal  land.  To  effect  this  it  was 
merely  necessary  to  declare  the  serf  personally  free,  to  draw  a  clear 
line  of  demarcation  between  the  Communal  land  and  the  rest  of 
the  estate,  and  to  determine  the  price  or  rent  which  should  be  paid 
for  this  Communal  property,  inclusive  of  the  land  on  which  the 
village  was  built. 

The  law  was  prepared  in  strict  accordance  with  these  principles. 
As  to  the  amount  of  land  to  be  ceded,  it  was  decided  that  the  exist- 
ing arrangements,  founded  on  experience,  should,  as  a  general  rule, 
be  preserved — in  other  words,  the  land  actually  enjoyed  by  the 
peasants  should  be  retained  by  them;  and  in  order  to  prevent  ex- 
treme cases  of  injustice,  a  maximum  and  a  minimum  were  fixed 
for  each  district.  In  like  manner,  as  to  the  dues,  it  was  decided 
that  the  existing  arrangements  should  be  taken  as  the  basis  of  the 
calculation,  but  that  the  sum  should  be  modified  according  to  the 
amount  of  land  ceded.  At  the  same  time  facilities  were  to  be 
given  for  the  transforming  of  the  labour  dues  into  yearly  money 
payments,  and  for  enabling  the  peasants  to  redeem  them,  with 
the  assistance  of  the  Government,  in  the  form  of  credit. 

This  idea  of  redemption  created,  at  first,  a  feeling  of  alarm 
among  the  proprietors.  It  was  bad  enough  to  be  obliged  to  cede 
a  large  part  of  the  estates  in  usufruct,  but  it  seemed  to  be  much 
Avorsc  to  have  to  sell  it.  Redemption  appeared  to  be  a  species  of 
wholesale  confiscation.  But  very  soon  it  became  evident  that 
the  redeeming  of  the  land  was  profitable  for  both  parties.  Cession 
in  perpetual  usufruct  was  felt  to  be  in  reality  tantamount  to 
alienation  of  the  land,  whilst  the  immediate  redemption  would 
enable  the  proprietors,  who  had  generally  little  or  no  ready  money 
to  pay  their  debts,  to  clear  their  estates  from  mortgages,  and  to 
make  the  outlays  necessary  for  the  transition  to  free  labour.  The 
majority  of  the  proprietors,  therefore,  said  openly:  "Let  the 
Government  give  us  a  suitable  compensation  in  money  for  the  land 
that  is  taken  from  us,  so  that  we  may  be  at  once  freed  from  all 
further  trouble  and  annoyance." 

When  it  became  knowm  that  the  Commission  was  not  merely 
arranging  and  codifying  the  materials,  but  elaborating  a  law  of  it& 
own  and  regularly  submitting  its  decisions  for  Imperial  confirma- 
tion, a  feeling  of  dissatisfaction  appeared  all  over  the  country. 
The  nobles  perceived  that  the  question  was  being  taken  out  of  their 


440  EUSSIA 

hands,  and  was  being  solved  by  a  small  body  composed  of  bureau- 
crats and  nominees  of  the  Government.  After  having  made  a 
voluntary  sacrifice  of  their  rights,  they  were  being  unceremoniously 
pushed  aside.  They  had  still,  however,  the  means  of  correcting 
this.  The  Emperor  had  publicly  promised  that  before  the  project 
should  become  law  deputies  from  the  Provincial  Committees 
should  be  summoned  to  St.  Petersburg  to  make  objections  and 
propose  amendments. 

The  Commission  and  the  Government  would  have  willingly  dis- 
pensed with  all  further  advice  from  the  nobles,  but  it  was  necessary 
to  redeem  the  Imperial  promise.  Deputies  were  therefore  sum- 
moned to  the  capital,  but  they  were  not  allowed  to  form,  as  they 
hoped,  a  public  assembly  for  the  discussion  of  the  question.  All 
their  efforts  to  hold  meetings  were  frustrated,  and  they  were  re- 
quired merely  to  answer  in  writing  a  list  of  printed  questions 
regarding  matters  of  detail.  The  fundamental  principles,  they 
were  told,  had  already  received  the  Imperial  sanction,  and  were 
consequently  removed  from  discussion.  Those  who  desired  to  dis- 
cuss details  were  invited  individually  to  attend  meetings  of  the 
Commission,  where  they  found  one  or  two  members  ready  to  engage 
with  them  in  a  little  dialectical  fencing.  This,  of  course,  did  not 
give  much  satisfaction.  Indeed,  the  ironical  tone  in  which  the 
fencing  was  too  often  conducted  served  to  increase  the  existing 
irritation.  It  was  only  too  evident  that  the  Commission  had  tri- 
umphed, and  some  of  the  members  could  justly  boast  that  they 
had  drowned  the  deputies  in  ink  and  buried  them  under  reams  of 
paper. 

Believing,  or  at  least  professing  to  believe,  that  the  Emperor 
was  being  deceived  in  this  matter  by  the  Administration,  several 
groups  of  deputies  presented  petitions  to  his  Majesty  containing 
a  respectful  protest  against  the  manner  in  which  they  had  been 
treated.  But  by  this  act  they  simply  laid  themselves  open  to 
"  the  most  unkindest  cut  of  all."  Those  who  had  signed  the  peti- 
tions received  a  formal  reprimand  through  the  police. 

This  treatment  of  the  deputies,  and,  above  all,  this  gratuitous 
insult,  produced  among  the  nobles  a  storm  of  indignation.  They 
felt  that  they  had  been  entrapped.  The  Government  had  artfully 
induced  them  to  form  projects  for  the  emancipation  of  their  serfs, 
and  now,  after  having  been  used  as  a  cat's-paw  in  the  work  of 
their  own  spoliation,  they  were  being  unceremoniously  pushed  aside 
as  no  longer  necessary.  Those  who  had  indulged  in  the  hope 
of  gaining  political  rights  felt  the  blow  most  keenly.     A  first  gentle 


THE    EMANCIPATION    OF   THE    SEKFS  441 

and  respectful  attempt  at  remonstrance  had  been  answered  by  a 
dictatorial  reprimand  through  the  police!  Instead  of  being  called 
to  take  an  active  part  in  home  and  foreign  politics,  they  were  l)eing 
treated  as  naughty  schoolboys.  In  view  of  this  insult  all  differ- 
ences of  opinion  were  for  the  moment  forgotten,  and  all  parties 
resolved  to  join  in  a  vigorous  protest  against  the  insolence  and 
arbitrary  conduct  of  the  bureaucracy. 

A  convenient  opportunity  of  making  this  protest  in  a  legal 
way  was  offered  by  the  triennial  Provincial  Assemblies  of  the  No- 
blesse about  to  be  held  in  several  provinces.     So  at  least  it  was 
thought,  but  here  again  the  Noblesse  was  checkmated  by  the  Ad-- 
ministration. 

Before  the  opening  of  the  Assemblies  a  circular  was  issued  exclud- 
ing the  Emancipation  question  from  their  deliberations.  Some 
Assemblies  evaded  this  order,  and  succeeded  in  making  a  little 
demonstration  by  submitting  to  his  Majesty  that  the  time  had 
arrived  for  other  reforms,  such  as  the  separation  of  the  adminis- 
trative and  judicial  powers,  and  the  creation  of  local  self-govern- 
ment, public  judicial  procedure,  and  trial  by  jury. 

All  these  reforms  were  voluntarily  effected  by  the  Emperor  a 
few  years  later,  but  the  manner  in  which  they  were  suggested 
seemed  to  savour  of  insubordination,  and  was  a  flagrant  infraction 
of  the  principle  that  all  initiative  in  public  affairs  should  proceed 
from  the  central  Government.  New  measures  of  repression  were 
accordingly  used.  Some  Marshals  of  Noblesse  were  reprimanded 
and  others  deposed.  Of  the  conspicuous  leaders,  two  were  exiled 
to  distant  provinces  and  others  placed  under  the  supervision  of 
the  police.  Worst  of  all,  the  whole  agitation  strengthened  the 
Commission  by  convincing  the  Emperor  that  the  majority  of  the 
nobles  were  hostile  to  his  benevolent  plans.* 

When  the  Commission  had  finished  its  labours,  its  proposals 
passed  to  the  two  higher  instances — the  Committee  for  Peasant 
Affairs  and  the  Council  of  State — and  in  both  of  these  the  Emperor 
declared  plainly  that  he  could  allow  no  fundamental  changes. 
From  all  the  members  he  demanded  a  complete  forgetfulness  of 
former  differences  and  a  conscientious  execution  of  his  orders; 
"  For  you  must  remember,"  he  significantly  added,  "  that  in  Russia 
laws  are  made  by  the  Autocratic  Power."  From  an  historical  review 
of  the  question  he  drew  the  conclusion  that  "  the  Autocratic  Power 

*  This  was  a  misinterpretation  of  the  facts.  Very  many  of  those  who 
joined  in  the  protest  sincerely  sympathised  with  the  idea  of  Emancipa- 
tion, and  were  ready  to  be  even  more  "  liberal  "  than  the  Government. 


442  RUSSIA 

created  serfage,  and  the  Autocratic  Power  ought  to  abolish  it." 
On  March  3d  (February  19th,  old  style),  1861,  the  law  was 
signed,  and  by  that  act  more  than  twenty  millions  of  serfs  were 
liberated.*  A  Manifesto  containing  the  fundamental  principles 
of  the  law  was  at  once  sent  all  over  the  country,  and  an  order  was 
given  that  it  should  be  read  in  all  the  churches. 

The  three  fundamental  principles  laid  down  by  the  law 
were : — 

1.  That  the  serfs  should  at  once  receive  the  civil  rights  of  the 
free  rural  classes,  and  that  the  authority  of  the  proprietor  should 
be  replaced  by  Communal  self-government. 

2.  That  the  rural  Communes  should  as  far  as  possible  retain 
the  land  they  actually  held,  and  should  in  return  pay  to  the  pro- 
prietor certain  yearly  dues  in  money  or  labour. 

3.  That  the  Government  should  by  means  of  credit  assist  the 
Communes  to  redeem  these  dues,  or,  in  other  words,  to  purchase 
the  lands  ceded  to  them  in  usufruct. 

With  regard  to  the  domestic  serfs,  it  was  enacted  that  they 
should  continue  to  serve  their  masters  during  two  years,  and  that 
thereafter  they  should  be  completely  free,  but  they  should  have  no 
claim  to  a  share  of  the  land. 

It  might  be  reasonably  supposed  that  the  serfs  received  with 

boundless  gratitude  and  delight  the  Manifesto  proclaiming  these 

principles.     Here  at  last  was  the  realisation  of  their  long-cher- 

,       ished  hopes.     Liberty  was  accorded  to  them ;  and  not  only  liberty, 

!y    but  a  goodly  portion  of  the  soil — about  half  of  all  the  arable  land 

possessed  by  the  proprietors. 

/^      In  reality  the  Manifesto  created  among  the  peasantry  a  feeling 

)    of  disappointment  rather  than  delight.     To  understand  this  strange 

'     fact  we  must  endeavour  to  place  ourselves  at  the  peasant's  point 

of  view. 

In  the  first  place  it  must  be  remarked  that  all  vague,  rhetorical 
phrases  about  free  labour,  human  dignity,  national  progress,  and 
the  like,  which  may  readily  produce  among  educated  men  a  certain 

*  It  is  sometimes  said  that  forty  millions  of  serfs  liave  been  eman- 
cipated. Tlie  statement  is  true,  if  we  regard  the  State  peasants  as 
serfs.  They  held,  as  I  have  already  explained,  an  intermediate  position 
between  serfage  and  freedom.  The  peculiar  administration  under  which 
they  lived  was  partly  abolished  by  Imperial  Orders  of  September  7th, 
18o9,  and  October  23d,  1861.  In  1866  they  were  placed,  as  regards 
administration,  on  a  level  with  the  emancipated  serfs  of  the  proprietors. 
As  a  general  rule,  they  received  rather  more  land  and  had  to  pay  some- 
what lighter  dues  than  the  emancipated  serfs  in  the  narrower  sense  of 
the  term. 


THE    EMANCIPATION    OF    THE    SERFS  443 

amount  of  temporary  enthusiasm,  fall  on  the  ears  of  the  Russian 
peasant  like  drops  of  rain  on  a  granite  rock.  The  fashionable 
rhetoric  of  philosophical  liberalism  is  as  incomprehensible  to  him 
as  the  flowery  circumlocutionary  style  of  an  Oriental  scribe  would 
be  to  a  keen  city  merchant.  The  idea  of  liberty  in  the  abstract 
and  the  mention  of  rights  which  lie  beyond  the  sphere  of  his  ordi- 
nary everyday  life  awaken  no  enthusiasm  in  his  breast.  And  for 
mere  names  he  has  a  profound  indifference.  What  matters  it  to 
him  that  he  is  officially  called,  not  a  "  serf,"  but  a  "  free  village- 
inhabitant,"  if  the  change  in  official  terminology  is  not  accompanied 
by  some  immediate  material  advantage?  What  he  wants  is  a 
house  to  live  in,  food  to  eat,  and  raiment  wherewithal  to  be  clothed, 
and  to  gain  these  first  necessaries  of  life  with  as  little  labour  as 
possible.  He  looked  at  the  question  exclusively  from  two  points 
of  view — that  of  historical  rigl  t  and  that  of  material  advantage; 
and  from  both  of  these  the  Emancipation  Law  seemed  to  him  very 
unsatisfactory. 

On  the  subject  of  historical  right  the  peasantry  had  their  ovm 
traditional  conceptions,  which  were  completely  at  variance  with 
the  written  law.  According  to  the  positive  legislation  the  Com- 
munal land  formed  part  of  the  estate,  and  consequently  belonged 
to  the  proprietor ;  but  according  to  the  conceptions  of  the  peasantry 
it  belonged  to  the  Commune,  and  the  right  of  the  proprietor  con- 
sisted merely  in  that  personal  authority  over  the  serfs  which  had 
been  conferred  on  him  by  the  Tsar.  The  peasants  could  not,  of 
course,  put  these  conceptions  into  a  strict  legal  form,  but  they 
often  expressed  them  in  their  own  homely  laconic  way  by  saying 
to  their  master,  '' Mui  vaslii  no  zemlyd  naslia" — that  is  to  say. 
"  We  are  yours,  but  the  land  is  ours."  And  it  must  be  admitted 
that  this  view,  though  legally  untenable,  had  a  certain  historical 
justification.* 

In  olden  times  the  Noblesse  had  held  their  land  by  feudal  tenure, 
and  were  liable  to  be  ejected  as  soon  as  they  did  not  fulfil 
their  obligations  to  the  State.  These  obligations  had  been 
long  since  abolished,  and  the  feudal  tenure  transformed  into 
an  unconditional  right  of  property,  but  the  peasants  clung  to  the 
old  ideas  in  a  way  that  strikingly  illustrates  the  vitality  of  deep- 
rooted  popular  conceptions.  In  their  minds  the  proprietors  were 
merely  temporary  occupants,  who  were  allowed  by  the  Tsar  to 
exact  labour  and  dues  from  the  serfs.  What,  then,  was  Emanci- 
pation? Certainly  the  abolition  of  all  obligatory  labour  and  money 
*  See  preceding  chapter. 


444  RUSSIA 

dues,  and  perhaps  the  complete  ejectment  of  the  proprietors.  On 
this  latter  point  there  was  a  difference  of  opinion.  All  assumed, 
as  a  matter  of  course,  that  the  Communal  land  would  remain  the 
property  of  the  Commune,  but  it  was  not  so  clear  what  would  be 
done  with  the  rest  of  the  estate.  Some  thought  that  it  would  be 
retained  by  the  proprietor,  but  very  many  believed  that  all  the  land 
would  be  given  to  the  Communes.  In  this  way  the  Emancipation 
would  be  in  accordance  with  historical  right  and  with  the  material 
advantage  of  the  peasantry,  for  whose  exclusive  benefit,  it  was 
assumed,  the  reform  had  been  undertaken. 

Instead  of  this  the  peasants  found  that  they  were  still  to  pay 
dues,  even  for  the  Communal  land  which  they  regarded  as  unques- 
tionably their  own.  So  at  least  said  the  expounders  of  the  law. 
But  the  thing  Avas  incredible.  Either  the  proprietors  must  be 
concealing  or  misinterpreting  the  law,  or  this  was  merely  a  pre- 
paratory measure,  which  would  be  followed  by  the  real  Emancipa- 
tion. Thus  were  awakened  among  the  peasantry  a  spirit  of  mis- 
trust and  suspicion  and  a  widespread  belief  that  there  would  be  a 
second  Imperial  Manifesto,  by  which  all  the  land  would  be  divided 
and  all  the  dues  abolished. 

On  the  nobles  the  Manifesto  made  a  very  different  impression. 
The  fact  that  they  were  to  be  entrusted  with  the  putting  of  the 
law  into  execution,  and  the  flattering  allusions  made  to  the  spirit 
of  generous  self-sacrifice  which  they  had  exhibited,  kindled  amongst 
them  enthusiasm  enough  to  make  them  forget  for  a  time  their  just 
grievances  and  their  hostility  towards  the  bureaucracy.  They 
found  that  the  conditions  on  which  the  Emancipation  was  effected 
were  by  no  means  so  ruinous  as  they  had  anticipated;  and  the 
Emperor's  appeal  to  their  generosity  and  patriotism  made  many 
of  them  throw  themselves  with  ardour  into  the  important  task 
confided  to  them. 

Unfortunately  they  could  not  at  once  begin  the  work.  The 
law  had  been  so  hurried  through  the  last  stages  that  the  prepara- 
tions for  putting  it  into  execution  were  by  no  means  complete 
when  the  Manifesto  was  published.  The  task  of  regulating  the 
future  relations  between  the  proprietors  and  the  peasantry  was 
entrusted  to  local  proprietors  in  each  district,  who  were  to  be 
called  Arbiters  of  the  Peace  (Mirovuiye  PosredniU) ;  but  three 
months  elapsed  before  these  Arbiters  could  be  appointed.  During 
that  time  there  was  no  one  to  explain  the  law  to  the  peasants  and 
settle  the  disputes  between  them  and  the  proprietors ;  and  the  con- 
sequence of  this  was  that  many   cases   of   insubordination  and 


THE    EMANCIPATION^    OF   THE    SERFS  445 

disorder  occurred.  The  muzhik  naturally  imagined  that,  as  soon 
as  the  Tsar  said  he  was  free,  he  was  no  longer  o])liged  to  work  for 
his  old  master — that  all  obligatory  labour  ceased  as  soon  as  the 
Manifesto  was  read.  In  vain  the  proprietor  endeavoured  to  con- 
vince him  that,  in  regard  to  labour,  the  old  relations  must  con- 
tinue, as  the  law  enjoined,  until  a  new  arrangement  had  been  made. 
To  all  explanations  and  exhortations  he  turned  a  deaf  ear,  and  to 
the  efforts  of  the  rural  police  he  too  often  opposed  a  dogged,  passive 
resistance. 

In  many  cases  the  simple  appearance  of  the  higher  authorities 
sufficed  to  restore  order,  for  the  presence  of  one  of  the  Tsar's 
servants  convinced  many  that  the  order  to  work  for  the  present 
as  formerly  was  not  a  mere  invention  of  the  proprietors.  But 
not  infrequently  the  birch  had  to  be  applied.  Indeed,  I  am  in- 
clined to  believe,  from  the  numerous  descriptions  of  this  time  which 
I  received  from  eye-witnesses,  that  rarely,  if  ever,  had  the  serfs 
seen  and  experienced  so  much  flogging  as  during  these  first  three 
months  after  their  liberation.  Sometimes  even  the  troops  had  to 
be  called  out,  and  on  three  occasions  they  fired  on  the  peasants  with 
ball  cartridge.  In  the  most  serious  case,  where  a  young  peasant  had 
set  up  for  a  prophet  and  declared  that  the  Emancipation  Law 
was  a  forgery,  fifty-one  peasants  were  killed  and  seventy-seven  were 
more  or  less  seriously  wounded.  In  spite  of  these  lamentable 
incidents,  there  was  nothing  which  even  the  most  violent  alarmist 
could  dignify  with  the  name  of  an  insurrection.  Nowhere  was 
there  anything  that  could  be  called  organised  resistance.  Even  in 
the  case  above  alluded  to,  the  three  thousand  peasants  on  whom  the 
troops  fired  were  entirely  unarmed,  made  no  attempt  to  resist,  and 
dispersed  in  the  utmost  haste  as  soon  as  they  discovered  that  they 
were  being  shot  down.  Had  the  military  authorities  shown  a 
little  more  Judgment,  tact,  and  patience,  the  history  of  the  Eman- 
cipation would  not  have  been  stained  even  with  those  three  solitary 
cases  of  unnecessary  bloodshed. 

This  interregnum  between  the  eras  of  serfage  and  liberty  was 
brought  to  an  end  by  the  appointment  of  the  Arbiters  of  the  Peace. 
Their  first  duty  was  to  explain  the  law,  and  to  organise  the  new 
peasant  self-government.  The  lowest  instance,  or  primary  organ 
of  this  self-government,  the  rural  Commune,  already  existed,  and 
at  once  recovered  much  of  its  ancient  vitality  as  soon  as  the  author- 
ity and  interference  of  the  proprietors  were  removed.  The  second 
instance,  the  Volost — a  territorial  administrative  unit  comprising 
several  contiguous  Communes — had  to  be  created,  for  nothing  of 


446  RUSSIA 

the  kind  had  previously  existed  on  the  estates  of  the  nohles.  Tt 
had  existed,  however,  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  among  the 
peasants  of  the  Domains,  and  it  was  therefore  necessary  merely 
to  copy  an  existing  model. 

As  soon  as  all  the  Volosts  in  his  district  had  been  thus  organised, 
the  Arbiter  had  to  undertake  the  much  more  arduous  task  of  regu- 
lating the  agrarian  relations  between  the  proprietors  and  the  Com- 
munes— with  the  individual  peasants,  be  it  remembered,  the  pro- 
prietors had  no  direct  relations  whatever.  It  had  been  enacted  by 
the  law  that  the  future  agrarian  relations  between  the  two  parties 
should  be  left,  as  far  as  possible,  to  voluntary  contract ;  and  accord- 
ingly each  proprietor  was  invited  to  come  to  an  agreement  with 
the  Commune  or  Communes  on  his  estate.  On  the  ground  of  this 
agreement  a  statute-charter  {ustdvnaya  grdmota)  was  prepared, 
specifying  the  number  of  male  serfs,  the  quantity  of  land  actually 
enjoyed  by  them,  any  proposed  changes  in  this  amount,  the  dues 
proposed  to  be  levied,  and  other  details.  If  the  Arbiter  found 
that  the  conditions  were  in  accordance  with  the  law  and  clearly 
understood  by  the  peasants,  he  confirmed  the  charter,  and  the 
arrangement  was  complete.  When  the  two  parties  could  not  come 
to  an  agreement  within  a  year,  he  prepared  a  charter  according 
to  his  own  judgment,  and  presented  it  for  confirmation  to  the 
higher  authorities. 

The  dissolution  of  partnership,  if  it  be  allowable  to  use  such  a 
term,  between  the  proprietor  and  his  serfs  was  sometimes  very  easy 
and  sometimes  very  difficult.  On  many  estates  the  charter  did 
little  more  than  legalise  the  existing  arrangements,  but  in  many 
instances  it  was  necessary  to  add  to,  or  subtract  from,  the  amount 
of  Communal  land,  and  sometimes  it  was  even  necessary  to  remove 
the  village  to  another  part  of  the  estate.  In  all  cases  there  were, 
of  course,  conflicting  interests  and  complicated  questions,  so  that 
the  Arbiter  had  always  abundance  of  difficult  work.  Besides  this, 
he  had  to  act  as  mediator  in  those  differences  which  naturally 
arose  during  the  transition  period,  when  the  authority  of  the  pro- 
prietor had  been  abolished  but  the  separation  of  the  two  classes 
had  not  yet  been  effected.  The  unlimited  patriarchal  authority 
which  had  been  formerly  wielded  by  the  proprietor  or  his  steward 
now  passed  with  certain  restriction  into  the  hands  of  the  Arbiter, 
and  these  peacemakers  had  to  spend  a  great  part  of  their  time  in 
driving  about  from  one  estate  to  another  to  put  an  end  to  alleged 
cases  of  insubordination — some  of  which,  it  must  be  admitted, 
existed  only  in  the  imagination  of  the  proprietors. 


THE    EMANCIPATION"   OF    THE    SERFS  447 

At  first  the  work  of  amicable  settlement  proceeded  slowly.  The 
proprietors  generally  showed  a  conciliatory  spirit,  and  some  of  them 
generously  proposed  conditions  much  more  favourable  to  the  pea:=- 
ants  than  the  law  demanded;  but  the  peasants  were  filled  with 
vague  suspicions,  and  feared  to  commit  themselves  by  "  putting 
pen  to  paper."  Even  the  highly  respected  proprietors,  who 
imagined  that  they  possessed  the  unbounded  confidence  of  the 
peasantry,  were  suspected  like  the  others,  and  their  generous  offers 
were  regarded  as  well-baited  traps.  Often  I  have  heard  old  men, 
sometimes  with  tears  in  their  eyes,  describe  the  distrust  and  in- 
gratitude of  the  muzhik  at  this  time.  Many  peasants  still  believed 
that  the  proprietors  were  hiding  the  real  Emancipation  Law,  and 
imaginative  or  ill-intentioned  persons  fostered  this  belief  by  pro- 
fessing to  know  what  the  real  law  contained.  The  most  absurd 
rumours  were  afloat,  and  whole  villages  sometimes  acted  upon 
them. 

In  the  province  of  Moscow,  for  instance,  one  Commune  sent  a 
deputation  to  the  proprietor  to  inform  him  that,  as  he  had  always 
been  a  good  master,  the  Mir  would  allow  him  to  retain  his  house 
and  garden  during  his  lifetime.  In  another  locality  it  was  ru- 
moured that  the  Tsar  sat  daily  on  a  golden  throne  in  the  Crimea, 
receiving  all  peasants  who  came  to  him,  and  giving  them  as  much 
land  as  they  desired ;  and  in  order  to  take  advantage  of  the  Imperial 
liberality  a  large  body  of  peasants  set  out  for  the  place  indicated, 
and  had  to  be  stopped  by  the  military. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  illusions  in  which  the  peasantry  indulged 
at  this  time,  I  may  mention  here  one  of  the  many  characteristic 
incidents  related  to  me  by  gentlemen  who  had  served  as  Arbiters 
of  the  Peace. 

In  the  province  of  Eiazan  there'  was  one  Commune  which  had 
acquired  a  certain  local  notoriety  for  the  obstinacy  with  which 
it  refused  all  arrangements  with  the  proprietor.  My  informant, 
who  was  Arbiter  for  the  locality,  was  at  last  obliged  to  make  a 
statute-charter  for  it  without  its  consent.  He  wished,  however, 
that  the  peasants  should  voluntarily  accept  the  arrangement  he 
proposed,  and  accordingly  called  them  together  to  talk  with  them 
on  the  subject.  After  explaining  fully  the  part  of  the  law  which 
related  to  their  case,  he  asked  them  what  objection  they  had  to 
make  a  fair  contract  with  their  old  master.  For  some  time  he 
received  no  answer,  but  gradually  by  questioning  individuals  he 
discovered  the  cause  of  their  obstinacy :  they  were  firmly  convinced 
that  not  only  the  Communal  land,  but  also  the  rest  of  the  estate, 


448  EUSSIA 

belonged  to  them.  To  eradicate  this  false  idea  he  set  himself  to 
reason  with  them,  and  the  following  characteristic  dialogue 
ensued : — 

Arbiter:  "  If  the  Tsar  gave  all  the  land  to  the  peasantry,  what 
compensation  could  he  give  to  the  proprietors  to  whom  the  land 
belongs  ?  " 

Peasant:  "The  Tsar  will  give  them  salaries  according  to  their 
service." 

Arbiter:  "  In  order  to  pay  these  salaries  he  would  require  a 
great  deal  more  money.  Where  could  he  get  that  money?  He 
would  have  to  increase  the  taxes,  and  in  that  way  you  would  have 
to  pay  all  the  same," 

Peasant:    "  The  Tsar  can  make  as  much  money  as  he  likes." 

Arbiter:  "  If  the  Tsar  can  make  as  much  money  as  he  likes, 
why  does  he  make  you  pay  the  poll-tax  every  year  ?  " 

Peasant:    "It  is  not  the  Tsar  that  receives  the  taxes  we  pay." 

Arbiter:    "  Who,  then,  receives  them ?  " 

Peasant  (after  a  little  hesitation,  and  with  a  Tcnowing  smile): 
"  The  officials,  of  course !  " 

Gradually,  through  the  efforts  of  the  Arbiters,  the  peasants  came 
to  know  better  their  real  position,  and  the  work  began  to  advance 
more  rapidly.  But  soon  it  was  checked  by  another  influence.  By 
the  end  of  the  first  year  the  "  liberal,"  patriotic  enthusiasm  of  the 
nobles  had  cooled.  The  sentimental,  idyllic  tendencies  had  melted 
away  at  the  first  touch  of  reality,  and  those  who  had  imagined  that 
liberty  would  have  an  immediately  salutary  effect  on  the  moral 
character  of  the  serfs  confessed  themselves  disappointed.  Many 
complained  that  the  peasants  showed  themselves  greedy  and  obsti- 
nate, stole  wood  from  the  forest,  allowed  their  cattle  to  wander 
on  the  proprietor's  fields,  failed  to  fulfil  their  legal  obligations, 
and  broke  their  voluntary  engagements.  At  the  same  time  the 
fears  of  an  agrarian  rising  subsided,  so  that  even  the  timid  were 
tranquillised.  From  these  causes  the  conciliatory  spirit  of  the  pro- 
prietors decreased. 

The  work  of  conciliating  and  regulating  became  consequently 
more  difficult,  but  the  great  majority  of  the  Arbiters  showed  them- 
selves equal  to  the  task,  and  displayed  an  impartiality,  tact  and 
patience  beyond  all  praise.  To  them  Eussia  is  in  great  part 
indebted  for  the  peaceful  character  of  the  Emancipation.  Had 
they  sacrificed  the  general  good  to  the  interests  of  their  class,  or 
had  they  habitually  acted  in  that  stern,  administrative,  military 
spirit  which  caused  the  instances  of  bloodshed  above  referred  to. 


THE    EMANCIPATION   OF   THE    SERFS  449 

the  prophecies  of  the  alarmists  would,  in  all  probability,  have  been 
realised,  and  the  historian  of  the  Emancipation  would  have  had  a 
terrible  list  of  judicial  massacres  to  record.  Fortunately  they 
played  the  part  of  mediators,  as  their  name  signified,  rather  than 
that  of  administrators  in  the  bureaucratic  sense  of  the  term,  and 
they  were  animated  with  a  Just  and  humane  rather  than  a  merely 
legal  spirit.  Instead  of  simply  laying  down  the  law,  and  ordering 
their  decisions  to  be  immediately  executed,  they  were  ever  ready 
to  spend  hours  in  trying  to  conquer,  by  patient  and  laborious 
reasoning,  the  unjust  claims  of  proprietors  or  the  false  conceptions 
and  ignorant  obstinacy  of  the  peasants.  It  was  a  new  spectacle 
for  Russia  to  see  a  public  function  fulfilled  by  conscientious  men 
who  had  their  heart  in  their  work,  who  sought  neither  promotion 
nor  decorations,  and  who  paid  less  attention  to  the  punctilious  ob- 
servance of  prescribed  formalities  than  to  the  real  objects  in  view. 

There  were,  it  is  true,  a  few  men  to  whom  this  description  does 
not  apply.  Some  of  these  were  unduly  under  the  influence  of  the 
feelings  and  conceptions  created  by  serfage.  Some,  on  the  con- 
trary, erred  on  the  other  side.  Desirous  of  securing  the  future 
welfare  of  the  peasantry  and  of  gaining  for  themselves  a  certain 
kind  of  popularity,  and  at  the  same  time  animated  with  a  violent 
spirit  of  pseudo-liberalism,  these  latter  occasionally  forgot  that 
their  duty  was  to  be,  not  generous,  but  Just,  and  that  they  had 
no  right  to  practise  generosity  at  other  people's  expense.  All  this 
I  am  quite  aware  of — I  could  even  name  one  or  two  Arbiters  who 
were  guilty  of  positive  dishonesty — but  I  hold  that  these  were 
rare  exceptions.  The  great  majority  did  their  duty  faithfully  and 
well. 

The  work  of  concluding  contracts  for  the  redemption  of  the  dues, 
or,  in  other  words,  for  the  purchase  of  the  land  ceded  in  perpetual 
usufruct,  proceeded  slowly.  The  arrangement  was  as  follows: — 
The  dues  were  capitalised  at  six  per  cent.,  and  the  Government 
paid  at  once  to  the  proprietors  four-fifths  of  the  whole  sum.  The 
peasants  were  to  pay  to  the  proprietor  the  remaining  fifth,  either 
at  once  or  in  installments,  and  to  the  Government  six  per  cent, 
for  forty-nine  years  on  the  sum  advanced.  The  proprietors  will- 
ingly adopted  this  arrangement,  for  it  provided  them  with  a  sum 
of  ready  money,  and  freed  them  from  the  difficult  task  of  collect- 
ing the  dues.  But  the  peasants  did  not  show  much  desire  to 
undertake  the  operation.  Some  of  them  still  expected  a  second 
Emancipation,  and  those  who  did  not  take  this  possibility  into  their 
calculations  were  little  disposed  to  make  present  sacrifices  for  dis- 


450  RUSSIA 

tant  prospective  advantages  which  would  not  be  realised  for  half 
a  century.  In  most  cases  the  proprietor  was  obliged  to  remit,  in 
whole  or  in  part,  the  fifth  to  be  paid  by  the  peasants.  Many 
Communes  refused  to  undertake  the  operation  on  any  con- 
ditions, and  in  consequence  of  this  not  a  few  proprietors  demanded 
the  so-called  obligatory  redemption,  according  to  which  they 
accepted  the  four-fifths  from  the  Government  as  full  pa3nnent,  and 
the  operation  was  thus  effected  without  the  peasants  being  con- 
sulted. The  total  number  of  male  serfs  emancipated  was  about 
nine  millions  and  three-quarters,*  and  of  these,  only  about  seven 
millions  and  a  quarter  had,  at  the  beginning  of  1875,  made  re- 
demption contracts.  Of  the  contracts  signed  at  that  time,  about 
sixty-three  per  cent,  were  "obligatory."  In  1887  the  redemption 
was  made  obligatory  for  both  parties,  so  that  all  Communes  are  now 
proprietors  of  the  land  previously  held  in  perpetual  usufruct;  and 
in  1932  the  debt  will  have  been  extinguished  by  the  sinking  fund, 
and  all  redemption  payments  will  have  ceased. 

The  serfs  were  thus  not  only  liberated,  but  also  made  possessors 
of  land  and  put  on  the  road  to  becoming  Communal  proprietors, 
and  the  old  Communal  institutions  were  preserved  and  developed. 
In  answer  to  the  question.  Who  effected  this  gigantic  reform?  we 
may  say  that  the  chief  merit  undoubtedly  belongs  to  Alexander  II. 
Had  he  not  possessed  a  very  great  amount  of  courage  he  would 
neither  have  raised  the  question  nor  allowed  it  to  be  raised  by 
others,  and  had  he  not  shown  a  great  deal  more  decision  and  energy 
than  was  expected,  the  solution  would  have  been  indefinitely  post- 
poned. Among  the  members  of  his  own  family  he  found  an  able 
and  energetic  assistant  in  his  brother,  the  Grand  Duke  Constantino, 
and  a  warm  sympathiser  with  the  cause  in  the  Grand  Duchess 
Helena,  a  German  Princess  thoroughly  devoted  to  the  welfare 
of  her  adopted  country.  But  we  must  not  overlook  the  important 
part  played  by  the  nobles.  Their  conduct  was  very  characteristic. 
As  soon  as  the  question  was  raised  a  large  number  of  them  adopted 
the  liberal  ideas  with  enthusiasm ;  and  as  soon  as  it  became  evident 
that  Emancipation  was  inevitable,  all  made  a  holocaust  of  their 
ancient  rights  and  demanded  to  be  liberated  at  once  from  all  rela- 
tions with  their  serfs.  Moreover,  when  the  law  was  passed  it  was 
the  proprietors  who  faithfully  put  it  into  execution.  Lastly,  we 
should  remember  that  praise  is  due  to  the  peasantry  for  their 
patience  under  disappointment  and  for  their  orderly  conduct    as 

*  This  does  not  include  the  domestic  serfs  who  did  not  receive  land. 


THE   EMANCIPATION   OF   THE    SEEFS  451 

soon  as  they  understood  the  law  and  recognised  it  to  be  the  will  of 
the  Tsar.  Thus  it  may  justly  be  said  that  the  Emancipation  was 
not  the  work  of  one  man,  or  one  party,  or  one  class,  but  of  the  nation 
as  a  whole.* 

♦  The  names  most  commonly  associated  with  the  Emancipation  are 
General  Rostoftsef,  LanskCi  (Minister  of  the  Interior),  Nicholas  Mil- 
fitin,  Prince  Tchererkassky,  G.  Samfirin,  Koshelef.  Many  others,  such 
as  I.  A.  Solovief,  Zhukofski,  Domontovitch,  Giers — brother  of  M.  Giers, 
afterwards  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs — are  less  known,  but  did  valu- 
able work.  To  all  of  these,  with  the  exception  of  the  first  two,  who  died 
before  my  arrival  in  Russia,  I  have  to  confess  my  obligations.  The  late 
Nicholas  Milfitin  rendered  me  special  service  by  putting  at  my  disposal 
not  only  all  the  official  papers  in  his  possession,  but  also  many  docu- 
ments of  a  more  private  kind.  By  his  early  and  lamented  death  Russia 
lost  one  of  the  greatest  statesmen  she  has  yet  produced. 


CHAPTEE  XXX 

THE   LANDED   PROPRIETORS    SINCE    THE    EMANCIPATION 

Two  Opposite  Opinions — Difficulties  of  Investigation — The  Problem  Sim- 
plified— Direct  and  Indirect  Compensation — The  Direct  Compensa- 
tion Inadequate — What  the  Proprietors  Have  Done  with  the 
Remainder  of  Their  Estates — Immediate  Moral  Effect  of  the  Aboli- 
tion of  Serfage — The  Economic  Problem — The  Ideal  Solution  and  the 
Difficulty  of  Realising  It — More  Primitive  Arrangements — The 
Northern  Agricultural  Zone — The  Black-earth  Zone — The  Labour 
Difficulty  —  The  Impoverishment  of  the  Noblesse  Not  a  New 
Phenomenon — Mortgaging  of  Estates — Gradual  Expropriation  of  the 
Noblesse — Rapid  Increase  in  the  Production  and  Export  of  Grain 
— How  Far  this  Has  Benefited  the  Landed  Proprietors. 

WHEN  the  Emancipation  question  was  raised  there  was  a 
considerable  diversity  of  opinion  as  to  the  effect  which  the 
abolition  of  serfage  would  have  on  the  material  interests  of  the 
two  classes  directly  concerned.  The  Press  and  "the  young  gen- 
eration" took  an  optimistic  view,  and  endeavoured  to  prove  that 
the  proposed  change  would  be  beneficial  alike  to  proprietors  and 
to  peasants.  Science,  it  was  said,  has  long  since  decided  that  free 
labour  is  immensely  more  productive  than  slavery  or  serfage,  and 
the  principle  has  been  already  proved  to  demonstration  in  the 
countries  of  Western  Europe.  In  all  those  countries  modern 
agricultural  progress  began  with  the  emancipation  of  the  serfs, 
and  increased  productivity  was  everywhere  the  immediate  result 
of  improvements  in  the  method  of  culture.  Thus  the  poor  light 
soils  of  Germany,  France,  and  Holland  have  been  made  to 
produce  more  than  the  vaunted  "black  earth"  of  Eussia.  And 
from  these  ameliorations  the  land-owning  class  has  everjrwhere 
derived  the  chief  advantages.  Are  not  the  landed  proprietors  of 
England — the  country  in  which  serfage  was  first  abolished — the 
richest  in  the  world  ?  And  is  not  the  proprietor  of  a  few  hundred 
morgen  in  Germany  often  richer  than  the  Eussian  noble  who  has 
thousands  of  dessyatinsf  By  these  and  similar  plausible  argu- 
ments the  Press  endeavoured  to  prove  to  the  proprietors  that  they 
ought,  even  in  their  own  interest,  to  undertake  the  emancipation 
of  the  serfs.     Many  proprietors,  however,  showed  little  faith  in  the 

452 


LANDED    PEOPEIETORS    SINCE    EMANCIPATION    453 

abstract  principles  of  political  economy  and  the  vague  teachings  of 
history  as  interpreted  by  the  contemporary  periodical  literature. 
They  could  not  always  refute  the  ingenious  arguments  adduced  by 
the  men  of  more  sanguine  temperament,  but  they  felt  convinced  that 
'  their  prospects  were  not  nearly  so  bright  as  these  men  represented 
them  to  be.  They  believed  that  Russia  was  a  peculiar  country,  and 
the  Russians  a  peculiar  people.  The  lower  classes  in  England, 
France,  Holland,  and  Germany  were  well  known  to  be  laborious 
and  enterprising,  while  the  Russian  peasant  was  notoriously  lazy, 
and  would  certainly,  if  left  to  himself,  not  do  more  work  than  was 
absolutely  necessary  to  keep  him  from  starving.  Free  labour  might 
be  more  profitable  than  serfage  in  countries  where  the  upper  classes 
possessed  traditional  practical  knowledge  and  abundance  of  capital, 
but  in  Russia  the  proprietors  had  neither  the  practical  knowledge 
nor  the  ready  money  necessary  to  make  the  proposed  ameliorations 
in  the  system  of  agriculture.  To  all  this  it  was  added  that  a 
system  of  emancipation  by  which  the  peasants  should  receive 
land  and  be  made  completely  independent  of  the  landed  proprietors 
had  nowhere  been  tried  on  such  a  large  scale. 

There  were  thus  two  diametrically  opposite  opinions  regarding 
the  economic  results  of  the  abolition  of  serfage,  and  we  have  now 
to  examine  which  of  these  two  opinions  has  been  confirmed  by 
experience. 

Let  us  look  at  the  question  first  from  the  point  of  view  of  the 
land-owners. 

The  reader  who  has  never  attempted  to  make  investigations  of 
this  kind  may  naturally  imagine  that  the  question  can  be  easily 
decided  by  simply  consulting  a  large  number  of  individual  proprie- 
tors, and  drawing  a  general  conclusion  from  their  evidence.  In 
reality  I  found  the  task  much  more  difficult.  After  roaming  about 
the  country  for  five  years  (1870-75),  collecting  information  from 
the  best  available  sources,  I  hesitated  to  draw  any  sweeping  conclu- 
sions, and  my  state  of  mind  at  that  time  was  naturally  reflected  in 
the  early  editions  of  this  work.  As  a  rule  the  proprietors  could  not 
state  clearly  how  much  they  had  lost  or  gained,  and  when  definite 
information  was  obtained  from  them  it  was  not  always  trustworthy. 
In  the  time  of  serfage  very  few  of  them  had  been  in  the  habit  of 
keeping  accurate  accounts,  or  accounts  of  any  kind,  and  when  they 
lived  on  their  estates  there  were  a  very  large  number  of  items  which 
could  not  possibly  be  reduced  to  figures.  Of  course,  each  proprietor 
had  a  general  idea  as  to  whether  his  position  was  better  or  worse 
than  it  had  been  in  the  old  times,  but  the  vague  statements  made  by 


454  EUSSIA 

individuals  regarding  their  former  and  their  actual  revenues  had 
little  or  no  scientific  value.  So  many  considerations  which  had 
nothing  to  do  with  purely  agrarian  relations  entered  into  the  calcu- 
lations that  the  conclusions  did  not  help  me  much  to  estimate  the 
economic  results  of  the  Emancipation  as  a  whole.  Nor,  it  must  be 
confessed,  was  the  testimony  by  any  means  always  unbiassed.  Nat 
a  few  spoke  of  the  great  reform  in  an  epic  or  dithyrambic  tone, 
and  among  these  I  easily  distinguished  two  categories:  the  one 
desired  to  prove  that  the  measure  was  a  complete  success  in  every 
way,  and  that  all  classes  were  benefited  by  it,  not  only  morally, 
but  also  materially ;  whilst  the  others  strove  to  represent  the  proprie- 
tors in  general,  and  themselves  in  particular,  as  the  self-sacrificing 
victims  of  a  great  and  necessary  patriotic  reform — as  martyrs  in 
the  cause  of  liberty  and  progress.  I  do  not  for  a  moment  suppose 
that  these  two  groups  of  witnesses  had  a  clearly  conceived  intention 
of  deceiving  or  misleading,  but  as  a  cautious  investigator  I  had  to 
make  allowance  for  their  idealising  and  sentimental  tendencies. 

Since  that  time  the  situation  has  become  much  clearer,  and  during 
recent  visits  to  Eussia  I  have  been  able  to  arrive  at  much  more  defi- 
nite conclusions.  These  I  now  proceed  to  communicate  to  the 
reader. 

The  Emancipation  caused  the  proprietors  of  all  classes  to  pass 
through  a  severe  economic  crisis.  Periods  of  transition  always  in- 
volve much  suffering,  and  the  amount  of  suffering  is  generally  in  the 
inverse  ratio  of  the  precautions  taken  beforehand.  In  Eussia  the 
precautions  had  been  neglected.  Not  one  proprietor  in  a  hundred 
had  made  any  serious  preparations  for  the  inevitable  change.  On  the 
eve  of  the  Emancipation  there  were  about  ten  millions  of  male  serfs 
on  private  properties,  and  of  these  nearly  seven  millions  remained 
under  the  old  system  of  paying  their  dues  in  labour.  Of  course, 
everybody  knew  that  Emancipation  must  come  sooner  or  later,  but 
fore-thought,  prudence,  and  readiness  to  take  time  by  the  forelock 
are  not  among  the  prominent  traits  of  the  Eussian  character.  Hence 
most  of  the  land-owners  were  taken  unawares.  But  while  all  suf- 
fered, there  were  differences  of  degree.  Some  were  completely 
shipwrecked.  So  long  as  serfage  existed  all  the  relations  of  life 
were  ill-defined  and  extremely  elastic,  so  that  a  man  who  was  hope- 
lessly insolvent  might  contrive,  with  very  little  effort,  to  keep  liis 
head  above  water  for  half  a  lifetime.  For  such  men  the  Emancipa- 
tion, like  a  crisis  in  the  commercial  world,  brought  a  day  of  reckon- 
ing. It  did  not  really  ruin  them,  but  it  showed  them  and  the  world 
at  large  that  they  were  ruined,  and  they  could  no  longer  continue 


LANDED    PROPRIETOES    SINCE    EMANCIPATION    455 

tlieir  old  mode  of  life.  For  others  the  crisis  was  merely  temporary. 
These  emerged  with  a  larger  income  than  tlK3y  ever  had  before,  Ijut 
I  am  not  prepared  to  say  that  their  material  condition  has  improved, 
because  the  social  habits  have  changed,  the  cost  of  living  has  become 
much  greater,  and  the  work  of  administering  estates  is  incompar- 
ably more  complicated  and  laborious  than  in  the  old  patriarchal 
times. 

We  may  greatly  simplify  the  problem  by  reducing  it  to  two 
definite  questions: 

1.  How  far  were  the  proprietors  directly  indemnified  for  the  loss 
of  serf  labour  and  for  the  transfer  in  perpetual  usufruct  of  a  large 
part  of  their  estates  to  the  peasantry  ? 

2.  What  have  the  proprietors  done  with  the  remainder  of  their 
estates,  and  how  far  have  they  been  indirectly  indemnified  by  the 
economic  changes  which  have  taken  place  since  the  Emancipation  ? 

With  the  first  of  these  questions  I  shall  deal  very  briefly,  because 
it  is  a  controversial  subject  involving  very  complicated  calculations 
which  only  a  specialist  can  understand.     The  conclusion  at  which 
I  have  arrived,  after  much  patient  research,  is  that  in  most  provinces 
the   compensation   was   inadequate,   and   this   conclusion   is   con- 
firmed by  excellent  native  authorities.     M.  Bekhteyev,  for  example, 
one  of  the  most  laborious  and  conscientious  investigators  in  this 
field  of  research,  and  the  author  of  an  admirable  work  on  the 
economic  results  of  the  Emancipation,*  told  me  recently,  in  course 
of  conversation,  that  in  his  opinion  the  peasant  dues  fixed  by  the 
Emancipation  Law  represented,  throughout  the  Black-earth  Zone, 
only  about  a  half  of  the  value  of  the  labour  previously  supplied  by 
the  serfs.     To  this  I  must  add  that  the  compensation  was  in  reality 
not  nearly  so  great  as  it  seemed  to  be  according  to  the  terms  of  the 
law.     As  the  proprietors  found  it  extremely  difiicult  to  collect  the 
dues  from  the  emancipated  serfs,  and  as  they  required  a  certain 
amount  of  capital  to  reorganise  the  estate  on  the  new  basis  of  free 
labour,  most  of  them  were  practically  compelled  to  demand  the 
obligatory  redemption  of  the  land   {ohiazdtelny  iniilnip),  and  in 
adopting  this  expedient  they  had  to  make  considerable  sacrifices. 
Not  only  had  they  to  accept  as  full  payment  four-fifths  of  the 
normal  sum,  but  of  this  amount  the  greater  portion  was  paid  in 
Treasury  bonds,  which  fell  at  once  to  80  per  cent,  of  their  nominal 
value. 

Let  us  now  pass  to  the  second  part  of  the  problem :  What  have 

* "  Khozaistvenniye  Itogi  istekshago   Sorokoletiya."     St.   Petersburg, 
1902. 


456  RUSSIA 

the  proprietors  done  with  the  part  of  their  estates  which  remained 
to  them  after  ceding  the  required  amount  of  land  to  the  Communes  ? 
Have  they  been  indirectly  indemnified  for  the  loss  of  serf  labour 
by  subsequent  economic  changes?  How  far  have  they  succeeded 
in  making  the  transition  from  serfage  to  free  labour,  and  what 
revenues  do  they  now  derive  from  their  estates?  The  answer  to 
these  questions  will  necessarily  contain  some  account  of  the  present 
economic  position  of  the  proprietors. 

On  all  proprietors  the  Emancipation  had  at  least  one  good  effect : 
it  dragged  them  forcibly  from  the  old  path  of  indolence  and  routine 
and  compelled  them  to  think  and  calculate  regarding  their  affairs. 
The  hereditary  listlessness  and  apathy,  the  traditional  habit  of  look- 
ing on  the  estate  with  its  serfs  as  a  kind  of  self-acting  machine 
which  must  always  spontaneously  supply  the  owner  with  the  means 
of  living,  the  inveterate  practice  of  spending  all  ready  money  and 
of  taking  little  heed  for  the  morrow — all  this,  with  much  that 
resulted  from  it,  was  rudely  swept  away  and  became  a  thing  of  the 
past. 

The  broad,  easy  road  on  which  the  proprietors  had  hitherto 
let  themselves  be  borne  along  by  the  force  of  circumstances  sud- 
denly split  up  into  a  number  of  narrow,  arduous,  thorny  paths. 
Each  one  had  to  use  his  judgment  to  determine  which  of  the  paths 
he  should  adopt,  and,  having  made  his  choice,  he  had  to  struggle 
along  as  he  best  could.  I  remember  once  asking  a  proprietor  what 
effect  the  Emancipation  had  had  on  the  class  to  which  he  belonged, 
and  he  gave  me  an  answer  which  is  worth  recording.  "  Formerly," 
he  said,  "  we  kept  no  accounts  and  drank  champagne ;  now  we  keep 
accounts  and  content  ourselves  with  kvass."  Like  all  epigrammatic 
sayings,  this  laconic  reply  is  far  from  giving  a  complete  descrip- 
tion of  reality,  but  it  indicates  in  a  graphic  way  a  change  that  has 
unquestionably  taken  place.  As  soon  as  serfage  was  abolished  it 
was  no  longer  possible  to  live  like  "  the  flowers  of  the  field."  Many 
a  proprietor  who  had  formerly  vegetated  in  apathetic  ease  had  to 
ask  himself  the  question :  How  am  I  to  gain  a  living  ?  All  had  to 
consider  what  was  the  most  profitable  way  of  emplo3dng  the  land 
that  remained  to  them. 

The  ideal  solution  of  the  problem  was  that  as  soon  as  the  peasant- 
land  had  been  demarcated,  the  proprietor  should  take  to  farming  the 
remainder  of  his  estate  by  means  of  hired  labour  and  agricultural 
machines  in  West  European  or  American  fashion.  Unfortunately, 
this  solution  could  not  be  generally  adopted,  because  the  great  ma- 
jority of  the  landlords,  even  when  they  had  the  requisite  practical 


LANDED    PROPRIETORS    SINCE    EMANCIPATION    457 

knowledge  of  agriculture,  had  not  the  requisite  capital,  and  could 
not  easily  obtain  it.  Where  were  they  to  find  mon(;y  for  buying 
cattle,  horses,  and  agricultural  implements,  for  building  stables 
and  cattle-sheds,  and  for  defraying  all  the  other  initial  expenses? 
And  supposing  they  succeeded  in  starting  the  new  system,  where 
was  the  working  capital  to  come  from?  The  old  Government  in- 
stitution in  which  estates  could  be  mortgaged  according  to  the 
number  of  serfs  was  permanently  closed,  and  the  new  land-credit 
associations  had  not  yet  come  into  existence.  To  borrow  from  pri- 
vate capitalists  was  not  to  be  thought  of,  for  money  was  so  scarce 
than  ten  per  cent,  was  considered  a  "  friendly  "  rate  of  interest. 
Recourse  might  be  had,  it  is  true,  to  the  redemption  operation,  but 
in  that  case  the  Government  would  deduct  the  unpaid  portion  of 
any  outstanding  mortgage,  and  would  pay  the  balance  in  depre- 
ciated Treasury  bonds.  In  these  circumstances  the  proprietors 
could  not,  as  a  rule,  adopt  what  I  have  called  the  ideal  solution,  and 
had  to  content  themselves  with  some  simpler  and  more  primitive 
arrangement.  They  could  employ  the  peasants  of  the  neighbouring 
villages  to  prepare  the  land  and  reap  the  crops  either  for  a  fixed 
sum  per  acre  or  on  the  metayage  system,  or  they  could  let  their 
land  to  the  peasants  for  one,  three  or  six  years  at  a  moderate 
rent. 

In  the  northern  agricultural  zone,  where  the  soil  is  poor  and 
primitive  farming  with  free  labour  can  hardly  be  made  to  pay, 
the  proprietors  had  to  let  their  land  at  a  small  rent,  and  those  of 
them  who  could  not  find  places  in  the  rural  administration  migrated 
to  the  towns  and  sought  emplojonent  in  the  public  service  or  in  the 
numerous  commercial  and  industrial  enterprises  which  were  spring- 
ing up  at  that  time.  There  they  have  since  remained.  Their 
country-houses,  if  inhabited  at  all,  are  occupied  only  for  a  few 
months  in  summer,  and  too  often  present  a  melancholy  spectacle  of 
neglect  and  dilapidation.  In  the  Black-earth  Zone,  on  the  con- 
trary, where  the  soil  still  possesses  enough  of  its  natural  fertility  to 
make  farming  on  a  large  scale  profitable,  the  estates  are  in  a  very 
different  condition.  The  owners  cultivate  at  least  a  part  of  their 
property,  and  can  easily  let  to  the  peasants  at  a  fair  rent  the  land 
which  they  do  not  wish  to  farm  themselves.  Some  have  adopted 
the  metayage  system ;  others  get  the  field-work  done  by  the  peasants 
at  so  much  per  acre.  The  more  energetic,  who  have  capital  enough 
at  their  disposal,  organise  farms  with  hired  labourers  on  the  Eu- 
ropean model.  If  they  are  not  so  well  off  as  formerly,  it  is  because 
they  have  adopted  a  less  patriarchal  and  more  expensive  style  of 


458  RUSSIA 

living.  Their  land  has  doubled  and  trebled  in  value  during  the 
last  thirty  years,  and  their  revenues  have  increased,  if  not  in  pro- 
portion, at  least  considerably.  In  1903  I  visited  a  number  of  es- 
tates in  this  region  and  found  them  in  a  very  prosperous  condition, 
with  agricultural  machines  of  the  English  or  American  types,  an 
increasing  variety  in  the  rotation  of  crops,  greatly  improved 
breeds  of  cattle  and  horses,  and  all  the  other  symptoms  of  a  grad- 
ual transition  to  a  more  intensive  and  more  rational  system  of 
agriculture. 

It  must  be  admitted,  however,  that  even  in  the  Black-earth  Zone 
the  proprietors  have  formidable  difficulties  to  contend  with,  the 
chief  of  which  are  the  scarcity  of  good  farm-labourers,  the  frequent 
droughts,  the  low  price  of  cereals,  and  the  delay  in  getting  the  grain 
conveyed  to  the  seaports.  On  each  of  these  difficulties  and  the 
remedies  that  might  be  applied  I  could  write  a  separate  chapter,  but 
I  fear  to  overtax  the  reader's  patience,  and  shall  therefore  confine 
myself  to  a  few  remarks  about  the  labour  question.  On  this  sub- 
ject the  complaints  are  loud  and  frequent  all  over  the  country. 
The  peasants,  it  is  said,  have  become  lazy,  careless,  addicted  to 
drunkenness,  and  shamelessly  dishonest  with  regard  to  their  obli- 
gations, so  that  it  is  difficult  to  farm  even  in  the  old  primitive 
fashion  and  impossible  to  introduce  radical  improvements  in  the 
methods  of  culture.  In  these  sweeping  accusations  there  is  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  truth.  That  the  muzhik,  when  working  for  others, 
exerts  himself  as  little  as  possible;  that  he  pays  little  attention  to 
the  quality  of  the  work  done;  that  he  shows  a  reckless  carelessness 
with  regard  to  his  employer's  property ;  that  he  is  capable  of  taking 
money  in  advance  and  failing  to  fulfil  his  contract ;  that  he  occasion- 
ally gets  drunk ;  and  that  he  is  apt  to  commit  certain  acts  of  petty 
larceny  when  he  gets  the  chance — all  this  is  undoubtedly  true,  what- 
ever biassed  theorists  and  sentimental  peasant-worshippers  may  say 
to  the  contrary.*  It  would  be  a  mistake,  however,  to  suppose  that 
the  fault  is  entirely  on  the  side  of  the  peasants,  and  equally  errone- 
ous to  believe  that  the  evils  might  be  remedied,  as  is  often  suggested, 
by  greater  severity  on  the  part  of  the  tribunals,  or  by  an  improved 

*  Amongst  themselves  the  peasants  are  not  addicted  to  thieving,  as  is 
proved  by  the  fact  that  they  habitually  leave  their  doors  unlocked  when 
the  inmates  of  the  house  are  working  in  the  fields ;  but  if  the  muzhik 
finds  in  the  proprietor's  farmyard  a  piece  of  iron  or  a  bit  of  rope,  or 
any  of  those  little  things  that  he  constantly  requires  and  has  difficulty 
in  obtaining,  he  is  very  apt  to  pick  it  up  and  carry  it  home.  Gathering 
firewood  in  the  landlord's  forest  he  does  not  consider  as  theft,  because 
"  God  planted  the  trees  and  watered  them,"  and  in  the  time  of  serfage 
he  was  allowed  to  supply  himself  with  firewood  in  this  way. 


LANDED    PROPEIETOES    SINCE    EMANCIPATION    459 

system  of  passports.  Farming  with  free  labour,  like  every  other 
department  of  human  activity,  requires  a  fair  amount  of  knowledge, 
judgment,  prudence,  and  tact,  which  cannot  be  replaced  by  in- 
genious legislation  or  judicial  severity.  In  engaging  labourers  or 
servants  it  is  necessary  to  select  them  carefully  and  make  such  condi- 
tions that  they  feel  it  to  be  to  their  interest  to  fulfil  their  contract 
loyally.  This  is  too  often  overlooked  by  the  Russian  land-owners. 
From  false  views  of  economy  they  are  inclined  to  choose  the  cheapest 
labourer  without  examining  closely  his  other  qualifications,  or  they 
take  advantage  of  the  peasant's  pecuniary  embarrassments  and  make 
with  him  a  contract  which  it  is  hardly  possible  for  him  to  fulfil. 
In  spring,  for  instance,  when  his  store  of  provisions  is  exhausted 
and  he  is  being  hard  pressed  by  the  tax-collector,  they  supply  him 
with  rye-meal  or  advance  him  a  small  sum  of  money  on  condition 
of  his  undertaking  to  do  a  relatively  large  amount  of  summer  work. 
He  knows  that  the  contract  is  unfair  to  him,  but  what  is  he  to  do  ? 
He  must  get  food  for  himself  and  his  family  and  a  little  ready 
money  for  his  taxes,  for  the  Communal  authorities  will  probably 
sell  his  cow  if  he  does  not  pay  his  arrears.*  In  desperation  he 
accepts  the  conditions  and  puts  off  the  evil  day — consoling  himself 
with  the  reflection  that  perhaps  (avos')  something  may  turn  up 
in  the  meantime — but  when  the  time  comes  for  fulfilling  his 
engagements  the  dilemma  revives.  According  to  the  contract  he 
ought  to  work  nearly  the  whole  summer  for  the  proprietor ;  but  he 
has  his  own  land  to  attend  to,  and  he  has  to  make  provision  for 
tlie  winter.  In  such  circumstances  the  temptation  to  evade  the 
terms  of  the  contract  is  probably  too  strong  to  be  resisted. 

In  Russia,  as  in  other  countries,  the  principle  holds  true  that 
for  good  labour  a  fair  price  must  be  paid.  Several  large  pro- 
prietors of  my  acquaintance  who  habitually  act  on  this  principle 
assure  me  that  they  always  obtain  as  much  good  labour  as  they 
require.  I  must  add,  however,  that  these  fortunate  proprietors 
have  the  advantage  of  possessing  a  comfortable  amount  of  work- 
ing capital,  and  are  therefore  not  compelled,  as  so  many  of  their 
less  fortunate  neighbours  are,  to  manage  their  estates  on  the  hand- 
to-mouth  principle. 

It  is  only,  I  fear,  a  minority  of  the  landed  proprietors  that 
have  grappled  successfully  with  these  and  other  difficulties  of  their 
position.    As  a  class  they  are  impoverished  and  indebted,  but  this 

*  Until  last  year  (1904)  they  could  use  also  corporal  punishment  as 
a  means  of  pressure,  and  I  am  not  sure  that  they  do  not  occasionally 
use  it  still,  though  it  is  no  longer  permitted  by  law. 


460  EUSSIA 

state  of  things  is  not  due  entirely  to  serf -emancipation.  The  indebt- 
edness of  the  Noblesse  is  a  hereditary  peculiarity  of  much  older  date. 
By  some  authorities  it  is  attributed  to  the  laws  of  Peter  the 
Great,  by  which  all  nobles  were  obliged  to  spend  the  best  part  of 
their  lives  in  the  military  or  civil  service,  and  to  leave  the  manage- 
ment of  their  estates  to  incompetent  stewards.  However  that  may 
be,  it  is  certain  that  from  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century 
downwards  the  fact  has  frequently  occupied  the  attention  of  the 
Government,  and  repeated  attempts  have  been  made  to  alleviate 
the  evil.  The  Empress  Elizabeth,  Catherine  II.,  Paul,  Alexander 
I.,  Nicholas  I.,  Alexander  II.,  and  Alexander  III.  tried  succes- 
sively, as  one  of  the  older  ukazes  expressed  it,  "  to  free  the  Noblesse 
from  debt  and  from  greedy  money-lenders,  and  to  prevent  heredi- 
tary estates  from  passing  into  the  hands  of  strangers."  The 
means  commonly  adopted  was  the  creation  of  mortgage  banks 
founded  and  controlled  by  the  Government  for  the  purpose  of 
advancing  money  to  landed  proprietors  at  a  comparatively  low 
rate  of  interest. 

These  institutions  may  have  been  useful  to  the  few  who  de- 
sired to  improve  their  estates,  but  they  certainly  did  not  cure,  and 
rather  tended  to  foster,  the  inveterate  improvidence  of  the 
many.  On  the  eve  of  the  Emancipation  the  proprietors  were 
indebted  to  the  Government  for  the  sum  of  425  millions  of  roubles, 
and  69  per  cent,  of  their  serfs  were  mortgaged.  A  portion  of  this 
debt  was  gradually  extinguished  by  the  redemption  operation,  so 
that  in  1880  over  300  millions  had  been  paid  off,  but  in  the 
meantime  new  debts  were  being  contracted.  In  1873-74  nine 
private  land-mortgage  banks  were  created,  and  there  was  such 
a  rush  to  obtain  money  from  them  that  their  paper  was  a  glut  in 
the  market,  and  became  seriously  depreciated.  When  the  prices  of 
grain  rose  in  1875-80  the  mortgage  debt  was  diminished,  but  when 
they  began  to  fall  in  1880  it  again  increased,  and  in  1881  it  stood 
at  396  millions.  As  the  rale  of  interest  was  felt  to  be  very  burden- 
some there  was  a  strong  feeling  among  the  landed  proprietors  at 
that  time  that  the  Government  ought  to  help  them,  and  in  1883 
the  nobles  of  the  )rovinee  of  Orel  ventured  to  address  the  Emperor 
on  the  subject.  In  repi}  to  the  address,  Alexander  III.,  who  had 
strong  Conservative  leanings,  was  graciously  pleased  to  declare  in  an 
ukaz  that  "  it  was  really  time  to  do  something  to  help  the  Noblesse," 
and  accordingly  a  new  land-mortgage  bank  for  the  Noblesse  was 
created.  The  favourable  terms  offered  by  it  were  taken  advantage 
of  to  such  an  extent  that  in  the  first  four  years  of  its  activity 


LANDED    PEOPRIETORS    SINCE    EMANCIPATION    461 

(1886-90)  it  advanced  to  the  proprietors  over  200  million  roubles. 
Then  came  two  famine  years,  and  in  1894  the  mortgage  debt  of 
the  Noblesse  in  that  and  other  credit  establishments  was  estimated 
at  994  millions.  It  has  since  probably  increased  rather  than 
diminished,  for  in  that  year  the  prices  of  grain  began  to  fall 
steadily  on  all  the  corn-exchanges  of  the  world,  and  they  have 
never  since  recovered. 

By  means  of  mortgages  some  proprietors  succeeded  in  weather- 
ing the  storm,  but  many  gave  up  the  struggle  altogether,  and 
settled  in  the  towns.  In  the  space  of  thirty  years  20,000  of  them 
sold  their  estates,  and  thus,  between  ISGl  and  1892,  the  area  of 
land  possessed  by  the  Noblesse  diminished  30  per  cent. — from 
77,804,000  to  55,500,000  dessijatins.        ^ 

This  expropriation  of  the  Noblesse,  as  it  is  called,  was  evidently 
not  the  result  merely  of  the  temporary  economic  disturbance  caused 
by  the  abolition  of  serfage,  for  as  time  went  on  it  became  more 
rapid.  During  the  first  twenty  years  the  average  annual  amount 
of  Noblesse  land  sold  was  517,000  dessijatins,  and  it  rose  steadily 
until  1892-96,  when  it  reached  the  amount  of  785,000.  As  I  have 
already  stated,  the  townward  movement  of  the  proprietors  was 
strongest  in  the  barren  Northern  provinces.  In  the  province  of 
Olonetz,  for  example,  they  have  already  parted  with  87  per  cent, 
of  their  land.  In  the  black-soil  region,  on  the  contrary,  there  is 
no  province  in  which  more  than  27  per  cent,  of  the  Noblesse  land 
has  been  alienated,  and  in  one  province  (Tula)  the  amount  is 
only  19  per  cent. 

The  habit  of  mortgaging  and  selling  estates  does  not  necessarily 
mean  the  impoverishment  of  the  landlords  as  a  class.  If  the 
capital  raised  in  that  way  is  devoted  to  agricultural  improvements, 
the  result  may  be  an  increase  of  wealth.  Unfortunately,  in  Rus- 
sia the  realised  capital  was  usually  not  so  employed.  A  very  large 
proportion  of  it  was  spent  unproductively,  partly  in  luxuries  and 
living  abroad,  and  partly  in  unprofitable  commercial  and  industrial 
speculations.  The  industrial  and  railway  fever  which  raged  at  the 
time  induced  many  to  risk  and  lose  their  capital,  and  it  had  indi- 
rectly an  injurious  effect  on  all  by  making  money  plentiful  in  the 
towns  and  creating  a  more  expensive  style  of  living,  from  which 
the  landed  gentry  could  not  hold  entirely  aloof. 

So  far  I  have  dwelt  on  the  dark  shadows  of  the  picture,  but  it 
is  not  all  shadow.  In  the  last  forty  years  the  production  and  export 
of  grain,  which  constitute  the  chief  source  of  revenue  for  the 
Noblesse,  have  increased  enormously,  thanks  mainly  to  the  iui- 


463  RUSSIA 

proved  means  of  transport.  In  the  first  decade  after  the  Eman- 
cipation (1860-70)  the  average  annual  export  did  not  exceed  88 
million  puds;  in  the  second  decade  (1870-80)  it  leapt  up  to  218 
millions;  and  so  it  went  up  steadily  until  in  the  last  decade  of 
the  century  it  had  reached  388  millions — i.e.,  over  six  million  tons. 
At  the  same  time  the  home  trade  had  increased  likewise  in  conse- 
quence of  the  rapidly  growing  population  of  the  towns.  All  this 
must  have  enriched  the  land-proprietors.  Not  to  such  an  extent, 
it  is  true,  as  the  figures  seem  to  indicate,  because  the  old  prices 
could  not  be  maintained.  Rye,  for  example,  which  in  1868  stood 
at  129  kopeks  per  pud,  fell  as  low  as  56,  and  during  the  rest  of 
the  century,  except  during  a  short  time  in  1881-82  and  the 
famine  years  of  1891-92,  when  there  was  very  little  surplus  to  sell, 
it  never  rose  above  80.  Still,  the  increase  in  quantity  more  than 
counterbalanced  the  fall  in  price.  For  example:  in  1881  the 
average  price  of  grain  per  pud  was  119,  and  in  1894  it  had  sunk 
to  59;  but  the  amount  exported  during  that  time  rose  from  203 
to  617  million  puds,  and  the  sum  received  for  it  had  risen  from 
242  to  369  millions  of  roubles.  Surely  the  whole  of  that  enor- 
mous sum  was  not  squandered  on  luxuries  and  unprofitable  spec- 
ulation ! 

The  pessimists,  however — and  in  Russia  their  name  is  legion — 
will  not  admit  that  any  permanent  advantage  has  been  derived 
from  this  enormous  increase  in  exports.  On  the  contrary,  they 
maintain  that  it  is  a  national  misfortune,  because  it  is  leading 
rapidly  to  a  state  of  permanent  impoverishment.  It  quickly  ex- 
hausted, they  say,  the  large  reserves  of  grain  in  the  village,  so  that 
as  soon  as  there  was  a  very  bad  harvest  the  Government  had  to  come 
to  the  rescue  and  feed  the  starving  peasantry.  Worse  than  this,  it 
compromised  the  future  prosperity  of  the  country.  Being  in 
pecuniary  difficulties,  and  consequently  impatient  to  make  money, 
the  proprietors  increased  inordinately  the  area  of  grain-producing 
land  at  the  expense  of  pasturage  and  forests,  with  the  result  that 
the  live  stock  and  the  manuring  of  the  land  were  diminished,  the 
fertility  of  the  soil  impaired,  and  the  necessary  quantity  of  mois- 
ture in  the  atmosphere  greatly  lessened.  There  is  some  truth 
in  this  contention;  but  it  would  seem  that  the  soil  and  climate 
have  not  been  affected  so  much  as  the  pessimists  suppose,  because 
in  recent  years  there  have  been  some  very  good  harvests. 

On  the  whole,  then,  I  think  it  may  be  justly  said  that  the  efforts 
of  the  landed  proprietors  to  work  their  estates  without  serf  labour 
have  not  as  yet  been  brilliantly  successful.     Those  who  have  failed 


LANDED    PEOPEIETOKS    SINCE    EMANCIPATION    463 

are  in  the  habit  of  complaining  that  they  have  not  received  sufficient 
support  from  the  Government,  which  is  accused  of  having  system- 
atically sacrificed  the  interests  of  agriculture,  the  mainstay  of  the 
national  resources,  to  the  creation  of  artificial  and  unnecessary 
manufacturing  industries.  How  far  such  complaints  and  accusa- 
tions are  well  founded  I  shall  not  attempt  to  decide.  It  is  a 
complicated  polemical  question,  into  which  the  reader  would  prob- 
ably decline  to  accompany  me.  Let  us  examine  rather  what  influ- 
ence the  above-mentioned  changes  have  had  on  the  peasantry. 


CHAPTEE   XXXI 

THE    EMANCIPATED   PEASANTRY 

The  Effects  of  Liberty— Difficulty  of  Obtaining  Accurate  Information — 
Pessimist  Testimony  of  the  Proprietors— Vague  Replies  of  the  Peas- 
ants—My Conclusions  in  1877— Necessity  of  Revising  Them— My 
Investigations  Renewed  in  1903— Recent  Researches  by  Native 
Political  Economists— Peasant  Impoverishment  Universally  Recog- 
nised—Various Explanations  Suggested— Demoralisation  of  the 
Common  People— Peasant  Self-government — Communal  System  of 
Land  Tenure— Heavy  Taxation— Disruption  of  Peasant  Families- 
Natural  Increase  of  Population— Remedies  Proposed — Migration — 
Reclamation  of  Waste  Land— Land-purchase  by  Peasantry— Man- 
ufacturing Industry— Improvement  of  Agricultural  Methods- 
Indications  of  Progress. 

AT  the  commencement  of  last  chapter  I  pointed  out  in  general 
terms  the  difficulty  of  describing  clearly  the  immediate  conse- 
quences of  the  Emancipation.  In  beginning  now  to  speak  of  the 
influence  which  the  great  reform  has  had  on  the  peasantry,  I  feel 
that  the  difficulty  has  reached  its  climax.  The  foreigner  who 
desires  merely  to  gain  a  general  idea  of  the  subject  cannot  be 
expected  to  take  an  interest  in  details,  and  even  if  he  took  the 
trouble  to  examine  them  attentively,  he  would  derive  from  the 
labour  little  real  information.  What  he  wishes  is  a  clear,  concise, 
and  dogmatic  statement  of  general  results.  Has  the  material  and 
moral  condition  of  the  peasantry  improved  since  the  Emancipation  ? 
That  is  the  simple  question  which  he  has  to  put,  and  he  naturally 
expects  a  simple,  categorical  answer. 

In  beginning  my  researches  in  this  interesting  field  of  inquiry, 
I  had  no  adequate  conception  of  the  difficulties  awaiting  me.  I 
imagined  that  I  had  merely  to  question  intelligent,  competent  men 
who  had  had  abundant  opportunities  of  observation,  and  to  criticise 
and  boil  down  the  information  collected ;  but  when  I  put  this  method 
of  investigation  to  the  test  of  experience  it  proved  unsatisfactory. 
Very  soon  I  came  to  perceive  that  my  authorities  were  very  far 
from  being  impartial  observers.  Most  of  them  were  evidently 
suffering  from  shattered  illusions.  They  had  expected  that  the 
Emancipation  would  produce  instantaneously  a  wonderful  improve- 

4M 


THE    EMANCIPATED    PEASANTRY  465 

ment  in  the  life  and  character  of  the  rural  population,  and  that 
the  peasant  would  become  at  once  a  sober,  industrious,  model 
agriculturist. 

These  expectations  were  not  realised.  One  year  passed,  five 
years  passed,  ten  years  passed,  and  the  expected  transformation 
did  not  take  place.  On  the  contrary,  there  appeared  certain  very 
ugly  phenomena  which  were  not  at  all  in  the  programme.  The 
peasants  began  to  drink  more  and  to  work  less,*  and  the  public 
life  which  the  Communal  institutions  produced  was  by  no  means 
of  a  desirable  kind.  The  "  bawlers  "  (gorlopdmj)  acquired  a  pre- 
judicial influence  in  the  Village  Assemblies,  and  in  very  many 
Valosts  the  peasant  judges,  elected  by  their  fellow-villagers, 
acquired  a  bad  habit  of  selling  their  decisions  for  vodka.  The 
natural  consequence  of  all  this  was  that  those  who  had  indulged  in 
exaggerated  expectations  sank  into  a  state  of  inordinate  despon- 
dency, and  imagined  things  to  be  much  worse  than  they  really 
were. 

For  different  reasons,  those  who  had  not  indulged  in  exagger- 
ated expectations,  and  had  not  sympathised  with  the  Emancipa- 
tion in  the  form  in  which  it  was  effected,  were  equally  inclined 
to  take  a  pessimistic  view  of  the  situation.  In  every  ugly  phenom- 
enon they  found  a  confirmation  of  their  opinions.  The  result  was 
precisely  what  they  had  foretold.  The  peasants  had  used  their 
liberty  and  their  privileges  to  their  own  detriment  and  to  the 
detriment  of  others ! 

The  extreme  "  Liberals  "  were  also  inclined,  for  reasons  of  their 
own,  to  join  in  the  doleful  chorus.  They  desired  that  the  condi- 
tion of  the  peasantry  should  be  further  improved  by  legislative 
enactments,  and  accordingly  they  painted  the  evils  in  as  dark 
colours  as  possible. 

Thus,  from  various  reasons,  the  majority  of  the  educated  classes 
were  unduly  disposed  to  represent  to  themselves  and  to  others  the 
actual  condition  of  the  peasantry  in  a  very  unfavourable  light, 
and  I  felt  that  from  them  there  was  no  hope  of  obtaining  the 
lumen  siccum  which  I  desired.  I  determined,  therefore,  to  try 
the  method  of  questioning  the  peasants  themselves.  Surely  they 
must  know  whether  their  condition  was  better  or  worse  than  it 
had  been  before  their  Emancipation. 

Again  I  was  doomed  to  disappointment.  A  few  months' 
experience  sufficed  to  convince  me  that  my  new  method  was  by 

*  I  am  not  at  all  sure  that  the  peasants  really  drank  more,  but  such 
was,  and  still  is,  a  very  general  conviction. 


466  EUSSIA 

no  means  so  effectual  as  I  had  imagined.  Uneducated  people 
rarely  make  generalisations  which  have  no  practical  utility,  and  I 
feel  sure  that  very  few  Eussian  peasants  ever  put  to  themselves 
the  question :  Am  I  better  off  now  than  I  was  in  the  time  of  serfage  ? 
When  such  a  question  is  put  to  them  they  feel  taken  aback.  And 
in  truth  it  is  no  easy  matter  to  sum  up  the  two  sides  of  the  account 
and  draw  an  accurate  balance,  save  in  those  exceptional  cases  in 
which  the  proprietor  flagrantly  abused  his  authority.  The  present 
money-dues  and  taxes  are  often  more  burdensome  than  the  labour- 
dues  in  the  old  times.  If  the  serfs  had  a  great  many  ill-defined 
obligations  to  fulfil — such  as  the  carting  of  the  master's  grain  to 
market,  the  preparing  of  his  firewood,  the  supplying  him  with 
eggs,  chickens,  home-made  linen,  and  the  like — they  had,  on  the 
other  hand,  a  good  many  ill-defined  privileges.  They  grazed  their 
cattle  during  a  part  of  the  year  on  the  manor-land;  they  received 
firewood  and  occasionally  logs  for  repairing  their  huts;  some- 
times the  proprietor  lent  them  or  gave  them  a  cow  or  a  horse 
when  they  had  been  visited  by  the  cattle-plague  or  the  horse- 
stealer; and  in  times  of  famine  they  could  look  to  their  master  for 
support.  All  this  has  now  come  to  an  end.  Their  burdens  and 
their  privileges  have  been  swept  away  together,  and  been  replaced 
by  clearly  defined,  unbending,  unelastic  legal  relations.  They 
have  now  to  pay  the  market-price  for  every  stick  of  firewood 
which  they  burn,  for  every  log  which  they  require  for  repairing 
their  houses,  and  for  every  rood  of  land  on  which  to  graze  their 
cattle.  Nothing  is  now  to  be  had  gratis.  The  demand  to  pay  is 
encountered  at  every  step.  If  a  cow  dies  or  a  horse  is  stolen,  the 
owner  can  no  longer  go  to  the  proprietor  with  the  hope  of  receiv- 
ing a  present,  or  at  least  a  loan  without  interest,  but  must,  if  he 
has  no  ready  money,  apply  to  the  village  usurer,  who  probably  con- 
siders twenty  or  thirty  per  cent,  as  a  by  no  means  exorbitant  rate 
of  interest. 

Besides  this,  from  the  economic  point  of  view  village  life  has 
been  completely  revolutionised.  Formerly  the  members  of  a  peas- 
ant family  obtained  from  their  ordinary  domestic  resources  nearly 
all  they  required.  Their  food  came  from  their  fields,  cabbage- 
garden,  and  farmyard.  Materials  for  clothing  were  supplied  by 
their  plots  of  flax  and  their  sheep,  and  were  worked  up  into  linen 
and  cloth  by  the  female  members  of  the  household.  Fuel,  as  I 
have  said,  and  torches  wherewith  to  light  the  izhd — for  oil  was  too 
expensive  and  petroleum  was  unknown — were  obtained  gratis. 
Their  sheep,  cattle,   and  horses  were  bred  at  home,   and  their 


THE    EMANCIPATED    PEASANTRY  467 

agricultural   implements,  except  in  so   far  as  a  little  iron   was 
required,   could   be   made   by   themselves   without   any   pecuniary 
expenditure.     Money  was  required  only  for  the  purchase  of  a  few 
cheap  domestic  utensils,  such  as  pots,  pans,  knives,  hatchets,  wooden 
dishes,  and  spoons,  and  for  the  payment  of  taxes,  which  were  small 
in  amount  and  often  paid  by  the  proprietor.     In  these  circum-  . 
stances  the  quantity  of  money  in  circulation  among  the  peasants  | 
was  infinitesimally  small,  the  few  exchanges  which  took  place  in  I 
a  village  being  generally  effected  by  barter.     The  taxes,  and  the  ^ 
vodka    required  for  village  festivals,  weddings,  or  funerals,  were 
the  only  large  items  of  expenditure  for  the  year,  and'  they  were 
generally  covered  by  the  sums  brought  home  by  the  members  of  the 
family  who  went  to  work  in  the  towns. 

Very  different  is  the  present  condition  of  affairs.  The  spinning, 
weaving,  and  other  home  industries  have  been  killed  by  the  big 
factories,  and  the  flax  and  wool  have  to  be  sold  to  raise  a  little 
ready  money  for  the  numerous  new  items  of  expenditure.  Every- 
thing has  to  be  bought — clothes,  firewood,  petroleum,  improved 
agricultural  implements,  and  many  other  articles  which  are  now 
regarded  as  necessaries  of  life,  whilst  comparatively  little  is  earned 
by  working  in  the  towns,  because  the  big  families  have  been  broken 
up,  and  a  household  now  consists  usually  of  husband  and  wife, 
who  must  both  remain  at  home,  and  children  who  are  not  yet 
bread-winners.  Eecalling  to  mind  all  these  things  and  the  other 
drawbacks  and  advantages  of  his  actual  position,  the  old  muzhik 
has  naturally  much  difficulty  in  striking  a  balance,  and  he  may 
well  be  quite  sincere  when,  on  being  asked  whether  things  now  are 
on  the  whole  better  or  worse  than  in  the  time  of  serfage,  he  scratches 
the  back  of  his  head  and  replies  hesitatingly,  with  a  mystified  expres- 
sion on  his  wrinkled  face :  "  How  shall  I  say  to  you  ?  They  are 
both  better  and  worse!"  {"  Eah  vam  sl-azdt'f  I  Ifitche  i 
l-hudzhe!")  If,  however,  you  press  him  further  and  ask  whether 
he  would  himself  like  to  return  to  the  old  state  of  things,  he  is 
pretty  sure  to  answer,  with  a  slow  shake  of  the  head  and  a  twinkle 
in  his  eye,  as  if  some  forgotten  item  in  the  account  had  suddenly 
recurred  to  him :  "  Oh,  no !  " 

What  materially  increases  the  difficulty  of  this  general  computa- 
tion is  that  great  changes  have  taken  place  in  the  well-being  of  the 
particular  households.  Some  have  greatly  prospered,  while  others 
have  become  impoverished.  That  is  one  of  the  most  characteristic 
consequences  of  the  Emancipation.  In  the  old  times  the  general 
economic  stagnation  and  the  uncontrolled  authority  of  the  pro- 


468  EUSSIA 

prietor  tended  to  keep  all  the  households  of  a  village  on  the  same 
level.  There  was  little  opportunity  for  an  intelligent,  enterpris- 
ing serf  to  become  rich,  and  if  he  contrived  to  increase  his  revenue 
he  had  probably  to  give  a  considerable  share  of  it  to  the  proprietor, 
unless  he  had  the  good  fortune  to  belong  to  a  grand  seigneur  like 
Count  Sheremetief,  who  was  proud  of  having  rich  men  among  his 
serfs.  On  the  other  hand,  the  proprietor,  for  evident  reasons  of 
self-interest,  as  well  as  from  benevolent  motives,  prevented  the 
less  intelligent  and  less  enterprising  members  of  the  Commune 
from  becoming  bankrupt.  The  Communal  equality  thus  artificially 
maintained  has  now  disappeared,  the/restrictions  on  individual  free- 
dom of  action  h?iv^e  been  removed,^he  struggle  for  life  has  become 
intensified,  and,  \s  always  happens  in  such  circumstances,  the 
strong  -men  go  upnin  the  world  while  the  weak  ones  go  to  the  wall. 
All  over  the  country  we  find  on  the  one  hand  the  beginnings  oraT 
village  aristocracy — or  perhaps  we  should  call  it  a  plutocracy,  for 
it  is  based  on  money — and  on  the  other  hand  an  ever-increasing 
pauperism.  Some  peasants  possess  capital,  with  which  they  buy 
land  outside  the  Commune  or  embark  in  trade,  while  others  have 
to  sell  their  live  stock,  and  have  sometimes  to  cede  to  neighbours 
their  share  of  the  Communal  property.  This  change  in  rural  life 
is  so  often  referred  to  that,  in  order  to  express  it  a  new,  barbarous 
word,  differ entsiatsia  (differentiation)  has  been  invented. 

Hoping  to  obtain  fuller  information  with  the  aid  of  official 
protection,  I  attached  myself  to  one  of  the  travelling  sections  of  an 
agricultural  Commission  appointed  by  the  Government,  and  dur- 
ing a  whole  summer  I  helped  to  collect  materials  in  the  provinces 
bordering  on  the  Volga.  The  inquiry  resulted  in  a  gigantic  report 
of  nearly  2,500  folio  pages,  but  the  general  conclusions  were 
extremely  vague.  The  peasantry,  it  was  said,  were  passing,  like 
the  landed  proprietors,  through  a  period  of  transition,  in  which 
the  main  features  of  their  future  normal  life  had  not  yet  become 
clearly  defined.  In  some  localities  their  condition  had  decidedly 
improved,  whereas  in  others  it  had  improved  little  or  not  at  all. 
Then  followed  a  long  list  of  recommendations  in  favour  of  Govern- 
ment assistance,  better  agronomic  education,  competitive  exhibi- 
tions, more  varied  rotation  of  crops,  and  greater  zeal  on  the  part 
of  the  clergy  in  disseminating  among  the  people  moral  principles 
in  general  and  love  of  work  in  particular. 

Not  greatly  enlightened  by  this  official  activity,  I  returned  to 
my  private  studies,  and  at  the  end  of  six  years  I  published  my 
impressions   and  conclusions   in   the   first  edition   of   this   work. 


THE    EMANCIPATED    PEASANTEY  469 

While  recognising  that  there  was  much  uncertainty  as  to  the  future, 
I  was  inclined,  on  the  whole,  to  take  a  hopeful  view  of  the  situation. 
I  was  unable,  however,  to  maintain  permanently  that  comfortable 
frame  of  mind.  After  my  departure  from  Russia  in  1878,  the 
accounts  which  reached  me  from  various  parts  of  the  country 
became  blacker  and  blacker,  and  were  partly  confirmed  by  short 
tours  which  I  made  in  1889-189G.  At  last,  in  the  summer  of  1903, 
I  determined  to  return  to  some  of  my  old  haunts  and  look  at  thin'js 
witli  my  own  eyes.  At  that  moment  some  hospitable  friends  in- 
vited me  to  pay  them  a  visit  at  their  country-house  in  the  province 
of  Smolensk,  and  I  gladly  accepted  the  invitation,  because  Smo- 
lensk, when  I  knew  it  formerly,  was  one  of  the  poorest  provinces, 
and  I  thought  it  well  to  begin  my  new  studies  by  examining 
the  impoverishment,  of  which  I  had  heard  so  much,  at  its  maximum. 

From  the  railway  station  at  Viazma,  where  I  arrived  one  morn- 
ing at  sunrise,  I  had  some  twenty  miles  to  drive,  and  as  soon  as  I 
got  clear  of  the  little  town  I  began  my  observations.  What  I  saw 
around  me  seemed  to  contradict  the  sombre  accounts  I  had 
received.  The  villages  through  which  I  passed  had  not  at  all  the 
look  of  dilapidation  and  misery  which  I  expected.  On  the  con- 
trary, the  houses  were  larger  and  better  constructed  than  they  used 
to  be,  and  each  of  them  had  a  chimney!  That  latter  fact  was 
important  because  formerly  a  large  proportion  of  the  peasants  of 
this  region  had  no  such  luxury,  and  allowed  the  smoke  to  find  its 
exit  by  the  open  door.  In  vain  I  looked  for  a  hut  of  the  old  type, 
and  my  yamstchih  assured  me  I  should  have  to  go  a  long  way  to 
find  one.  Then  I  noticed  a  good  many  iron  ploughs  of  the  Euro- 
pean model,  and  my  yamstcliik  informed  me  that  their  predecessor, 
the  solchd  with  which  I  had  been  so  familiar,  had  entirely  disap- 
peared from  the  district.  Next  I  noticed  that  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  villages  flax  was  grown  in  large  quantities.  That  was  cer- 
tainly not  an  indication  of  poverty,  because  flax  is  a  valuable  product 
which  requires  to  be  well  manured,  and  plentiful  manure  implies  a 
considerable  quantity  of  live  stock.  Lastly,  before  arriving  at  my 
destination,  I  noticed  clover  being  grown  in  the  fields.  This  made 
me  open  my  eyes  with  astonishment,  because  the  introduction  of 
artificial  grasses  into  the  traditional  rotation  of  crops  indicates 
the  transition  to  a  higher  and  more  intensive  system  of  agricul- 
ture. As  I  had  never  seen  clover  in  Russia  except  on  the  estates  of 
very  advanced  proprietors,  I  said  to  my  yamstcliik: 

"  Listen,  little  brother !     That  field  belongs  to  the  landlord  ?" 

"  Not  at  all,  Master ;  it  is  muzhik-land." 


470  EUSSIA 

On  arriving  at  the  country-house  I  told  my  friends  what  I  had 
seen,  and  they  explained  it  to  me.  Smolensk  is  no  longer  one  of 
the  poorer  provinces;  it  has  become  comparatively  prosperous.  In 
two  or  three  districts  large  quantities  of  flax  are  produced  and 
give  the  cultivators  a  big  revenue;  in  other  districts  plenty  of 
remunerative  work  is  supplied  by  the  forests.  Everywhere  a  con- 
siderable proportion  of  the  younger  men  go  regularly  to  the  towns 
and  bring  home  savings  enough  to  pay  the  taxes  and  make  a  little 
surplus  in  the  domestic  budget.  A  few  days  afterwards  the  vil- 
lage secretary  brought  me  his  books,  and  showed  me  that  there 
were  practically  no  arrears  of  taxation. 

Passing  on  to  other  provinces  I  found  similar  proofs  of  progress 
and  prosperity,  but  at  the  same  time  not  a  few  indications  of 
impoverishment;  and  I  was  rapidly  relapsing  into  my  previous 
state  of  uncertainty  as  to  whether  any  general  conclusions  could 
be  drawn,  when  an  old  friend,  himself  a  first-rate  authority  with 
many  years  of  practical  experience,  came  to  my  assistance.*  He 
informed  me  that  a  number  of  specialists  had  recently  made 
detailed  investigations  into  the  present  economic  conditions  of 
the  rural  population,  and  he  kindly  placed  at  my  disposal,  in  his 
charming  country-house  near  Moscow,  the  voluminous  researches 
of  these  investigators.  Here,  during  a  good  many  weeks,  I  revelled 
in  the  statistical  materials  collected,  and  to  the  best  of  my  ability 
I  tested  the  conclusions  drawn  from  them.  Many  of  these  con- 
clusions I  had  to  dismiss  with  the  Scotch  verdict  of  "  not  proven," 
whilst  others  seemed  to  me  worthy  of  acceptance.  Of  these  latter 
the  most  important  were  those  drawn  from  the  arrears  of  taxation. 
The  arrears  in  the  payment  of  taxes  may  be  regarded  as  a  pretty 
safe  barometer  for  testing  the  condition  of  the  rural  population, 
because  the  peasant  habitually  pays  his  rates  and  taxes  when  he 
has  the  means  of  doing  so ;  when  he  falls  seriously  and  permanently 
into  arrears  it  may  be  assumed  that  he  is  becoming  impoverished. 
If  the  arrears  fluctuate  from  year  to  year,  the  causes  of  the 
impoverishment  may  be  regarded  as  accidental  and  perhaps  tem- 
porary, but  if  they  steadily  accumulate,  we  must  conclude  that  there 
is  something  radically  wrong.  Bearing  these  facts  in  mind,  let 
y/^ys  hear  what  the  statistics  say. 

l*^  During  the  first  twenty  years  after  the  Emancipation  (1861-81) 
l>i;hings  went  on  in  their  old  grooves.  The  poor  provinces  remained 
1     poor,  and  the  fertile  provinces  showed  no  signs  of  distress.     Dur- 

*  I  hope  I  am  committing  no  indiscretion  when  I  say  that  the  old 
friend  in  question  was  Prince  Alexander  Stcherbatof  of  Vasilefskoe. 


THE    EMANCIPATED    PEASANTRY  471 

ing  the  next  twenty  years  (1881-1901)  the  arrears  of  the  whole 
of  European  Russia  rose,  roughly  speaking,  from  27  to  144  mil- 
lions of  roubles,  and  the  increase,  strange  to  say,  took  place  in  the 
fertile  provinces.  In  1890,  for  examjile,  out  of  52  millions,  nearly 
41  millions,  or  78  per  cent.,  fell  to  the  share  of  the  provinces  of  the 
Black-earth  Zone.  In  seven  of  these  the  average  arrears  per 
male,  which  had  been  in  1882  only  90  kopeks,  rose  in  1893  to  600, 
and  in  1899  to  2,200 !  And  this  accumulation  had  taken  place  in 
spite  of  reductions  of  taxation  to  the  extent  of  37  million  roubles 
in  1881-83,  and  successive  famine  grants  from  the  Treasury  in 
1891-99  to  the  amount  of  203  millions.*  On  the  other  hand,  in 
the  provinces  with  a  poor  soil  the  arrears  had  greatly  decreased. 
In  Smolensk,  for  example,  they  had  sunk  from  202  per  cent,  to  13 
per  cent,  of  the  annual  sum  to  be  paid,  and  in  nearly  all  the  other 
provinces  of  the  west  and  north  a  similar  change  for  the  better 
had  taken  place. 

These  and  many  other  figures  which  I  might  quote  show  that  a 
great  and  very  curious  economic  revolution  has  been  gradually  ^^ 
effected.  The  Black-earth  Zone,  which  was  formerly  regarded  as 
the  inexhaustible  granary  of  the  Empire,  has  become  impoverished, 
whilst  the  provinces  which  were  formerly  regarded  as  hopelessly 
poor  are  now  in  a  comparatively  flourishing  condition.  This  fact 
has  been  officially  recognised.  In  a  classification  of  the  provinces 
according  to  their  degree  of  prosperity,  drawn  up  by  a  special  com- 
mission of  experts  in  1903,  those  with  a  poor  light  soil  appear 
at  the  top,  and  those  with  the  famous  black  earth  are  at  the 
bottom  of  the  list.  In  the  deliberations  of  the  commission  many 
reasons  for  this  extraordinary  state  of  things  are  adduced.  Most 
of  them  have  merely  a  local  significance.  The  big  fact,  taken  as  a 
whole,  seems  to  me  to  show  that,  in  consequence  of  certain  changes 
of  which  I  shall  speak  presently,  the  peasantry  of  European  Rus- 
sia can  no  longer  live  by  the  traditional  modes  of  agriculture,  even 
in  the  most  fertile  districts,  and  require  for  their  support  some 
subsidiary  occupations  such  as  are  practised  in  the  less  fertile 
provinces. 

Another  sign  of  impoverishment  is  the  decrease  in  the  quantity 
of  live  stock.  According  to  the  very  imperfect  statistics  available, 
for  every  hundred  inhabitants  the  number  of  horses  has  decreased 
from  26  to  17,  the  number  of  cattle  from  36  to  25,  and  the  num- 
ber of  sheep  from  73  to  40.     This  is  a  serious  matter,  because  it 

*  In  1901  an  additional  famine  grant  of  33*  million  roubles  had  to  be 
made  by  the  Government. 


472  EUSSIA 

means  that  the  land  is  not  so  well  manured  and  cultivated  as 
formerly,  and  is  consequently  not  so  productive.  Several  econo- 
mists have  attempted  to  fix  precisely  to  what  extent  the  productivity 
has  decreased,  but  I  confess  I  have  little  faith  in  the  accuracy  of 
their  conclusions.  M.  Polenof,  for  example,  a  most  able  and  con- 
scientious investigator,  calculates  that  between  1861  and  1895,  all 
over  Eussia,  the  amount  of  food  produced,  in  relation  to  the  num- 
ber of  the  population,  has  decreased  by  seven  per  cent.  His 
methods  of  calculation  are  ingenious,  but  the  statistical  data  with 
which  he  operates  are  so  far  from  accurate  that  his  conclusions 
on  this  point  have,  in  my  opinion,  little  or  no  scientific  value. 
With  all  due  deference  to  Eussian  economists,  I  may  say  parenthet- 
ically that  they  are  very  found  of  juggling  with  carelessly  collected 
statistics,  as  if  their  data  were  mathematical  quantities. 

Several  of  the  Zemstvos  have  grappled  with  this  question  of 
peasant  impoverishment,  and  the  data  which  they  have  collected 
make  a  very  doleful  impression.  In  the  province  of  Moscow,  for 
example,  a  careful  investigation  gave  the  following  results:  Forty 
per  cent,  of  the  peasant  households  had  no  longer  any  horses,  15 
per  cent,  had  given  up  agriculture  altogether,  and  about  10  per 
cent,  had  no  longer  any  land.  We  must  not,  however,  assume,  as  is 
often  done,  that  the  peasant  families  who  have  no  live  stock  and 
no  longer  till  the  land  are  utterly  ruined.  In  reality  many  of  them 
are  better  off  than  their  neighbours  who  appear  as  prosperous  in 
the  official  statistics,  having  found  profitable  occupation  in  the 
home  industries,  in  the  towns,  in  the  factories,  or  on  the  estates  of 
the  landed  proprietors.  It  must  be  remembered  that  Moscow  is 
the  centre  of  one  of  the  regions  in  which  manufacturing  industry 
has  progressed  with  gigantic  strides  during  the  last  half-century, 
and  it  would  be  strange  indeed  if,  in  such  a  region,  the  peasantry 
who  supply  the  labour  to  the  towns  and  factories  remained  thriving 
agriculturists.  That  many  Eussians  are  surprised  and  horrified 
at  the  actual  state  of  things  shows  to  what  an  extent  the  educated 
classes  are  still  under  the  illusion  that  Eussia  can  create  for  her- 
self a  manufacturing  industry  capable  of  competing  with  that  of 
Western  Europe  without  uprooting  from  the  soil  a  portion  of  her 
rural  population. 

It  is  only  in  the  purely  agricultural  regions  that  families  officially 
classed  as  belonging  to  the  peasantry  may  be  regarded  as  on  the 
brink  of  pauperism  because  they  have  no  live  stock,  and  even  with 
regard  to  them  I  should  hesitate  to  make  such  an  assumption, 
because  the  muzhiks,  as  I  have  already  had  occasion  to  remark. 


THE   EMANCIPATED    PEASANTRY  473 

have  strange  nomadic  habits  unkno^\Ti  to  the  rural  population  of 
other  countries.  It  is  a  mistake,  therefore,  to  calculate  the  Russian 
peasant's  budget  exclusively  on  the  basis  of  local  resources. 

To  the  pessimists  who  assure  me  that  according  to  their  calcula- 
tions the  peasantry  in  general  must  he  on  the  brink  of  starvation, 
I  reply  that  there  are  many  facts,  even  in  the  statistical  tables  on 
which  they  rely,  which  run  counter  to  their  deductions.  Let  me 
quote  one  by  way  of  illustration.  The  total  amount  of  deposits  in 
savings  banks,  about  one-fourth  of  which  is  believed  to  l)elong  to 
the  rural  population,  rose  in  the  course  of  six  years  (1894-liJOO) 
from  347  to  680  millions  of  roubles.  Besides  the  savings  banks, 
there  existed  in  the  rural  districts  on  1st  December,  1902,  no  less 
than  1,G14  small-credit  institutions,  with  a  total  capital  (1st  Jan- 
uary, 1901)  of  09  million  roubles,  of  which  only  4,653,000  had  been 
advanced  by  the  State  Bank  and  the  Zemstvo,  the  remainder  coming 
in  from  private  sources.  This  is  not  much  for  a  big  country  like 
Russia,  but  it  is  a  beginning,  and  it  suggests  that  the  impoverish- 
ment is  not  so  severe  and  so  universal  as  the  pessimists  would  have 
us  believe. 

There  is  thus  room  for  differences  of  opinion  as  to  how  far  the 
peasantry  have  become  impoverished,  but  there  is  no  doubt  that 
their  condition  is  far  from  satisfactory,  and  we  have  to  face  the 
important  problem  why  the  abolition  of  serfage  has  not  produced 
the  beneficent  consequences  which  even  moderate  men  so  confidently 
predicted,  and  how  the  present  unsatisfactory  state  of  things  is  to 
be  remedied. 

The  most  common  explanation  among  those  who  have  never 
seriously  studied  the  subject  is  that  it  all  comes  from  the  demor- 
alisation of  the  common  people.  In  this  view  there  is  a  modicum 
of  truth.  That  the  peasantry  injure  their  material  welfare  by 
drunkenness  and  improvidence  there  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt, 
as  is  shown  by  the  comparatively  flourishing  state  of  certain  vil- 
lages of  Old  Ritualists  and  Molokanye  in  which  there  is  no 
drunkenness,  and  in  which  the  community  exercises  a  strong  moral 
control  over  the  individual  members.  If  the  Orthodox  Church 
could  make  the  peasantry  refrain  from  the  inordinate  use  of 
strong  drink  as  effectually  as  it  makes  them  refrain  during  a  great 
part  of  the  year  from  animal  food,  and  if  it  could  instil  into  their 
minds  a  few  simple  moral  principles  as  successfully  as  it  has 
inspired  them  with  a  belief  in  the  efficacy  of  the  Sacraments,  it 
would  certainly  confer  on  them  an  inestimable  benefit.  But  this 
is  not  to  be  expected.     The  great  majority  of  the  parish  priests 


474  EUSSIA 

are  quite  unfit  for  such  a  task,  and  the  few  who  have  aspirations 
in  that  direction  rarely  acquire  a  perceptible  moral  influence 
over  their  parishioners.  Perhaps  more  is  to  be  expected  from  the 
schoolmaster  than  from  the  priest,  but  it  will  be  long  before  the 
schools  can  produce  even  a  partial  moral  regeneration.  Their  first 
influence,  strange  as  the  assertion  may  seem,  is  often  in  a 
diametrically  opposite  direction.  When  only  a  few  peasants  in 
a  village  can  read  and  write  they  have  such  facilities  for  over- 
reaching their  "  dark "  neighbours  that  they  are  apt  to  employ 
their  knowledge  for  dishonest  purposes;  and  thus  it  occasionally 
happens  that  the  man  who  has  the  most  education  is  the  greatest 
scoundrel  in  the  Mir.  Such  facts  are  often  used  by  the  opponents 
of  popular  education,  but  in' reality  they  supply  a  good  reason  for 
disseminating  primary  education  as  rapidly  as  possible.  When 
all  the  peasants  have  learned  to  read  and  write  they  will  present 
a  less  inviting  field  for  swindling,  and  the  temptations  to  dis- 
honesty will  be  proportionately  diminished.  Meanwhile,  it  is 
only  fair  to  state  that  the  common  assertions  about  drunkenness 
being  greatly  on  the  increase  are  not  borne  out  by  the  official 
statistics  concerning  the  consumption  of  spirituous  liquors. 

After  drunkenness,  the  besetting  sin  which  is  supposed  to  explain 
the  impoverishment  of  the  peasantry  is  incorrigible  laziness.  On 
that  subject  I  feel  inclined  to  put  in  a  plea  of  extenuating  cir- 
cumstances in  favour  of  the  muzhik.  Certainly  he  is  very  slow 
in  his  movements — slower  perhaps  than  the  English  rustic — and 
he  has  a  marvellous  capacity  for  wasting  valuable  time  without  any 
perceptible  qualms  of  conscience ;  but  he  is  in  this  respect,  if  I  may 
use  a  favourite  phrase  of  the  Social  Scientists,  "  the  product  of 
environment."  To  the  proprietors  who  habitually  reproach  him 
with  time-wasting  he  might  reply  with  a  very  strong  tu  quoque 
argument,  and  to  all  the  other  classes  the  argument  might  like- 
wise be  addressed.  The  St.  Petersburg  official,  for  example,  who 
writes  edifying  disquisitions  about  peasant  indolence,  considers 
that  for  himself  attendance  at  his  office  for  four  hours,  a  large 
portion  of  which  is  devoted  to  the  unproductive  labour  of  cigarette- 
smoking,  constitutes  a  very  fair  day's  work.  The  truth  is  that  in 
Russia  the  struggle  for  life  is  not  nearly  so  intense  as  in  more 
densely  populated  countries,  and  society  is  so  constituted  that  all 
can  live  without  very  strenuous  exertion.  The  Russians  seem, 
therefore,  to  the  traveller  who  comes  from  the  West  an  indolent, 
apathetic  race.  If  the  traveller  happens  to  come  from  the  East — 
especially  if  he  has  been  living  among  pastoral  races — the  Russians 


THE    EMANCIPATED    PEASANTRY  475 

will  appear  to  hiin  energetic  and  lal;orious.  Their  character  in 
this  respect  corresponds  to  their  geographical  position :  they  stand 
midwa}'  between  the  laborious,  painstaking,  industrious  popula- 
tion of  Western  Europe  and  the  indolent,  undisciplined,  spasmodic- 
ally energetic  populations  of  Central  Asia.  They  are  capable  of 
effecting  much  by  vigorous,  intermittent  effort — witness  the  peas- 
ant at  harvest-time,  or  the  St.  Petersburg  official  when  some  big 
legislative  project  has  to  be  submitted  to  the  Emperor  within  a 
given  time — but  they  have  not  yet  learned  regular  laborious  habits. 
In  short,  the  Russians  might  move  the  world  if  it  could  be  done 
by  a  jerk,  but  they  are  still  deficient  in  that  calm  perseverance  and 
dogged  tenacity  which  characterise  the  Teutonic  race. 

Without  seeking  further  to  determine  how  far  the  moral  defects 
of  the  peasantry  have  a  deleterious  influence  on  their  material 
welfare,  I  proceed  to  examine  the  external  causes  which  are 
generally  supposed  to  contribute  largely  to  their  impoverishment, 
and  will  deal  first  with  the  evils  of  peasant  self-government. 

That  the  peasant  self-government  is  very  far  from  being  in  a 
satisfactory  condition  must  be  admitted  by  any  impartial  observer. 
The  more  laborious  and  well-to-do  peasants,  unless  they  wish  to 
abuse  their  position  directly  or  indirectly  for  their  own  advantage, 
try  to  escape  election  as  office-bearers,  and  leave  the  administration 
in  the  hands  of  the  less  respectable  members.  Not  unfrequently 
a  Volost  Elder  trades  with  the  money  he  collects  as  dues  or  taxes; 
and  sometimes,  when  he  becomes  insolvent,  the  peasants  have  to 
pay  their  taxes  and  dues  a  second  time.  The  Village  Assemblies, 
too,  have  become  worse  than  they  were  in  the  days  of  serfage.  At 
that  time  the  Heads  of  Households — who,  it  must  be  remembered, 
have  alone  a  voice  in  the  decisions — were  few  in  number,  laborious, 
and  well-to-do,  and  they  kept  the  lazy,  unruly  members  under 
strict  control.  Now  that  the  large  families  have  been  broken  up 
and  almost  every  adult  peasant  is  Head  of  a  Household,  the  Com- 
munal affairs  are  sometimes  decided  by  a  noisy  majority;  and  cer- 
tain Communal  decisions  may  be  obtained  by  "  treating  the  Mir  " — 
that  is  to  say,  by  supplying  a  certain  amount  of  vodka.  Often 
I  have  heard  old  peasants  speak  of  these  things,  and  finish  their 
recital  by  some  such  remark  as  this:  "There  is  no  order  now; 
the  people  have  been  spoiled;  it  was  better  in  the  time  of  the 
masters." 

These  evils  are  very  real,  and  I  have  no  desire  to  extenuate 
them,  but  I  believe  they  are  by  no  means  so  great  as  is  commonly 
supposed.     If  the  lazy,  worthless  members  of  the  Commune  had 


476  RUSSIA 

really  the  direction  of  Communal  affairs  we  should  find  that  in 
the  Northern  Agricultural  Zone,  where  it  is  necessary  to  manure 
the  soil,  the  periodical  redistributions  of  the  Communal  land  would 
be  very  frequent;  for  in  a  new  distribution  the  lazy  peasant  has  a 
good  chance  of  getting  a  well-manured  lot  in  exchange  for  the 
lot  which  he  has  exhausted.  In  reality,  so  far  as  my  observations 
extend,  these  general  distributions  of  the  land  are  not  more  frequent 
than  they  were  before. 

Of  the  various  functions  of  the  peasant  self-government  the 
judicial  are  perhaps  the  most  frequently  and  the  most  severely 
criticised.  And  certainly  not  without  reason,  for  the  Volost  Courts 
are  too  often  accessible  to  the  influence  of  alcohol,  and  in  some 
districts  the  peasants  say  that  he  who  becomes  a  judge  takes  a 
sin  on  his  soul.  I  am  not  at  all  sure,  however,  that  it  would  be 
well  to  abolish  these  courts  altogether,  as  some  people  propose.  In 
many  respects  they  are  better  suited  to  peasant  requirements  than 
the  ordinary  tribunals.  Their  procedure  is  infinitely  simpler, 
more  expeditious,  and  incomparably  less  expensive,  and  they  are 
guided  by  traditional  custom  and  plain  common-sense,  whereas 
the  ordinary  tribunals  have  to  judge  according  to  the  civil  law, 
which  is  unknown  to  the  peasantry  and  not  always  applicable  to 
their  affairs. 

Few  ordinary  judges  have  a  sufficiently  intimate  knowledge 
of  the  minute  details  of  peasant  life  to  be  able  to  decide  fairly 
the  cases  that  are  brought  before  the  VaJost  Courts;  and  even 
if  a  Justice  had  sufficient  knowledge  he  could  not  adopt  the 
moral  and  juridical  notions  of  the  peasantry.  These  are  often 
very  different  from  those  of  the  upper  classes.  In  cases  of  mat- 
rimonial separation,  for  instance,  the  educated  man  naturally 
assumes  that,  if  there  is  any  question  of  aliment,  it  should  be  paid 
by  the  husband  to  the  wife.  The  peasant,  on  the  contrary,  as- 
sumes as  naturally  that  it  should  be  paid  by  the  wife  to  the 
husband — or  rather  to  the  Head  of  the  Household — as  a  compensa- 
tion for  the  loss  of  labour  which  her  desertion  involves.  In  like 
manner,  according  to  traditional  peasant-law,  if  an  unmarried  son 
is  working  away  from  home,  his  earnings  do  not  belong  to  him- 
self, but  to  the  family,  and  in  Voiost  Court  they  could  be  claimed 
by  the  Head  of  the  Household. 

Occasionally,  it  is  true,  the  peasant  judges  allow  their  respect 
for  old  traditional  conceptions  in  general  and  for  the  authority 
of  parents  in  particular,  to  carry  them  a  little  too  far.  I  was  told 
lately  of  one  affair  which  took  place  not  long  ago,  within  a  hun- 


THE    EMANCIPATED    PEASANTRY  477 

dred  miles  of  Moscow,  in  which  the  judge  decided  that  a  respect- 
able young  peasant  should  be  flogged  because  he  refused  to  give 
his  father  the  money  he  earned  as  groom  in  the  service  of  a  neigh- 
])0uring  proprietor,  though  it  was  notorious  in  the  district  that 
the  father  was  a  disreputable  old  drunkard  who  carried  to  the 
I'ahah  (gin-shop)  all  the  money  he  could  obtain  by  fair  means  and 
foul.  When  I  remarked  to  my  informant,  who  was  not  an  ad- 
mirer of  peasant  institutions,  that  the  incident  reminded  me  of 
the  respect  for  the  patr'ia  potestas  in  old  Eoman  times,  he  stared 
at  me  with  a  look  of  surprise  and  indignation,  and  exclaimed 
laconically,  "  P  atria  potestas?  .  .  .  Vodka!"  He  was  evi- 
dently convinced  that  the  disreputable  father  had  got  his  respect- 
able son  flogged  by  "  treating  "  the  judges.  In  such  cases  flogging 
can  no  longer  be  used,  for  the  Volost  Courts,  as  we  have  seen,  were 
recently  deprived  of  the  right  to  inflict  corporal  punishment. 

These  administrative  and  judicial  abuses  gradually  reached  the 
ears  of  the  Government,  and  in  1889  it  attempted  to  remove  them 
l)y  creating  a  body  of  Rural  Supervisors  (Zemslciye  Natchalniki). 
Under  their  supervision  and  control  some  abuses  may  have  been 
occasionally  prevented  or  corrected,  and  some  rascally  Volost  secre- 
taries may  have  been  punished  or  dismissed,  but  the  peasant  self- 
government  as  a  whole  has  not  been  perceptibly  improved. 

Let  us  glance  now  at  the  opinions  of  those  who  hold  that  the 
material  progress  of  the  peasantry  is  prevented  chiefly,  not  by  the 
mere  abuses  of  the  Communal  administration,  but  by  the  essential 
principles  of  the  Communal  institutions,  and  especially  by  the 
practice  of  periodically  redistributing  the  Communal  land.  From 
the  theoretical  point  of  view  this  question  is  one  of  great  interest, 
and  it  may  acquire  in  the  future  an  immense  practical  significance ; 
but  for  the  present  it  has  not,  in  my  opinion,  the  importance 
which  is  usually  attributed  to  it.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  it 
is  much  more  difficult  to  farm  well  on  a  large  number  of  narrow 
strips  of  land,  many  of  which  are  at  a  great  distance  from  the 
farmyard,  than  on  a  compact  piece  of  land  which  the  farmer  may 
divide  and  cultivate  as  he  pleases;  and  there  can  be  as  little  doubt 
that  the  husbandman  is  more  likely  to  improve  his  land  if  his 
tenure  is  secure.  All  this  and  much  more  of  the  same  kind  must 
be  accepted  as  indisputable  truth,  but  it  has  little  direct  bear- 
ing on  the  practical  question  under  consideration.  We  are  not 
considering  in  the  abstract  whether  it  would  be  better  that  the 
peasant  should  be  a  farmer  with  abundant  capital  and  all  the  modern 
scientific  appliances,  but  simply  the  practical  question.  What  are 


478  RUSSIA 

the  obstructions  which  at  present  prevent  the  peasant  from  amelio- 
rating his  actual  condition  ? 

That  the  Commune  prevents  its  members  from  adopting  various 
1  systems  of  high  farming  is  a  supposition  which  scarcely  requires 
1  serious  consideration.     The  peasants  do  not  yet  think  of  any  such 
\  radical    innovations ;    and    if    they    did,    they    have    neither    the 
knowledge  nor  the  capital  necessary  to  effect  them.     In  many  vil- 
lages a  few  of  the  richer  and  more  intelligent  peasants  have  bought 
land  outside  of  the  Commune  and  cultivate  it  as  they  please,  free 
from  all  Communal  restraints;  and  I  have  always  found  that  they 
cultivate  this  property  precisely  in  the  same  way  as  their  share  of 
the  Communal  land.     As  to  minor  changes,  we  know  by  experi- 
ence that  the  Mir  opposes  to  them  no  serious  obstacles. 

The  cultivation  of  beet  for  the  production  of  sugar  has  greatly 
increased  in  the  central  and  southwestern  provinces,  and  flax  is 
now  largely  produced  in  Communes  in  northern  districts  where 
it  was  formerly  cultivated  merely  for  domestic  use.  The  Com- 
munal system  is,  in  fact,  extremely  elastic,  and  may  be  modified 
as  soon  as  the  majority  of  the  members  consider  modifications 
profitable.  When  the  peasants  begin  to  think  of  permanent  im- 
provements, such  as  drainage,  irrigation,  and  the  like,  they  will 
find  the  Communal  institutions  a  help  rather  than  an  obstruction ; 
for  such  improvements,  jf  undertaken  at  all,  must  be  undertaken 
on  a  larger  scalo,  and  the  Mir  is  an  already  existing  association. 
The  only  permanent  improvements  which  can  be  for  the  present 
profitably  undertaken  consist  in  the  reclaiming  of  waste  land;  and 
such  improvements  are  already  sometimes  attempted.  I  know  at 
least  of  one  case  in  which  a  Commune  in  the  province  of  Yaro- 
.  slavl  has  reclaimed  a  considerable  tract  of  waste  land  by  means  of 
hired  labourers.  Nor  does  the  Mir  prevent  in  this  respect  indi- 
vidual initiative.  In  many  Communes  of  the  northern  provinces 
it  is  a  received  principle  of  customary  law  that  if  any  member  re- 
claims waste  land  he  is  allowed  to  retain  possession  of  it  for  a 
number  of  years  proportionate  to  the  amount  of  labour  expended. 
But  does  not  the  Commune,  as  it  exists,  prevent  good  cultiva- 
tion according  to  the  mode  of  agriculture  actually  in  use? 

Except  in  the  far  north  and  the  steppe  region,  where  the  agri- 
culture is  of  a  peculiar  kind,  adapted  to  the  local  conditions,  the 
peasants  invariably  till  their  land  according  to  the  ordinary  three- 
field  system,  in  which  good  cultivation  means,  practically  speaking, 
the  plentiful  use  of  manure.  Does,  then,  the  existence  of  the  Mir 
prevent  the  peasants  from  manuring  their  fields  well? 


THE    EMANCIPATED    PEASANTRY  479 

Many  people  who  speak  on  this  subject  in  an  authoritative  tone 
seem  to  imagine  that  the  peasants  in  general  do  not  manure  their 
fields  at  all.  This  idea  is  an  utter  mistake.  In  those  regions, 
it  is  true,  where  the  rich  black  soil  still  retains  a  large  part  of  its 
virgin  fertility,  the  manure  is  used  as  fuel,  or  simply  thrown  away, 
because  the  peasants  believe  that  it  would  not  be  profitable  to  put 
it  on  their  fields,  and  their  conviction  is,  at  least  to  some  extent, 
well  founded ;  *  but  in  the  Northern  Agricultural  Zone,  where 
unmanured  soil  gives  almost  no  harvest,  the  peasants  put  upon 
their  fields  all  the  manure  they  possess.  If  they  do  not  put 
enough  it  is  simply  because  they  have  not  sufficient  live  stock. 

It  is  only  in  the  southern  provinces,  where  no  manure  is  required, 
that  periodical  re-distributions  take  place  frequently.  As  we  travel 
northward  we  find  the  term  lengthens;  and  in  the  Northern  Agri- 
cultural Zone,  where  manure  is  indispensable,  general  re-distribu- 
tions are  extremely  rare.  In  the  province  of  Yaroslavl,  for  example, 
the  Communal  land  is  generally  divided  into  two  parts :  the  manured 
land  lying  near  the  village,  and  the  unmanured  land  lying  beyond. 
The  latter  alone  is  subject  to  frequent  re-distribution.  On  the 
former  the  existing  tenures  are  rarely  disturbed,  and  when  it 
becomes  necessary  to  give  a  share  to  a  new  household,  the  change 
is  effected  with  the  least  possible  prejudice  to  vested  rights. 

The  policy  of  the  Government  has  always  been  to  admit  re- 
distributions in  principle,  but  to  prevent  their  too  frequent 
recurrence.  For  this  purpose  the  Emancipation  Law  stipulated 
that  they  could  be  decreed  only  by  a  three-fourths  majority  of  the 
Village  Assembly,  and  in  1893  a  further  obstacle  was  created  by 
a  law  providing  that  the  minimum  term  between  two  re-distribu- 
tions should  be  twelve  years,  and  that  they  should  never  be  under- 
taken without  the  sanction  of  the  Rural  Supervisor. 

A  certain  number  of  Communes  have  made  the  experiment  of 
transforming  the  Communal  tenure  into  hereditary  allotments, 
and  its  only  visible  eifect  has  been  that  the  allotments  accumulate 
in  the  hands  of  the  richer  and  more  enterprising  peasants,  and  the 
poorer  members  of  the  Commune  become  landless,  while  the  primi- 
tive system  of  agriculture  remains  unimproved. 

Up  to  this  point  I  have  dealt  with  the  so-called  causes  of  peasant 
impoverishment  which  are  much  talked  of,  but  which  are,  in  my 

*As  recently  as  two  years  ago  (1903)  I  found  that  one  of  the  most 
intelligent  and  energetic  landlords  of  the  province  of  Voronezh  followed 
in  this  respect  the  example  of  the  peasants,  and  he  assured  me  that  he 
had  proved  by  experience  the  advantage  of  doing  so. 


480  EUSSIA 

opinion,  only  of  secondary  importance.  I  pass  now  to  those  which 
are  more  tangible  and  which  have  exerted  on  the  condition  of  the 
peasantry  a  more  palpable  influence.  And,  first,  inordinate  taxation. 

This  is  a  very  big  subject,  on  which  a  bulky  volume  might  be 
written,  but  I  shall  cut  it  very  short,  because  I  know  that  the 
ordinary  reader  does  not  like  to  be  bothered  with  voluminous 
financial  statistics.  Briefly,  then,  the  peasant  has  to  pay  three 
kinds  of  direct  taxation:  Imperial  to  the  Central  Government, 
local  to  the  Zemstvo,  and  Commune  to  the  Mir  and  the  Volost; 
and  besides  these  he  has  to  pay  a  yearly  sum  for  the  redemption 
of  the  land-allotment  which  he  received  at  the  time  of  the  Eman- 
cipation. Taken  together,  these  form  a  heavy  burden,  but  for 
ten  or  twelve  years  the  emancipated  peasantry  bore  it  patiently, 
without  falling  very  deeply  into  arrears.  Then  began  to  appear 
symptoms  of  distress,  especially  in  the  provinces  with  a  poor  soil, 
and  in  1872  the  Government  appointed  a  Commission  of  Inquiry, 
in  which  I  had  the  privilege  of  taking  part  unofficially.  The 
inquiry  showed  that  something  ought  to  be  done,  but  at  that 
moment  the  Government  was  so  busy  with  administrative  reforms 
and  with  trying  to  develop  industry  and  commerce  that  it  had 
little  time  to  devote  to  studying  and  improving  the  economic  posi- 
tion of  the  silent,  long-suffering  muzhik.  It  was  not  till  nearly 
ten  years  later,  when  the  Government  began  to  feel  the  pinch  of  the 
ever-increasing  arrears,  that  it  recognised  the  necessity  of  relieving 
the  rural  population.  For  this  purpose  it  abolished  the  salt-tax 
and  the  poll-tax  and  repeatedly  lessened  the  burden  of  the  redemp- 
tion-payments. At  a  later  period  (1899)  it  afforded  further 
relief  by  an  important  reform  in  the  mode  of  collecting  the  direct 
taxes.  From  the  police,  who  often  ruined  peasant  householders 
by  applying  distraint  indiscriminately,  the  collection  of  taxes  was 
transferred  to  special  authorities  who  took  into  consideration  the 
temporary  pecuniary  embarrassments  of  the  tax-payers.  Another 
benefit  conferred  on  the  peasantry  by  this  reform  is  that  an 
individual  member  of  the  Commune  is  no  longer  responsible  for 
the  fiscal  obligations  of  the  Commune  as  a  whole. 

Since  these  alleviations  have  been  granted  the  annual  total 
demanded  from  the  peasantry  for  direct  taxation  and  land- 
redemption  payments  is  173  million  roubles,  and  the  average 
annual  sum  to  be  paid  by  each  peasant  household  varies,  according 
to  the  locality,  from  11|  to  20  roubles  (21s.  6d.  to  40s.).  In  addi- 
tion to  this  annuity  there  is  a  heavy  burden  of  accumulated 
arrears,  especially  in  the  central  and  eastern  provinces,   which 


THE    EMANCIPATED   PEASANTRY  481 

amounted  in  1899  to  143  millions.  Of  the  indirect  taxes  I 
can  say  nothing  definite,  because  it  is  impossible  to  calculate,  even 
approximately,  the  share  of  tliem  which  falls  on  the  rural  popula- 
tion, but  they  must  not  be  left  out  of  account.  During  the  ten 
years  of  M.  Witte's  term  of  office  the  revenue  of  the  Imperial 
Treasury  was  nearly  doubled,  and  though  the  increase  was  due 
partly  to  improvements  in  the  financial  administration,  we  can 
hardly  believe  that  the  peasantry  did  not  in  some  measure  contribute 
to  it.  In  any  case,  it  is  very  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  for  them, 
under  actual  conditions,  to  improve  their  economic  position.  On 
that  point  all  Russian  economists  are  agreed.  One  of  the  most  com- 
petent and  sober-minded  of  them,  M.  Schwanebach,  calculates  that 
the  head  of  a  peasant  household,  after  deducting  the  grain  required 
to  feed  his  family,  has  to  pay  into  the  Imperial  Treasury,  according 
to  the  district  in  which  he  resides,  from  25  to  100  per  cent,  of  his 
agricultural  revenue.  If  that  ingenious  calculation  is  even  approxi- 
mately correct,  we  must  conclude  that  further  financial  reforms 
are  urgently  required,  especially  in  those  provinces  where  the 
population  live  exclusively  by  agriculture. 

Heavy  as  the  burden  of  taxation  undoubtedly  is,  it  might  per- 
haps be  borne  without  very  serious  inconvenience  if  the  peasant 
families  could  utilise  productively  all  their  time  and  strength. 
Unfortunately  in  the  existing  economic  organisation  a  great  deal 
of  their  time  and  energy  is  necessarily  wasted.  Their  economic 
life  was  radically  dislocated  by  the  Emancipation,  and  they  have 
not  yet  succeeded  in  reorganising  it  according  to  the  new  condi- 
tions. 

In  the  time  of  serfage  an  estate  formed,  from  the  economic 
point  of  view,  a  co-operative  agricultural  association,  under  a 
manager  who  possessed  unlimited  authority,  and  sometimes 
abused  it,  but  who  was  generally  worldly-wise  enough  to  under- 
stand that  the  prosperity  of  the  whole  required  the  prosperity  of 
the  component  parts.  By  the  abolition  of  serfage  the  association 
was  dissolved  and  liquidated,  and  the  strong,  compact  whole  fell 
into  a  heap  of  independent  units,  with  separate  and  often  mutually 
hostile  interests.  Some  of  the  disadvantages  of  this  change  for 
the  peasantry  I  have  already  enumerated  above.  The  most  im- 
portant I  have  now  to  mention.  In  virtue  of  the  Emancipation 
Law  each  family  received  an  amount  of  land  which  tempted  it  to 
continue  farming  on  its  own  account,  but  which  did  not  enable 
it  to  earn  a  living  and  pay  its  rates  and  taxes.  The  peasant  thus 
became   a   kind   of   amphibious   creature — half   farmer   and   half 


483  EUSSIA 

something  else — cultivating  his  allotment  for  a  portion  of  his 
daily  bread,  and  obliged  to  have  some  other  occupation  vrherewith 
to  cover  the  inevitable  deficit  in  his  domestic  budget.  If  he  was 
fortunate  enough  to  find  near  his  home  a  bit  of  land  to  be  let  at  a 
reasonable  rent,  he  might  cultivate  it  in  addition  to  his  own  and 
thereby  gain  a  livelihood;  but  if  he  had  not  the  good  luck  to  find 
such  a  piece  of  land  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood,  he  had  to 
look  for  some  subsidiary  occupation  in  which  to  employ  his  leisure 
time;  and  where  was  such  occupation  to  be  found  in  an  ordinary 
Eussian  village?  In  former  years  he  might  have  employed  him- 
self perhaps  in  carting  the  proprietor's  grain  to  distant  markets 
or  still  more  distant  seaports,  but  that  means  of  making  a  little 
money  has  been  destroyed  by  the  extension  of  railways.  Prac- 
tically, then,  he  is  now  obliged  to  choose  between  two  alternatives : 
either  to  farm  his  allotment  and  spend  a  great  part  of  the  year  in 
idleness,  or  to  leave  the  cultivation  of  his  allotment  to  his  wife 
and  children  and  to  seek  employment  elsewhere — often  at  such 
a  distance  that  his  earnings  hardly  cover  the  expenses  of  the 
journey.     In  either  case  much  time  and  energy  are  wasted. 

The  evil  results  of  this  state  of  things  were  intensified  by  an- 
other change  which  was  brought  about  by  the  Emancipation.  In 
the  time  of  serfage  the  peasant  families,  as  I  have  already  re- 
marked, were  usually  very  large.  They  remained  undivided, 
partly  from  the  influence  of  patriarchal  conceptions,  but  chiefly 
because  the  proprietors,  recognising  the  advantage  of  large  units, 
prevented  them  from  breaking  up.  As  soon  as  the  proprietor's 
authority  was  removed,  the  process  of  disintegration  began  and 
spread  rapidly.  Every  one  wished  to  be  independent,  and  in  a  very 
short  time  nearly  every  able-bodied  married  peasant  had  a  house 
of  his  own.  The  economic  consequences  were  disastrous.  A 
large  amount  of  money  had  to  be  expended  in  constructing 
new  houses  and  f armsteadings ;  and  the  old  habit  of  one  male 
member  remaining  at  home  to  cultivate  the  land  allotment  with 
the  female  members  of  the  family  whilst  the  others  went  to  earn 
wages  elsewhere  had  to  be  abandoned.  Many  large  families,  which 
had  been  prosperous  and  comfortable — rich  according  to  peasant 
conceptions — dissolved  into  three  or  four  small  ones,  all  on  the 
brink  of  pauperism. 

The  last  cause  of  peasant  impoverishment  that  I  have  to  men- 
tion is  perhaps  the  most  important  of  all :  I  mean  the  natural 
increase  of  population  without  a  corresponding  increase  in  the 
means  of  subsistence.     Since  the  Emancipation  in  1861  the  popu- 


THE    EMANCIPATED    PEASANTRY  483 

lation  Ijias  nearlydjQiibled,  whilst  the  amount  of  Communal  land  has 
remained  the  same.  It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  when 
talking  with  peasants  about  their  actual  condition,  one  constantly 
hears  the  despairing  cry,  "  Zemli  malo!"  ("There  is  not  enough 
land ")  ;  and  one  notices  that  those  who  look  a  little  ahead  ask 
anxiously:  "  What  is  to  become  of  our  children?  Already  the  Com- 
munal allotment  is  too  small  for  our  wants,  and  the  land  outside 
is  doubling  and  trebling  in  price!  What  will  it  be  in  the 
future  ? "  At  the  same  time,  not  a  few  Eussian  economists  tell 
us — and  their  apprehensions  are  shared  by  foreign  observers — • 
that  millions  of  peasants  are  in  danger  of  starvation  in  the  near 
future. 

Must  we,  then,  accept  for  Russia  the  Malthus  doctrine  that 
population  increases  more  rapidly  than  the  means  of  subsistence, 
and  that  starvation  can  be  avoided  only  by  plague,  pestilence, 
war,  and  other  destructive  forces?  I  think  not.  It  is  quite  true 
that,  if  the  amount  of  land  actually  possessed  by  the  peasantry 
and  the  present  system  of  cultivating  it  remained  unchanged, 
semi-starvation  would  be  the  inevitable  result  within  a  compara- 
tively short  space  of  time;  but  the  danger  can  be  averted,  and  the 
proper  remedies  are  not  far  to  seek.  If  Russia  is  suffering  from 
over-population,  it  must  be  her  own  fault,  for  she  is,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  Norway  and  Sweden,  the  most  thinly  populated  country 
in  Europe,  and  she  has  more  than  her  share  of  fertile  soil  and 
mineral  resources. 

A  glance  at  the  map  showing  the  density  of  population  in  the 
various  provinces  suggests  an  obvious  remedy,  and  I  am  happy 
to  say  it  is  already  being  applied.  The  population  of  the  con- 
gested districts  of  the  centre  is  gradually  spreading  out,  like  a 
drop  of  oil  on  a  sheet  of  soft  paper,  towards  the  more  thinly 
populated  regions  of  the  south  and  east.  In  this  way  the  vast 
region  containing  millions  and  millions  of  acres  which  lies  to 
the  north  of  the  Black  Sea,  the  Caucasus,  the  Caspian,  and  Cen- 
tral Asia  is  yearly  becoming  more  densely  peopled,  and  agricul- 
ture is  steadily  encroaching  on  the  pastoral  area.  Breeders  of 
sheep  and  cattle,  who  formerly  lived  and  throve  in  the  western 
portion  of  that  great  expanse,  are  being  pushed  eastwards  by  the 
rapid  increase  in  the  value  of  land,  and  their  place  is  being  taken 
by  enterprising  tillers  of  the  soil.  Further  north  another  stream 
of  emigration  is  flowing  into  Central  Siberia.  It  does  not  flow 
so  rapidly,  because  in  that  part  of  the  Empire,  unlike  the  bare, 
fertile  steppes  of  the  south,  the  land  has  to  be  cleared  before  the 


484  EUSSIA 

seed  can  be  sown,  and  the  pioneer  colonists  have  to  work  hard 
for  a  year  or  two  before  they  get  any  return  for  their  labour;  but 
the  Government  and  private  societies  come  to  their  assistance,  and 
for  the  last  twenty  years  their  numbers  have  been  steadily  in- 
creasing. During  the  ten  years  1886-96  the  annual  contingent 
rose  from  25,000  to  200,000,  and  the  total  number  amounted  to 
nearly  800,000.  For  the  subsequent  period  I  have  not  been  able 
to  obtain  the  official  statistics,  but  a  friend  who  has  access  to  the 
official  sources  of  information  on  this  subject  assures  me  that 
during  the  last  twelve  years  about  four  millions  of  peasants  from 
European  Eussia  have  been  successfully  settled  in  Siberia. 

Even  in  the  European  portion  of  the  Empire  millions  of  acres 
which  are  at  present  unproductive  might  be  utilised.  Any  one 
who  has  travelled  by  rail  from  Berlin  to  St.  Petersburg  must  have 
noticed  how  the  landscape  suddenly  changes  its  character  as  soon 
as  he  has  crossed  the  frontier.  Leaving  a  prosperous  agricultural 
country,  he  traverses  for  many  weary  hours  a  region  in  which 
there  is  hardly  a  sign  of  human  habitation,  though  the  soil  and 
climate  of  that  region  resembles  closely  the  soil  and  climate  of  East 
Prussia.  The  difference  lies  in  the  amount  of  labour  and  capital 
expended.  According  to  official  statistics  the  area  of  European 
Eussia  contains,  roughly  speaking,  406  millions  of  dessyatins,  of 
■which  78  millions,  or  19  per  cent.,  are  classified  as  neudobniya, 
unfit  for  cultivation;  157  millions,  or  39  per  cent.,  as  forest;  106 
millions,  or  26  per  cent.,  as  arable  land;  and  65  millions,  or  16 
per  cent.,  as  pasturage.  Thus  the  arable  and  pasture  land 
compose  only  42  per  cent.,  or  considerably  less  than  half  the 
area. 

Of  the  land  classed  as  unfit  for  cultivation — 19  per  cent,  of  the 
whole — a  large  portion,  including  the  perennially  frozen  tundri 
of  the  far  north,  must  ever  remain  unproductive,  but  in  latitudes 
with  a  milder  climate  this  category  of  land  is  for  the  most  part 
ordinary  morass  or  swamp,  which  can  be  transformed  into  pastur- 
age, or  even  into  arable  land,  by  drainage  at  a  moderate  cost.  As 
a  proof  of  this  statement  I  may  cite  the  draining  of  the  great 
Pinsk  swamps,  which  was  begun  by  the  Government  in  1872.  If 
we  may  trust  an  official  report  of  the  progress  of  the  works  in  1897, 
an  area  of  2,855,000  dessyatins  (more  than  seven  and  a  half 
million  acres)  had  been  drained  at  an  average  cost  of  about  three 
shillings  an  acre,  and  the  price  of  land  had  risen  from  four  to 
twenty-eight  roubles  per  dessyatin. 

Eeclamation  of  marshes  might  be  undertaken  elsewhere  on  a 


THE    EMANCIPATED    TEASANTRY  485 

much  more  moderate  scale.  The  observant  traveller  on  the  high- 
ways and  byways  of  the  northern  provinces  must  have  noticed 
on  the  banks  of  almost  every  stream  many  acres  of  marshy  land 
producing  merely  reeds  or  coarse  rank  grass  that  no  well-brought- 
up  animal  would  look  at.  With  a  little  elementary  knowledge  of 
engineering  and  the  expenditure  of  a  moderate  amount  of 
manual  labour  these  marshes  might  be  converted  into  excellent 
pasture  or  even  into  highly  productive  kitchen-gardens;  but  the 
peasants  have  not  yet  learned  to  take  advantage  of  such  oppor- 
tunities, and  the  reformers,  who  deal  only  in  large  projects  and 
scientific  panaceas  for  the  cure  of  impoverishment,  consider  such 
trifles  as  unworthy  of  their  attention.  The  Scotch  proverb  that 
if  the  pennies  be  well  looked  after,  the  pounds  will  look  after  them- 
selves, contains  a  bit  of  homely  wisdom  totally  unknown  to  the 
Russian  educated  classes. 

After  the  morasses,  swamps,  and  marshes  come  the  forests,  con- 
stituting 39  per  cent,  of  the  whole  area,  and  the  question  naturally 
arises  whether  some  portions  of  them  might  not  be  advantageously 
transformed  into  pasturage  or  arable  land.  In  the  south  and  east 
they  have  been  diminished  to  such  an  extent  as  to  affect  the  cli- 
mate injuriously,  so  that  the  area  of  them  should  be  increased 
rather  than  lessened;  but  in  the  northern  provinces  the  vast  ex- 
panses of  forest,  covering  millions  of  acres,  might  perhaps  be 
curtailed  with  advantage.  The  proprietors  prefer,  however,  to 
keep  them  in  their  present  condition  because  they  give  a  modest 
revenue  without  any  expenditure  of  capital. 

Therein  lies  the  great  obstacle  to  land-reclamation  in  Russia: 
it  requires  an  outlay  of  capital,  and  capital  is  extremely  scarce  in 
the  Empire  of  the  Tsars.  Until  it  becomes  more  plentiful,  the 
area  of  arable  land  and  pasturage  is  not  likely  to  be  largely  in- 
creased, and  other  means  of  checking  the  impoverishment  of  the 
peasantry  must  be  adopted. 

A  less  expensive  means  is  suggested  by  the  statistics  of  foreign 
trade.  In  the  preceding  chapter  we  have  seen  that  from  1860 
to  1900  the  average  annual  export  of  grain  rose  steadily  from 
under  1^  millions  to  over  6  millions  of  tons.  It  is  evident,  there- 
fore, that  in  the  food  supply,  so  far  from  there  being  a  deficiency, 
there  has  been  a  large  and  constantly  increasing  surplus.  If  the 
peasantry  have  been  on  short  rations,  it  is  not  because  the  quan- 
tity of  food  produced  has  fallen  short  of  the  requirements  of  the 
population,  but  because  it  has  been  unequally  distributed.  The 
truth  is  that  the  large  landed  proprietors  produce  more  and  the 


486  EUSSIA 

peasants  less  than  they  consume,  and  it  has  naturally  occurred  to 
many  people  that  the  present  state  of  things  might  be  improved 
if  a  portion  of  tlie  arable  land  passed,  without  any  socialistic, 
revolutionary  measures,  from  the  one  class  to  the  other.  This 
operation  began  spontaneously  soon  after  the  Emancipation. 
Well-to-do  peasants  who  had  saved  a  little  money  bought  from  the 
proprietors  bits  of  land  near  their  villages  and  cultivated  them  in 
addition  to  their  allotments.  At  first  this  extension  of  peasant 
land  was  confined  within  very  narrow  limits,  because  the  peasants 
had  very  little  capital  at  their  disposal,  but  in  1883  the  Govern- 
ment came  to  their  aid  by  creating  the  Peasant  Land  Bank,  the 
object  of  which  was  to  advance  money  to  purchasers  of  the  peasant 
class  on  the  security  of  the  land  purchased,  at  the  rate  of  7^  per 
cent.,  including  sinking  fund.*  From  that  moment  the  pur- 
chases increased  rapidly.  They  were  made  by  individual  peas- 
ants, by  rural  Communes,  and,  most  of  all,  by  small  voluntary 
associations  composed  of  three,  four,  or  more  members.  In  the 
course  of  twenty  years  (1883-1903)  the  Bank  made  47,791  ad- 
vances, and  in  this  way  were  purchased  about  eighteen  million 
acres.  This  sounds  a  very  big  acquisition,  but  it  will  not  do  much 
to  relieve  the  pressure  on  the  peasantry  as  a  whole,  because  it  adds 
only  about  6  per  cent,  to  the  amount  they  already  possessed  in 
virtue  of  the  Emancipation  Law. 

Nearly  all  of  this  land  purchased  by  the  peasantry  comes 
directly  or  indirectly  from  the  IsToblesse,  and  much  more  will 
doubtless  pass  from  the  one  class  to  the  other  if  the  Government 
continues  to  encourage  the  operation;  but  already  symptoms  of 
a  change  of  policy  are  apparent.  In  the  higher  ofiicial  regions  it  is 
whispered  that  the  existing  policy  is  objectionable  from  the  political 
point  of  view,  and  one  sometimes  hears  the  question  asked:  Is  it 
right  and  desirable  that  the  Noblesse,  who  have  ever  done  their 
duty  in  serving  faithfully  the  Tsar  and  Fatherland,  and  who  have 
ever  been  the  representatives  of  civilisation  and  culture  in  Eussian 
country  life,  should  be  gradually  expropriated  in  favour  of  other 
and  less  cultivated  social  classes?  Not  a  few  influential  per- 
sonages are  of  opinion  that  such  a  change  is  unjust  and  undesir- 
able, and  they  argue  that  it  is  not  advantageous  to  the  peasants 
themselves,  because  the  price  of  land  has  risen  much  more  than 
the  rents.     It  is  not  at  all  uncommon,  for  example,  to  find  that 

*  This  arrangement  extinguishes  the  debt  in  3-il  years ;  an  additional 
1  i)er  cent,  extinguishes  it  in  24^  years.  By  recent  legislation  other 
arrangements  are  permitted. 


THE    EMANCIPATED    PEASANTRY  487 

land  can  be  rented  at  five  roubles  per  dessyatin,  whereas  it  cannot 
be  bought  under  200  roubles.  In  that  case  the  peasant  can  enjoy 
the  use  of  the  land  at  the  moderate  rate  of  2|  per  cent,  of  the 
capital  value,  whereas  by  purchasing  the  land  with  the  assistance 
of  the  bank  he  would  have  to  pay,  without  sinking  fund,  more 
than  double  that  rate.  The  muzhik,  however,  prefers  to  be  owner 
of  the  land,  even  at  a  considerable  sacrifice.  When  he  can  be 
induced  to  give  his  reasons,  they  are  usually  formulated  thus : 
"  With  my  own  land  I  can  do  as  I  like ;  if  I  hire  land  from  the 
neighbouring  proprietor,  who  knows  whether,  at  the  end  of  the 
term,  he  may  not  raise  the  rent  or  refuse  to  renew  the  contract  at 
any  price  ?  " 

Even  if  the  Government  should  continue  to  encourage  the  pur- 
chase of  land  by  the  peasantry,  the  process  is  too  slow  to  meet  all 
the  requirements  of  the  situation.  Some  additional  expedient 
must  be  found,  and  we  naturally  look  for  it  in  the  experience  of 
older  countries  with  a  denser  population. 

In  the  more  densely  populated  countries  of  Western  Europe  a 
safety-valve  for  the  inordinate  increase  of  the  rural  population 
has  been  provided  by  the  development  of  manufacturing  industry. 
High  wages  and  the  attractions  of  town  life  draw  the  rural  popu- 
lation to  the  industrial  centres,  and  the  movement  has  increased 
to  such  an  extent  that  already  complaints  are  heard  of  the  rural 
districts  becoming  depopulated.  In  Russia  a  similar  movement 
is  taking  place  on  a  smaller  scale.  During  the  last  forty  years, 
under  the  fostering  influence  of  a  protective  tarifl',  the  manufac- 
turing industry  has  made  gigantic  strides,  as  we  shall  see  in  a 
future  chapter,  and  it  has  already  absorbed  about  two  millions  of 
the  redundant  hands  in  the  villages;  but  it  cannot  keep  pace  with 
the  rapid  increasing  surplus.  Two  millions  are  less  than  two  per 
cent,  of  the  population.  The  great  mass  of  the  people  has  always 
been,  and  must  long  continue  to  be,  purely  agricultural;  and  it 
is  to  their  fields  that  they  must  look  for  the  means  of  subsistence. 
If  the  fields  do  not  supply  enough  for  their  support  under  the 
existing  primitive  methods  of  cultivation,  better  methods  must  be 
adopted.  To  use  a  favourite  semi-scientific  phrase,  Russia  has 
now  reached  the  point  in  her  economic  development  at  which  she 
must  abandon  her  traditional  extensive  system  of  agriculture  and 
adopt  a  more  intensive  system.  So  far  all  competent  authorities 
are  agreed.  But  how  is  the  transition,  which  requires  technical 
knowledge,  a  spirit  of  enterprise,  an  enormous  capital,  and  a 
dozen    other    things    which    the    peasantry    do    not    at    present 


488  RUSSIA 

possess,  to  be  effected?    Here  begin  the  well-marked  differences  of 
opinion. 

Hitherto  the  momentous  problem  has  been  dealt  with  chiefly 
by  the  theorists  and  doctrinaires  who  delight  in  radical  solutions 
by  means  of  panaceas,  and  who  have  little  taste  for  detailed  local 
investigation  and  gradual  improvement.  I  do  not  refer  to  the 
so-called  "Saviours  of  the  Fatherland"  (Spasiteli  OUtchestva) , 
well-meaning  cranks  and  visionaries  who  discover  ingenious 
devices  for  making  their  native  country  at  once  prosperous  and 
happy.  I  speak  of  the  great  majority  of  reasonable,  educated 
men  who  devote  some  attention  to  the  problem.  Their  favourite 
method  of  dealing  with  it  is  this :  The  intensive  system  of  agri- 
culture requires  scientific  knowledge  and  a  higher  level  of  intel- 
lectual culture.  What  has  to  be  done,  therefore,  is  to  create  agri- 
cultural colleges  supplied  with  all  the  newest  appliances  of  agro- 
nomic research  and  to  educate  the  peasantry  to  such  an  extent  that 
they  may  be  able  to  use  the  means  which  science  recommends. 

For  many  years  this  doctrine  prevailed  in  the  Press,  among  the 
reading  public,  and  even  in  the  official  world.  The  Government 
was  accordingly  urged  to  improve  and  multiply  the  agronomic 
colleges  and  the  schools  of  all  grades  and  descriptions.  Learned 
dissertations  were  published  on  the  chemical  constitution  of  the 
various  soils,  the  action  of  the  atmosphere  on  the  different  ingre- 
dients, the  necessity  of  making  careful  meteorological  observa- 
tions, and  numerous  other  topics  of  a  similar  kind;  and  would-be 
reformers  who  had  no  taste  for  such  highly  technical  researches 
could  console  themselves  with  the  idea  that  they  were  advancing 
the  vital  interests  of  the  country  by  discussing  the  relative  merits 
of  Communal  and  personal  land-tenure — deciding  generally  in 
favour  of  the  former  as  more  in  accordance  with  the  peculiarities 
of  Eussian,  as  contrasted  with  West  European,  principles  of 
economic  and  social  development. 

While  much  valuable  time  and  energy  were  thus  being  ex- 
pended to  little  purpose,  on  the  assumption  that  the  old  system 
might  be  left  untouched  until  the  preparations  for  a  radical  solu- 
tion had  been  completed,  disagreeable  facts  which  could  not  be 
entirely  overlooked  gradually  produced  in  influential  quarters  the 
conviction  that  the  question  was  much  more  urgent  than  was  com- 
monly supposed.  A  sensitive  chord  in  the  heart  of  the  Govern- 
ment was  struck  by  the  steadily  increasing  arrears  of  taxation, 
and  spasmodic  attempts  have  since  been  made  to  cure  the  evil. 

In  the  local  administration,  too,  the  urgency  of  the  question  has 


THE    EMANCIPATED    PEASANTEY  489 

come  to  be  recognised,  and  measures  are  now  being  taken  by  the 
Zemstvo  to  help  the  peasantry  in  making  gradually  the  transition 
to  that  higher  system  of  agriculture  which  is  the  only  means  of 
permanently  saving  them  from  starvation.  For  this  purpose,  in 
many  districts  well-trained  specialists  have  been  appointed  to  study 
the  local  conditions  and  to  recommend  to  the  villagers  such  simple 
improvements  as  are  within  their  means.  These  improvements 
may  be  classified  under  the  following  heads : 

(1)  Increase  of  the  cereal  crops  by  better  seed  and  improved 
implements. 

(2)  Change  in  the  rotation  of  crops  by  the  introduction  of 
certain  grasses  and  roots  which  improve  the  soil  and  supply  food 
for  live  stock. 

(3)  Improvement  and  increase  of  live  stock,  so  as  to  get  more 
labour-power,  more  manure,  more  dairy-produce,  and  more  meat. 

(4)  Increased  cultivation  of  vegetables  and  fruit. 

With  these  objects  in  view  the  Zemstvo  is  establishing  depots 
in  which  improved  implements  and  better  seed  are  sold  at  moderate 
prices,  and  the  payments  are  made  in  installments,  so  that  even  the 
poorer  members  of  the  community  can  take  advantage  of  the  facili- 
ties offered.  Bulls  and  stallions  are  kept  at  central  points  for  the 
purpose  of  improving  the  breed  of  cattle  and  horses,  and  the 
good  results  are  already  visible.  Elementary  instruction  in  farm- 
ing and  gardening  is  being  introduced  into  the  primary  schools. 
In  some  districts  the  exertions  of  the  Zemstvo  are  supplemented 
by  small  agricultural  societies,  mutual  credit  associations,  and 
village  banks,  and  these  are  to  some  extent  assisted  by  the 
Central  Government.  But  the  beneficent  action  in  this  direction 
is  not  all  official.  Many  proprietors  deserve  great  praise  for  the 
good  influence  which  they  exercise  on  the  peasants  of  their  neigh- 
bourhood and  the  assistance  they  give  them;  and  it  must  be 
admitted  that  their  patience  is  often  sorely  tried,  for  the  peasants 
have  the  obstinacy  of  ignorance,  and  possess  other  qualities  which 
are  not  sympathetic.  I  know  one  excellent  proprietor  who  began 
his  civilising  efforts  by  giving  to  the  Mir  of  the  nearest  village 
an  iron  plough  as  a  model  and  a  fine  pedigree  ram  as  a  producer, 
and  w^ho  found,  on  returning  from  a  tour  abroad,  that  during  his 
absence  the  plough  had  been  sold  for  vodka,  and  the  pedigree  ram 
had  been  eaten  before  it  had  time  to  produce  any  descendants! 
In  spite  of  this  he  continues  his  efforts,  and  not  altogether  without 
success. 

It  need  hardly  be  said  that  the  progress  of  the  peasantry  is  not 


490  EUSSIA 

so  rapid  as  could  be  wished.  The  muzhik  is  naturally  conserva- 
tive, and  is  ever  inclined  to  regard  novelties  with  suspicion. 
Even  when  he  is  half  convinced  of  the  utility  of  some  change,  he 
has  still  to  think  about  it  for  a  long  time  and  talk  it  over  again 
and  again  with  his  friends  and  neighbours,  and  this  preparatory 
stage  of  progress  may  last  for  years.  Unless  he  happens  to  be  a 
man  of  unusual  intelligence  and  energy,  it  is  only  when  he  sees 
with  his  own  eyes  that  some  humble  individual  of  his  own  condi- 
tion in  life  has  actually  gained  by  abandoning  the  old  routine 
and  taking  to  new  courses,  that  he  makes  up  his  mind  to  take  the 
plunge  himself.  Still,  he  is  beginning  to  jog  on.  E  pur  si 
muove!  A  spirit  of  progress  is  beginning  to  move  on  the  face 
of  the  long-stagnant  waters,  and  progress  once  begun  is  pretty  sure 
to  continue  with  increasing  rapidity.  With  starvation  hovering 
in  the  rear,  even  the  most  conservative  are  not  likely  to  stop  or 
turn  back. 


CHAPTER    XXXII 

THE   ZEMSTVO    AND    THE    LOCAL    SELF-GOVERNMENT 

Necessity  of  Reorganising  tlie  Provincial  Administration — Zemstvo 
Created  in  1864 — My  First  Acquaintance  with  tlie  Institution — 
District  and  Provincial  Assemblies — The  Loading  Members — Groat 
Expectations  Created  by  the  Institution — These  Expectations  Not 
Realised — Suspicions  and  Hostility  of  the  Bureaucracy — Zemstvo 
Brought  More  Under  Control  of  the  Centralised  Administration — 
What  It  Has  Really  Done— Why  It  Has  Not  Done  More — Rapid 
Increase  of  the  Rates — How  Far  the  Expenditure  Is  Judicious — Why 
the  Impoverishment  of  the  Peasantry  Was  Neglected — Unpractical, 
Pedantic  Spirit — Evil  Consequences — Chinese  and  Russian  Formal- 
ism— Local  Self-Government  of  Russia  Contrasted  with  That  of 
England — Zemstvo  Better  than  Its  Predecessors — Its  Future. 

AFTER  the  emancipation  of  the  serfs  the  reform  most  ur- 
gently required  was  the  improvement  of  the  provincial  admin- 
istration. In  the  time  of  serfage  the  Emperor  Nicholas,  referring 
to  the  landed  proprietors,  used  to  say  in  a  jocular  tone  that  he  had 
in  his  Empire  50,000  most  zealous  and  efficient  hereditary  police- 
masters.  By  the  Emancipation  Law  the  authority  of  these  heredi- 
tary police-masters  was  for  ever  abolished,  and  it  became  urgently 
/ necessary  to  put  something  else  in  its  place.  Peasant  self-govern- 
ment was  accordingly  organised  on  the  basis  of  the  rural  Com- 
mune; but  it  fell  far  short  of  meeting  the  requirements  of  the 
situation.  Its  largest  unit  was  the  Volost,  which  comprises  merely 
a  few  contiguous  Communes,  and  its  action  is  confined  exclusively 
to  the  peasantry.  Evidently  it  was  necessary  to  create  a  larger 
administrative  unit,  in  which  the  interests  of  all  classes  of  the 
population  could  be  attended  to,  and  for  this  purpose  Alexander  II. 
in  November,  1859,  more  than  a  year  before  the  Emancipation 
Edict,  instructed  a  special  Commission  to  prepare  a  project  for 
giving  to  the  inefficient,  dislocated  provincial  administration 
greater  unity  and  independence.  The  project  was  duly  prepared, 
and  after  being  discussed  in  the  Council  of  State  it  received  the 
Imperial  sanction  in  January,  1864.  It  was  supposed  to  give, 
in  the  words  of  an  explanatory  memorandum  attached  to  it,  "  as 
far  as  possible  a  complete  and  logical  development  to  the  principle 

491 


492  EUSSIA 

of  local  self-government."  Thus  was  created  the  Zemstvo,*  which 
has  recently  attracted  considerable  attention  in  Western  Europe,  and 
which  is  destined,  perhaps,  to  play  a  great  political  part  in  the 
future. 

My  personal  acquaintance  with  this  interesting  institution  dates 
from  1870.  Very  soon  after  my  arrival  at  Novgorod  in  that  year, 
I  made  the  acquaintance  of  a  gentleman  who  was  described  to  me 
as  "the  president  of  the  provincial  Zemstvo-bureau,"  and  finding 
him  amiable  and  communicative,  I  suggested  that  he  might  give 
me  some  information  regarding  the  institution  of  which  he  was 
the  chief  local  representative.  With  the  utmost  readiness  he  pro- 
posed to  be  my  Mentor,  introduced  me  to  his  colleagues,  and 
invited  me  to  come  and  see  him  at  his  office  as  often  as  I  felt 
inclined.  Of  this  invitation  I  made  abundant  use.  At  first  my 
visits  were  discreetly  few  and  short,  but  when  I  found  that  my 
new  friend  and  his  colleagues  really  wished  to  instruct  me  in  all 
the  details  of  Zemstvo  administration,  and  had  arranged  a  special 
table  in  the  president's  room  for  my  convenience,  I  became  a 
regular  attendant,  and  spent  daily  several  hours  in  the  bureau, 
studying  the  current  affairs,  and  noting  down  the  interesting  bits 
of  statistical  and  other  information  which  came  before  the  mem- 
bers, as  if  I  had  been  one  of  their  number.  When  they  went  to 
inspect  the  hospital,  the  lunatic  asylum,  the  seminary  for  the 
preparation  of  village  schoolmasters,  or  any  other  Zemstvo  institu- 
tion, they  invariably  invited  me  to  accompany  them,  and  made 
no  attempt  to  conceal  from  me  the  defects  which  they  happened 
to  discover. 

I  mention  all  this  because  it  illustrates  the  readiness  of  most 
Russians  to  afford  every  possible  facility  to  a  foreigner  who  wishes 
seriously  to  study  their  country.  They  believe  that  they  have 
long  been  misunderstood  and  systematically  calunmiated  by 
foreigners,  and  they  are  extremely  desirous  that  the  prevalent  mis- 
conceptions regarding  their  country  should  be  removed.  It  must 
be  said  to  their  honour  that  they  have  little  or  none  of  that  false 
patriotism  which  seeks  to  conceal  national  defects;  and  in  judging 
themselves  and  their  institutions  they  are  inclined  to  be  over- 
severe  rather  than  unduly  lenient.  In  the  time  of  Nicholas  I. 
those  who  desired  to  stand  well  with  the  Government  proclaimed 
loudly  that  they  lived  in  the  happiest  and  best-governed  country  of 

*  The  term  Zemstvo  is  derived  from  the  word  Zemlyd,  meaning  land, 
and  might  be  translated,  if  a  barbarism  were  permissible,  by  Land-dom 
on  the  analogy  of  Kingdom,  Dukedom,  etc. 


THE  ZEMSTVO  AND  THE  LOCAL  GOVERNMENT  493 

the  world,  but  this  shallow  official  optimism  has  long  since  gone  out 
of  fashion.  During  all  the  years  which  I  spent  in  Russia  I  found 
everywhere  the  utmost  readiness  to  assist  me  in  my  investigations, 
and  very  rarely  noticed  that  habit  of  "throwing  dust  in  the  eyes 
of  foreigners,"  of.  which  some  writers  have  spoken  so  much. 

The  Zemstvo  is  a  kind  of  local  administration  which  supple- 
ments the  action  of  the  rural  Communes,  and  takes  cognizance  of 
tliose  higher  public  wants  which  individual  Communes  cannot 
possibly  satisfy.  Its  principal  duties  are  to  keep  the  roads  and 
bridges  in  proper  repair,  to  provide  means  of  conveyance  for  the 
rural  police  and  other  ollicials,  to  look  after  primary  education  and 
sanitary  affairs,  to  watch  the  state  of  the  crops  and  take  measures 
against  approaching  famine,  and,  in  short,  to  undertake,  within 
certain  clearly  defined  limits,  whatever  seems  likely  to  increase  the 
material  and  moral  well-being  of  the  population.  In  form  the 
institution  is  Parliamentary — that  is  to  say,  it  consists  of  an 
assembly  of  deputies  which  meets  regularly  once  a  year,  and  of  a 
permanent  executive  bureau  elected  by  the  Assembly  from  among 
its  members.  If  the  Assembly  be  regarded  as  a  local  Parliament, 
the  bureau  corresponds  to  the  Cabinet.  In  accordance  with  this 
analogy  my  friend  the  president  was  sometimes  jocularly  termed 
the  Prime  Minister.  Once  every  three  years  the  deputies  are 
elected  in  certain  fixed  proportions  by  the  landed  proprietors,  the 
rural  Communes,  and  the  municipal  corporations.  Every  province 
(guherniya)  and  each  of  the  districts  (uyezdi)  into  which  the 
province  is  subdivided  has  such  an  assembly  and  such  a  bureau. 

Not  long  after  my  arrival  in  Novgorod  I  had  the  opportunity  of 
being  present  at  a  District  Assembly.  In  the  ball-room  of  the 
^'  Club  de  la  Noblesse  "  I  found  thirty  or  forty  men  seated  round  a 
long  table  covered  with  green  cloth.  Before  each  member  lay 
sheets  of  paper  for  the  purpose  of  taking  notes,  and  before  the 
president — the  Marshal  of  Noblesse  for  the  district — stood  a  small 
hand-bell,  which  he  rang  vigorously  at  the  commencement  of  the 
proceedings  and  on  all  the  occasions  when  he  wished  to  obtain 
silence.  To  the  right  and  left  of  the  president  sat  the  members 
of  the  executive  bureau  (uprdva),  armed  with  piles  of  written  and 
printed  documents,  from  which  they  read  long  and  tedious  extracts, 
till  the  majority  of  the  audience  took  to  yawning  and  one  or  two 
of  the  members  positively  went  to  sleep.  At  the  close  of  each  of 
these  reports  the  president  rang  his  bell — presumably  for  the  pur- 
pose of  awakening  the  sleepers — and  inquired  whether  any  one  had 
remarks  to  make  on  what  had  just  been  read.    Generally  some  one 


494  RUSSIA 

had  remarks  to  make,  and  not  unfrequently  a  discussion  ensued. 
When  any  decided  difference  of  opinion  appeared  a  vote  was  taken 
by  handing  round  a  sheet  of  paper,  or  by  the  simpler  method  of 
requesting  the  Ayes  to  stand  up  and  the  Noes  to  sit  still. 

What  surprised  me  most  in  this  assembly  was  that  it  was  com- 
posed partly  of  nobles  and  partly  of  peasants — the  latter  being 
decidedly  in  the  majority — and  that  no  trace  of  antagonism  seemed 
to  exist  between  the  two  classes.  Landed  proprietors  and  their 
ci-devant  serfs,  emancipated  only  ten  years  before,  evidently  met  for 
the  moment  on  a  footing  of  equality.  The  discussions  were  carried 
on  chiefly  by  the  nobles,  but  on  more  than  one  occasion  peasant 
members  rose  to  speak,  and  their  remarks,  always  clear,  practical, 
and  to  the  point,  were  invariably  listened  to  with  respectful  atten- 
tion. Instead  of  that  violent  antagonism  which  might  have  been 
expected,  considering  the  constitution  of  the  Assembly,  there  was 
too  much  unanimity — a  fact  indicating  plainly  that  the  majority 
of  the  members  did  not  take  a  very  deep  interest  in  the  matters 
presented  to  them. 

This  assembly  was  held  in  the  month  of  September.  At  the 
beginning  of  December  the  Assembly  for  the  Province  met,  and 
during  nearly  three  weeks  I  was  daily  present  at  its  deliberations. 
In  general  character  and  mode  of  procedure  it  resembled  closely 
the  District  Assembly.  Its  chief  peculiarities  were  that  its  mem- 
bers were  chosen,  not  by  the  primary  electors,  but  by  the  assemblies 
of  the  ten  districts  which  compose  the  province,  and  that  it  took 
cognisance  merely  of  those  matters  which  concerned  more  than  one 
district.  Besides  this,  the  peasant  deputies  were  very  few  in  num- 
JQer — a  fact  which  somewhat  surprised  me,  because  I  was  aware  that, 
according  to  the  law,  the  peasant  members  of  the  District  Assemblies 
were  eligible,  like  those  of  the  other  classes.  The  explanation  is 
that  the  District  Assemblies  choose  their  most  active  members  to 
represent  them  in  the  Provincial  Assemblies,  and  consequently  the 
choice  generally  falls  on  landed  proprietors.  To  this  arrangement 
the  peasants  make  no  objection,  for  attendance  at  the  Provincial 
Assemblies  demands  a  considerable  pecuniary  outlay,  and  payment 
to  the  deputies  is  expressly  prohibited  by  law. 

To  give  the  reader  an  idea  of  the  elements  composing  this 
assembly,  let  me  introduce  him  to  a  few  of  the  members.  A  con- 
siderable section  of  them  may  be  described  in  a  single  sentence. 
They  are  commonplace  men,  who  have  spent  part  of  their  youth 
in  the  public  service  as  oSicers  in  the  army,  or  officials  in  the  civil 
administration,  and  have  since  retired  to  their  estates,  where  they 


THE    ZEMSTVO    AND    THE    LOCAL   GOVERNMENT   495 

gain  a  modest  competence  by  farming.  Some  of  them  add  to  their 
agricultural  revenue  by  acting  as  justices  of  the  peace.*  A  few 
may  be  described  more  particularly. 

You  see  there,  for  instance,  that  fine-looking  old  general  in 
uniform,  with  the  St.  George's  Cross  at  his  button-hole — an  order 
given  only  for  bravery  in  the  field.  That  is  Prince  Suvorof,  a 
grandson  of  the  famous  general.  He  has  filled  high  posts  in  the 
Administration  without  ever  tarnishing  his  name  by  a  dishonest  or 
dishonourable  action,  and  has  spent  a  great  part  of  his  life  at  Court 
without  ceasing  to  be  frank,  generous,  and  truthful.  Though  he 
has  no  intimate  knowledge  of  current  afi'airs,  and  sometimes  gives 
way  a  little  to  drowsiness,  his  sympathies  in  disputed  points  are 
always  on  the  right  side,  and  when  he  gets  to  his  feet  he  always 
speaks  in  a  clear  soldierlike  fashion. 

The  tall  gaunt  man,  somewhat  over  middle  age,  who  sits  a  little 
to  the  left  is  Prince  Vassiltchikof.  He  too,  has  an  historic  name, 
but  he  cherishes  above  all  things  personal  independence,  and  has 
consequently  always  kept  aloof  from  the  Imperial  Administration 
and  the  Court.  The  leisure  thus  acquired  he  has  devoted  to  study, 
and  he  has  produced  several  valuable  works  on  political  and  social 
science.  An  enthusiastic  but  at  the  same  time  cool-headed  aboli- 
tionist at  the  time  of  the  Emancipation,  he  has  since  constantly 
striven  to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  the  peasantry  by  advocating 
the  spread  of  primary  education,  the  rural  credit  associations  in 
the  village,  the  preservation  of  the  Communal  institutions,  and 
numerous  important  reforms  in  the  financial  system.  Both  of 
these  gentlemen,  it  is  said,  generously  gave  to  their  peasants  more 
land  than  they  were  obliged  to  give  by  the  Emancipation  Law. 
In  the  Assembly  Prince  Vassiltchikof  speaks  frequently,  and  always 
commands  attention;  and  in  all  important  committees  he  is  lead- 
ing member.  Though  a  warm  defender  of  the  Zemstvo  institu- 
tions, he  thinks  that  their  activity  ought  to  be  confined  to  a  com- 
paratively narrow  field,  and  he  thereby  difi'ers  from  some  of  his 
colleagues,  who  are  ready  to  embark  in  hazardous,  not  to  say 
fanciful,   schemes   for   developing   the   natural   resources   of   the 

province.     His  neighbour,  Mr.  P ,  is  one  of  the  ablest  and 

most  energetic  members  of  the  Assembly.  He  is  president  of  the 
executive  bureau  in  one  of  the  districts,  where  he  has  founded  many 
primary  schools  and  created  several  rural  credit  associations  on  the 
model  of  those  which  bear  the  name  of  Schultze  Delitsch  in  Ger- 

*  That  is  no  longer  possible.  The  institution  of  justices  elected  and 
paid  by  the  Zemstvo  was  abolished  in  1889. 


496  RUSSIA 

many.     Mr.  S ,  who  sits  beside  him,  was  for  some  years  an 

arbiter  between  the  proprietors  and  emancipated  serfs,  then  a  mem- 
l)er  of  the  Provincial  Executive  Bureau,  and  is  now  director  of  a 
bank  in  St.  Petersburg. 

To  the  right  and  left  of  the  president — who  is  Marshal  of 
Noblesse  for  the  province — sit  the  members  of  the  bureau.  The 
gentleman  who  reads  the  long  reports  is  my  friend  "  the  Prime 
Minister,"  who  began  life  as  a  cavalry  officer,  and  after  a  few  years 
of  military  service  retired  to  his  estate;  he  is  an  intelligent,  able 
administrator,  and  a  man  of  considerable  literary  culture.  His 
colleague,  who  assists  him  in  reading  the  reports,  is  a  merchant, 
and  director  of  the  municipal  bank.  The  next  member  is  also  a 
merchant,  and  in  some  respects  the  most  remarkable  man  in  the 
room.  Though  born  a  serf,  he  is  already,  at  middle  age,  an 
important  personage  in  the  Russian  commercial  world.  Rumour 
says  that  he  laid  the  foundation  of  his  fortune  by  one  day  pur- 
chasing a  copper  cauldron  in  a  village  through  which  he  was 
passing  on  his  way  to  St.  Petersburg,  where  he  hoped  to  gain  a 
little  money  by  the  sale  of  some  calves.  In  the  course  of  a  few 
years  he  amassed  an  enormous  fortune;  but  cautious  people  think 
that  he  is  too  fond  of  hazardous  speculations,  and  prophesy  that 
he  will  end  life  as  poor  as  he  began  it. 

All  these  men  belong  to  what  may  be  called  the  party  of  progress, 
which  anxiously  supports  all  proposals  recognised  as  "  liberal,"  and 
especially  all  measures  likely  to  improve  the  condition  of  the  peas- 
antry. Their  chief  opponent  is  that  little  man  with  close-cropped, 
bullet-shaped  head  and  small  piercing  eyes,  who  may  be  called  the 
Leader  of  the  opposition.  He  condemns  many  of  the  proposed 
schemes,  on  the  ground  that  the  province  is  already  overtaxed, 
and  that  the  expenditure  ought  to  be  reduced  to  the  smallest 
possible  figure.  In  the  District  Assembly  he  preaches  this  doc- 
trine with  considerable  success,  for  there  the  peasantry  form  the 
majority,  and  he  knows  how  to  use  that  terse,  homely  language, 
interspersed  with  proverbs,  which  has  far  more  influence  on  the 
rustic  mind  than  scientific  principles  and  logical  reasoning;  but 
here,  in  Provincial  Assembly,  his  following  composes  only  a 
respectable  minority,  and  he  confines  himself  to  a  policy  of 
obstruction. 

The  Zemstvo  of  Novgorod  had  at  that  time  the  reputation  of 
being  one  of  the  most  enlightened  and  energetic,  and  I  must  say 
that  the  proceedings  were  conducted  in  a  business-like,  satisfactory 
way.     The  reports  were  carefully  considered,  and  each  article  of 


THE  ZEMSTVO  AND  THE  LOCAL  GOVEENMEXT  497 

the  annual  budget  was  submitted  to  minute  scrutiny  and  criticism. 
In  several  of  the  provinces  which  I  afterwards  visited  I  found  that 
affairs  were  conducted  in  a  very  different  fashion :  quorums  were 
formed  with  extreme  difficulty,  and  the  proceedings,  when  they  at 
last  commenced,  were  treated  as  mere  formalities  and  despatched 
as  speedily  as  possible.  The  character  of  the  Assembly  depends  of 
course  on  the  amount  of  interest  taken  in  local  public  affairs.  In 
some  districts  this  interest  is  considerable;  in  others  it  is  very 

near  zero.  ^  ''iff-'^'^ 

The  birth  of  this  newMnstitution  was  hailed  with  enthusiasm,  and 
produced  great  expectations.  At  that  time  a  large  section  of  the 
Eussian  educated  classes  had  a  simple,  convenient  criterion  for 
institutions  of  all  kinds.  They  assumed  as  a  self-evident  axiom 
that  the  excellence  of  an  institution  must  always  be  in  proportion 
to  its  "  liberal "  and  democratic  character.  The  question  as  to 
how  far  it  might  be  appropriate  to  the  existing  conditions  and  to 
the  character  of  the  people,  and  as  to  whether  it  might  not,  though 
admirable  in  itself,  be  too  expensive  for  the  work  to  be  performed, 
was  little  thought  of.  Any  organisation  which  rested  on  "  the 
elective  principle,"  and  provided  an  arena  for  free  public  discussion, 
was  sure  to  be  well  received,  and  these  conditions  were  fulfilled  by 
the  Zemstvo. 

The  expectations  excited  were  of  various  kinds.  People  who 
thought  more  of  political  than  economic  progress  saw  in  the 
Zemstvo  the  basis  of  boundless  popular  liberty.  Prince  Vassiltchi- 
kof,  for  example,  though  naturally  of  a  phlegmatic  temperament, 
became  for  a  moment  enthusiastic,  and  penned  the  following  words : 
"  With  a  daring  unparalleled  in  the  chronicles  of  the  world,  we 
have  entered  on  the  career  of  public  life."  If  local  self-govern- 
ment in  England  had,  in  spite  of  its  aristocratic  character,  created 
and  preserved  political  liberty,  as  had  been  proved  by  several 
learned  Germans,  what  might  be  expected  from  institutions  so 
much  more  liberal  and  democratic?  In  England  there  had  never 
been  county  parliaments,  and  the  local  administration  had  always 
been  in  the  hands  of  the  great  land-owners ;  whilst  in  Eussia  every 
district  would  have  its  elective  assembly,  in  which  the  peasant  would 
be  on  a  level  with  the  richest  landed  proprietors.  People  who  were 
accustomed  to  think  of  social  rather  than  political  progress  expected 
that  they  would  soon  see  the  country  provided  with  good  roads, 
safe  bridges,  numerous  village  schools,  well-appointed  hospitals, 
and  all  the  other  requisites  of  civilisation.  Agriculture  would 
become  more  scientific,  trade  and  industry  would  be  rapidly  devel- 


498  KUSSIA 

oped,  and  the  material,  intellectual,  and  moral  condition  of  the 
peasantry  would  be  enormously  improved.  The  listless  apathy  of 
provincial  life  and  the  hereditary  indifference  to  local  public  affairs 
were  now,  it  was  thought,  about  to  be  dispelled ;  and  in  view  of  this 
change,  patriotic  mothers  took  their  children  to  the  annual  assem- 
blies in  order  to  accustom  them  from  their  early  years  to  take  an 
interest  in  the  public  welfare. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  these  inordinate  expectations 
were  not  realised.  From  the  very  beginning  there  had  been  a 
misunderstanding  regarding  the  character  and  functions  of  the 
new  institutions.  During  the  short  period  of  universal  enthusiasm 
for  reform  the  great  officials  had  used  incautiously  some  of  the 
vague  liberal  phrases  then  in  fashion,  but  they  never  seriously 
intended  to  confer  on  the  child  which  they  were  bringing  into  the 
world  a  share  in  the  general  government  of  the  country;  and  the 
rapid  evaporation  of  their  sentimental  liberalism,  which  began  as 
soon  as  they  undertook  practical  reforms,  made  them  less  and  less 
conciliatory.  When  the  vigorous  young  child,  therefore,  showed 
a  natural  desire  to  go  beyond  the  humble  functions  accorded  to  it, 
the  stern  parents  proceeded  to  snub  it  and  put  it  into  its  proper 
place.  The  first  reprimand  was  administered  publicly  in  the 
capital.  The  St.  Petersburg  Provincial  Assembly,  having  shown 
a  desire  to  play  a  political  part,  was  promptly  closed  by  the  Minis- 
ter of  the  Interior,  and  some  of  the  members  were  exiled  for  a  time 
to  their  homes  in  the  country. 

This  warning  produced  merely  a  momentary  effect.     As  the 
\  functions  of  the  Imperial  Administration  and  of  the  Zemstvo  had 
'never  been  clearly  defined,  and  as  each  was  inclined  to  extend  the 
sphere  of  its  activity,   friction  became  frequent.     The  Zemstvo 
had  the  right,  for  example,  to  co-operate  in  the  development  of 
education,  but  as  soon  as  it  organised  primary  schools  and  semi- 
naries it  came  into  contact  with  the  Ministry  of  Public  Instruction. 
In  other  departments  similar  conflicts  occurred,  and  the  tcliinovnil'S 
came  to  suspect  that  the  Zemstvo  had  the  ambition  to  play  the  part 
y         of    a    parliamentary    Opposition.     This    suspicion    found    formal 
expression  in  at  least  one  secret  official  document,  in  which  the 
writer  declares  that  "  the  Opposition  has  built  itself  firmly  a  nest  in 
the  Zemstvo."    Now,  if  we  mean  to  be  just  to  both  parties  in  this 
little  family  quarrel,  we  must  admit  that  the  Zemstvo,  as  I  shall 
explain  in  a  future  chapter,  had  ambitions  of  that  kind,  and  it  would 
^\y        have  been  better  perhaps  for  the  country  at  the  present  moment  if 
'ip  it  had  been  able  to  realise  them.     But  this  is  a  West-European  idea. 


THE  ZEMSTVO  AXD  THE  LOCAL  GOVEEXMEXT  499 

In  Eussia  there  is,  and  can  l)e,  no  such  thing  as  "  His  Majesty's 
Opposition."  To  the  Russian  official  mind  the  three  words  seem  to 
contain  a  logical  contradiction.  Opposition  to  officials,  even  within 
the  limits  of  the  law,  is  equivalent  to  opposition  to  the  Autocratic 
Power,  of  which  they  are  the  incarnate  emanations;  and  opposi- 
tion to  what  they  consider  the  interests  of  autocracy  comes  within 
measurable  distance  of  high  treason.  It  was  considered  necessary, 
therefore,  to  curb  and  suppress  the  ambitious  tendencies  of  the 
wayward  child,  and  accordingly  it  was  placed  more  and  more 
under  the  tutelage  of  the  provincial  Governors.  To  show  how  the 
change  was  effected,  let  me  give  an  illustration.  In  the  older 
arrangements  the  Governor  could  suspend  the  action  of  the  Zemstvo 
only  on  the  ground  of  its  being  illegal  or  ultra  vires,  and  when 
there  was  an  irreconcilable  difference  of  opinion  between  the  two 
parties  the  question  was  decided  judicially  by  the  Senate;  under 
the  more  recent  arrangements  his  Excellency  can  interpose  his 
veto  whenever  he  considers  that  a  decision,  though  it  may  be  per- 
fectly legal,  is  not  conducive  to  the  public  good,  and  differences  of 
opinion  are  referred,  not  to  the  Senate,  but  to  the  Minister  of  the 
Interior,  who  is  always  naturally  disposed  to  support  the  views  of 
his  subordinate. 

In  order  to  put  an  end  to  all  this  insubordination.  Count  Tolstoy, 
the  reactionary  Minister  of  the  Interior,  prepared  a  scheme  of  reor- 
ganisation in  accordance  with  his  anti-liberal  views,  but  he  died 
before  he  could  carry  it  out,  and  a  much  milder  reorganisation  was 
adopted  in  the  law  of  12th  (2-ith)  June,  1890.  The  principal 
changes  introduced  by  that  law  were  that  the  number  of  delegates 
in  the  Assemblies  was  reduced  by  about  a  fourth,  and  the  relative 
strength  of  the  different  social  classes  was  altered.  Under  the 
old  law  the  Noblesse  had  about  43  per  cent.,  and  the  peasantry 
about  38  per  cent,  of  the  seats ;  by  the  new  electoral  arrangements 
the  former  have  57  per  cent,  and  the  latter  about  30.  It  does  not 
necessarily  follow,  however,  that  the  Assemblies  are  more  con- 
servative or  more  subservient  on  that  account.  Liberalism  and 
insubordination  are  much  more  likely  to  be  found  among  the  nobles 
than  among  the  peasants. 

In  addition  to  all  this,  as  there  was  an  apprehension  in  the 
higher  official  spheres  of  St.  Petersburg  that  the  opposition  spirit 
of  the  Zemstvo  might  find  public  expression  in  a  printed  form, 
the  provincial  Governors  received  extensive  rights  of  preventive 
censure  with  regard  to  the  publication  of  the  minutes  of  Zemstvo 
Assemblies  and  similar  documents. 


\ 


500  EUSSIA 

What  the  bureaucracy,  in  its  zeal  to  defend  the  integrity  of  the 
Autocratic  Power,  feared  most  of  all  was  combination  for  a  com- 
//  mon  purpose  on  the  part  of  the  Zemstvos  of  different  provinces.  It 
vetoed,  therefore,  all  such  combinations,  even  for  statistical  pur- 
poses ;  and  when  it  discovered,  a  few  years  ago,  that  leading  mem- 
bers of  the  Zemstvo  from  all  parts  of  the  country  were  holding 
private  meetings  in  Moscow  for  the  ostensible  purpose  of  discuss- 
ing economic  questions,  it  ordered  them  to  return  to  their  homes. 

Even  within  its  proper  sphere,  as  defined  by  law,  the  Zemstvo 
has  not  accomplished  what  was  expected  of  it.  The  country  has 
not  been  covered  with  a  network  of  macadamised  roads,  and  the 
bridges  are  by  no  means  as  safe  as  could  be  desired.  Village 
schools  and  infirmaries  are  still  far  below  the  requirements  of  the 
population.  Little  or  nothing  has  been  done  for  the  development 
of  trade  or  manufactures ;  and  the  villages  remain  very  much  what 
they  were  under  the  old  Administration.  Meanwhile  the  local 
rates  have  been  rising  with  alarming  rapidity;  and  many  people 
draw  from  all  this  the  conclusion  that  the  Zemstvo  is  a  worthless 
institution  which  has  increased  the  taxation  without  conferring  any 
corresponding  benefit  on  the  country. 

If  we  take  as  our  criterion  in  judging  the  institution  the  exagger- 
ated expectations  at  first  entertained,  we  may  feel  inclined  to  agree 
with  this  conclusion,  but  this  is  merely  tantamount  to  saying  that 
the  Zemstvo  has  performed  no  miracles.  Eussia  is  much  poorer 
and  much  less  densely  populated  than  the  more  advanced  nations 
which  she  takes  as  her  model.  To  suppose  that  she  could  at  once 
create  for  herself  by  means  of  an  administrative  reform  all  the 
conveniences  which  those  more  advanced  nations  enjoy,  was  as 
absurd  as  it  would  be  to  imagine  that  a  poor  man  can  at  once  con- 
struct a  magnificent  palace  because  he  has  received  from  a  wealthy 
neighbour  the  necessary  architectural  plans.  ISTot  only  years  but 
generations  must  pass  before  Eussia  can  assume  the  appearance  of 
Germany,  France,  or  England.  The  metamorphosis  may  be  accel- 
erated or  retarded  by  good  government,  but  it  could  not  be  effected 
at  once,  even  if  the  combined  wisdom  of  all  the  philosophers  and 
statesmen  in  Europe  were  employed  in  legislating  for  the  purpose. 

The  Zemstvo  has,  however,  done  much  more  than  the  majority 
of  its  critics  admit.  It  fulfils  tolerably  well,  without  scandalous 
'  peculation  and  jobbery,  its  commonplace,  every-day  duties,  and  it 
has  created  a  new  and  more  equitable  system  of  rating,  by  which 
landed  proprietors  and  house-owners  are  made  to  bear  their  share 
of  the  public  burdens.     It  has  done  a  very  great  deal  to  provide 


THE   ZEMSTVO    AND   THE    LOCAL   GOVERXMENT   501 

medical  aid  and  primary  education  for  the  common  people,  and 
it  has  improved  wonderfully  the  condition  of  the  hospitals,  lunatic 
asylums,  and  other  benevolent  institutions  committed  to  its  charge. 
In  its  efforts  to  aid  the  peasantry  it  has  helped  to  improve  the 
native  breeds  of  horses  and  cattle,  and  it  has  created  a  system  of 
obligatory  fire-insurance,  together  with  means  for  preventing  and 
extinguishing  fires  in  the  villages — a  most  important  matter  in  a 
country  where  the  peasants  live  in  wooden  houses  and  big  fires  are 
fearfully  frequent.  After  neglecting  for  a  good  many  years  the 
essential  question  as  to  how  the  peasants'  means  of  subsistence  can 
be  increased,  it  has  latterly,  as  I  have  mentioned  in  a  foregoing 
chapter,  helped  them  to  obtain  improved  agricultural  implements 
and  better  seed,  encouraged  the  formation  of  small  credit  associa- 
tions and  savings  banks,  and  appointed  agricultural  inspectors  to 
teach  them  how  they  may  introduce  modest  improvements  within 
their  limited  means.*  At  the  same  time,  in  many  districts  it  has 
endeavoured  to  assist  the  home  industries  which  are  threatened  with 
annihilation  by  the  big  factories,  and  whenever  measures  have  been 
proposed  for  the  benefit  of  the  rural  population,  such  as  the  lower- 
ing of  the  land-redemption  payments  and  the  creation  of  the  Peasant 
Land  Bank,  it  has  invariably  given  them  its  cordial  support. 

If  you  ask  a  zealous  member  of  the  Zemstvo  why  it  has  not  done 
more  he  will  probably  tell  you  that  it  is  because  its  activity  has 
been  constantly  restricted  and  counteracted  by  the  Government. 
The  Assemblies  were  obliged  to  accept  as  presidents  the  Marshals 
of  Noblesse,  many  of  whom  were  men  of  antiquated  ideas  and 
retrograde  principles.  At  every  turn  the  more  enlightened,  more 
active  members  found  themselves  opposed,  thwarted,  and  finally 
checkmated  by  the  Imperial  officials.  When  a  laudable  attempt 
was  made  to  tax  trade  and  industry  more  equitably  the  scheme  was 
vetoed,  and  consequently  the  mercantile  class,  sure  of  being  always 
taxed  at  a  ridiculously  low  maximtim,  have  lost  all  interest  in  the 
proceedings.  Even  with  regard  to  the  rating  of  landed  and  house 
property  a  low  limit  is  imposed  by  the  Government,  because  it  is 

*  The  amount  expended  for  these  objects  in  1897,  the  latest  year  for 

which  I  liave  statistical  data,  was  about  a  million  and  a  half  of  I'oubles, 

or,  roughly  speaking.  £150,000,  distributed  under  the  following  heads : — 

1.  Agricultural     tuition       £41,100 


2.  Experimental  stations,  museums,  etc... 

3.  Scientific  agriculturists 

4.  Agricultural     industries 

5.  Improving  breeds   of   horses   and   cattle 


19,800 
17,400 
2G.700 
45,300 

£150,300 


502  EUSSIA 

afraid  that  if  the  rates  were  raised  much  it  would  not  be  able  to 
collect  the  heavy  Imperial  taxation.  The  uncontrolled  publicity 
which  was  at  first  enjoyed  by  the  Assemblies  was  afterwards  cur- 
tailed by  the  bureaucracy.  Under  such  restrictions  all  free,  vigor- 
ous action  became  impossible,  and  the  institutions  failed  to  effect 
what  was  reasonably  anticipated. 

All  this  is  true  in  a  certain  sense,  but  it  is  not  the  whole  truth. 
If  we  examine  some  of  the  definite  charges  brought  against  the 
institution  we  shall  understand  better  its  real  character. 

The  most  common  complaint  made  against  it  is  that  it  has 
enormously  increased  the  rates.  On  that  point  there  is  no  pos- 
sibility of  dispute.  At  first  its  expenditure  in  the  thirty-four 
provinces  in  which  it  existed  was  tmder  six  millions  of  roubles ;  in 
two  years  (1868)  it  had  jumped  up  to  fifteen  millions;  in  1875  it 
was  nearly  twenty-eight  millions,  in  1885  over  forty-three  millions, 
and  at  the  end  of  the  century  it  had  attained  the  respectable  figure 
of  95,800,000  roubles.  As  each  province  had  the  right  of  taxing 
itself,  the  increase  varied  greatly  in  different  provinces.  In  Smo- 
lensk, for  example,  it  was  only  about  thirty  per  cent.,  whilst  in 
Samara  it  was  436,  and  in  Viatka,  where  the  peasant  element  pre- 
dominates, no  less  than  1,263  per  cent.!  In  order  to  meet  this 
increase,  the  rates  on  land  rose  from  under  ten  millions  in  1868 
to  over  forty-seven  millions  in  1900.  No  wonder  that  the  land- 
owners who  find  it  difficult  to  work  their  estates  at  a  profit  should 
complain ! 

Though  this  increase  is  disagreeable  to  the  rate-payers,  it  does 
not  follow  that  it  is  excessive.  In  all  countries  rates  and  local 
taxation  are  on  the  increase,  and  it  is  in  the  backward  countries 
that  they  increase  most  rapidly.  In  France,  for  example,  the 
average  yearly  increase  has  been  3.7  per  cent.,  while  in  Austria  it 
has  been  5.59.  In  Eussia  it  ought  to  have  been  more  than  in 
Austria,  whereas  it  has  been,  in  the  provinces  with  Zemstvo  institu- 
tions, only  about  4  per  cent.  In  comparison  with  the  Imperial 
taxation  the  local  does  not  seem  excessive  when  compared  with 
other  countries.  In  England  and  Prussia,  for  instance,  the  State 
taxation  as  compared  with  the  local  is  as  a  hundred  to  fifty-four 
and  fifty-one,  whilst  in  Eussia  it  is  as  a  hundred  to  sixteen.* 
A  reduction  in  the  taxation  as  a  whole  would  certainly  contribute 
to  the  material  welfare  of  the  rural  population,  but  it  is  desirable 

*  These  figures  are  taken  from  the  best  available  authorities,  chiefly 
Schwanebach  and  Scalon,  but  I  am  not  prepared  to  guarantee  their 
accuracy. 


^' 


THE  ZEMSTYO  AXD  THE  LOCAL  GOVERXMEXT  503 

that  it  should  be  made  in  the  Imperial  taxes  rather  than  in  the 
rates,  because  the  latter  may  be  regarded  as  something  akin  to 
productive  investments,  whilst  the  proceeds  of  the  former  are 
expended  largely  on  objects  which  have  little  or  nothing  to  do  with 
the  wants  of  the  common  people.  In  speaking  thus  I  am  assum- 
ing that  the  local  expenditure  is  made  judiciously,  and  this  is  a 
matter  on  which,  I  am  bound  to  confess,  there  is  by  no  means 
unanimity  of  opinion. 

Hostile  critics  can  point  to  facts  which  are,  to  say  the  least, 
strange  and  anomalous.  Out  of  the  total  of  its  revenue  the  Zemstvo 
spends  about  twenty-eight  per  cent,  under  the  heading  of  public 
health  and  benevolent  institutions;  and  about  fifteen  per  cent,  for 
popular  education,  whilst  it  devotes  only  about  six  per  cent,  to 
roads  and  bridges,  and  until  lately  it  neglected,  as  I  have  said 
above,  the  means  for  improving  agriculture  and  directly  increasing 
the  income  of  the  peasantry. 

Before  passing  sentence  with  regard  to  these  charges  we  must 
remember  the  circumstances  in  which  the  Zemstvo  was  founded 
and  has  grown  up.  In  the  early  times  its  members  were  well- 
meaning  men  who  had  had  very  little  experience  in  administration 
or  in  practical  life  of  any  sort  except  the  old  routine  in  which  they 
had  previously  vegetated.  Most  of  them  had  lived  enough  in  the 
country  to  know  how  much  the  peasants  were  in  need  of  medical 
assistance  of  the  most  elementary  kind,  and  to  this  matter  they  at 
once  turned  their  attention.  They  tried  to  organise  a  system  of 
doctors,  hospital  assistants,  and  dispensaries  by  which  the  peasant 
would  not  have  to  go  more  than  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  to  get  a 
wound  dressed  or  to  have  a  consultation  or  to  obtain  a  simple 
remedy  for  ordinary  ailments.  They  felt  the  necessity,  too,  of 
thoroughly  reorganising  the  hospitals  and  the  lunatic  asylums, 
which  were  in  a  very  unsatisfactory  condition.  Plainly  enough, 
there  was  here  good  work  to  be  done.  Then  there  were  the  higher 
aims.  In  the  absence  of  practical  experience  there  were  enthu- 
siasms and  theories.  Amongst  these  was  the  enthusiasm  for  educa- 
tion, and  the  theory  that  the  want  of  it  was  the  chief  reason  why 
Eussia  had  remained  so  far  behind  the  nations  of  "Western  Europe. 
Give  us  education,  it  was  said,  and  all  other  good  things  will  be 
added  thereto.  Liberate  the  Eussian  people  from  the  bonds  of 
ignorance  as  you  have  liberated  it  from  the  bonds  of  serfage,  and 
its  wonderful  natural  capacities  will  then  be  able  to  create  every- 
thing that  is  required  for  its  material,  intellectual,  and  moral 
welfare. 


504  RUSSIA 

If  there  was  any  one  among  the  leaders  who  took  a  more  sober, 
prosaic  view  of  things  he  was  denounced  as  an  ignoramus  and  a 
reactionary.  Willingly  or  unwillingly,  everybody  had  to  swim  with 
the  current.  Eoads  and  bridges  were  not  entirely  neglected,  but  the 
efforts  in  that  direction  were  confined  to  the  absolutely  indispensable. 
For  such  prosaic  concerns  there  was  no  enthusiasm,  and  it  was  uni- 
versally recognised  that  in  Eussia  the  construction  of  good  roads, 
as  the  term  is  understood  in  Western  Europe,  was  far  beyond  the 
resources  of  any  Administration.  Of  the  necessity  for  such  roads 
'  few  were  conscious.  All  that  was  required  was  to  make  it  possible 
to  get  from  one  place  to  another  in  ordinary  weather  and  ordinary 
circumstances.  If  a  stream  was  too  deep  to  be  forded,  a  bridge  had 
to  be  built  or  a  ferry  had  to  be  established ;  and  if  the  approach  to 
a  bridge  was  so  marshy  or  muddy  that  vehicles  often  sank  quite 
up  to  the  axles  and  had  to  be  dragged  out  by  ropes,  with  the  assist- 
ance of  the  neighbouring  villagers,  repairs  had  to  be  made.  Beyond 
this  the  efforts  of  the  Zemstvo  rarely  went.  Its  road-building 
ambition  remained  within  very  modest  bounds. 

As  for  the  impoverishment  of  the  peasantry  and  the  necessity  of 
improving  their  system  of  agriculture,  that  question  had  hardly 
appeared  above  the  horizon.  It  might  have  to  be  dealt  with  in 
the  future,  but  there  was  no  need  for  hurry.  Once  the  rural  popu- 
lation were  educated,  the  question  would  solve  itself.  It  was  not 
till  about  the  year  1885  that  it  was  recognised  to  be  more  urgent 
than  had  been  supposed,  and  some  Zemstvos  perceived  that  the 
people  might  starve  before  its  preparatory  education  was  com- 
pleted. Repeated  famines  pushed  the  lesson  home,  and  the  landed 
proprietors  found  their  revenues  diminished  by  the  fall  in  the 
price  of  grain  on  the  European  markets.  Thus  was  raised  the 
cry :  "  Agriculture  in  Eussia  is  on  the  decline !  The  country  has 
entered  on  an  acute  economic  crisis!  If  energetic  measures  be 
not  taken  promptly  the  people  will  soon  find  themselves  confronted 
by  starvation ! " 

To  this  cry  of  alarm  the  Zemstvo  was  neither  deaf  nor  indifferent. 
Eecognising  that  the  danger  could  be  averted  only  by  inducing  the 
peasantry  to  adopt  a  more  intensive  system  of  agriculture,  it 
directed  more  and  more  of  its  attention  to  agricultural  improve- 
ments, and  tried  to  get  them  adopted.*  It  did,  in  short,  all  it 
could,  according  to  its  lights  and  within  the  limits  of  its  moderate 
resources.  Its  available  resources  were  small,  unfortunately,  for  it 
was  forbidden  by  the  Government  to  increase  the  rates,  and  it  could 
*  Vide  supra,  p.  489. 


THE  ZEMSTVO  AND  THE  LOCAL  GOVERXMEXT  505 

not  well  dismiss  doctors  and  close  dispensaries  and  schools  when 
the  people  were  clamouring  for  more.  So  at  least  the  defenders  of 
the  Zemstvo  maintain,  and  they  go  so  far  as  to  contend  that  it 
did  well  not  to  grapple  with  the  impoverishment  of  the  peasantry 
at  an  earlier  period,  when  the  real  conditions  of  the  problem  and 
the  means  of  solving  it  were  only  very  imperfectly  known:  if  it 
had  begun  at  that  time  it  would  have  made  great  blunders  and 
spent  much  money  to  little  purpose. 

However  this  may  be,  it  would  certainly  be  unfair  to  condemn 
the  Zemstvo  for  not  being  greatly  in  advance  of  public  opinion. 
If  it  endeavours  strenuously  to  supply  all  clearly  recognised  wants, 
that  is  all  that  can  reasonably  be  expected  of  it.  What  it  may 
be  more  justly  reproached  with  is,  in  my  opinion,  that  it  is,  to  a 
certain  extent,  imbued  with  that  unpractical,  pedantic  spirit  which 
is  commonly  supposed  to  reside  exclusively  in  the  Imperial  Admin- 
istration. But  here  again  it  simply  reflects  public  opinion  and 
certain  intellectual  peculiarities  of  the  educated  classes.  When  a 
Russian  begins  to  write  on  a  simple  everyday  subject,  he  likes  to 
connect  it  with  general  principles,  philosophy,  or  history,  and 
begins,  perhaps,  by  expounding  his  views  on  the  intellectual  and 
social  developments  of  humanity  in  general  and  of  Russia  in 
particular.  If  he  has  sufficient  space  at  his  disposal  he  may  even 
tell  you  something  about  the  early  period  of  Russian  history 
previous  to  the  Mongol  invasion  before  he  gets  to  the  simple  matter 
in  hand.  In  a  previous  chapter  I  have  described  the  process  of 
"  shedding  on  a  subject  the  light  of  science  "  in  Imperial  legisla- 
tion.* In  Zemstvo  activity  we  often  meet  with  pedantry  of  a  simi- 
lar kind. 

If  this  pedantry  were  confined  to  the  writing  of  Reports  it 
might  not  do  much  harm.  Unfortunately,  it  often  appears  in 
the  sphere  of  action.  To  illustrate  this  I  take  a  recent  instance 
from  the  province  of  Nizhni-Novgorod.  The  Zemstvo  of  that  prov- 
ince received  from  the  Central  Government  in  1895  a  certain 
amount  of  capital  for  road-improvement,  with  instructions  from 
the  Ministry  of  Interior  that  it  should  classify  the  roads  accord- 
ing to  their  relative  importance  and  improve  them  accordingly. 
Any  intelligent  person  well  acquainted  with  the  region  might 
have  made,  in  the  course  of  a  week  or  two,  the  required  classifica- 
tion accurately  enough  for  all  practical  purposes.  Instead  of 
adopting  this  simple  procedure,  what  does  the  Zemstvo  do?  It 
chooses  one  of  the  eleven  districts  of  which  the  province  is  com- 
*  Vide  supra,  p.  343, 


506  EUSSIA 

posed  and  instructs  its  statistical  department  to  describe  all  the 
villages  with  a  view  of  determining  the  amount  of  traffic  which 
each  will  probably  contribute  to  the  general  movement,  and  then 
it  verifies  its  a  priori  conclusions  by  means  of  a  detachment  of 
specially  selected  "  registrars,"  posted  at  all  the  crossways  during 
six  days  of  each  month.  These  registrars  doubtless  inscribed 
every  peasant  cart  as  it  passed  and  made  a  rough  estimate  of  the 
weight  of  its  load.  When  this  complicated  and  expensive  pro- 
cedure was  completed  for  one  district  it  was  applied  to  another; 
but  at  the  end  of  three  years,  before  all  the  villages  of  this 
second  district  had  been  described  and  the  traffic  estimated,  the 
energy  of  the  statistical  department  seems  to  have  flagged,  and, 
like  a  young  author  impatient  to  see  himself  in  print,  it  published 
a  volume  at  the  public  expense  which  no  one  will  ever  read. 

The  cost  entailed  by  this  procedure  is  not  known,  but  we  may 
form  some  idea  of  the  amount  of  time  required  for  the  whole  opera- 
tion. It  is  a  simple  rule-of-three  sum.  If  it  took  three  years  for 
the  preparatory  investigation  of  a  district  and  a  half,  how  many 
years  will  be  required  for  eleven  districts?  More  than  twenty 
years!  During  that  period  it  would  seem  that  the  roads  are  to 
remain  as  they  are,  and  when  the  moment  comes  for  improving 
them  it  will  be  found  that,  unless  the  province  is  condemned  to 
economic  stagnation,  the  "  valuable  statistical  material "  collected 
at  such  an  expenditure  of  time  and  money  is  in  great  part  anti- 
quated and  useless.  The  statistical  department  will  be  compelled, 
therefore,  like  another  unfortunate  Sisyphus,  to  begin  the  work 
anew,  and  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  the  Zemstvo,  unless  it  becomes 
a  little  more  practical,  is  ever  to  get  out  of  the  vicious  circle. 

In  this  case  the  evil  result  of  pedantry  was  simply  unnecessary 
delay,  and  in  the  meantime  the  capital  was  accumulating,  unless 
the  interest  was  entirely  swallowed  up  by  the  statistical  researches ; 
but  there  are  cases  in  which  the  consequences  are  more  serious. 
Let  me  take  an  illustration  from  the  enlightened  province  of 
Moscow.  It  was  observed  that  certain  villages  were  particularly 
unhealthy,  and  it  was  pointed  out  by  a  local  doctor  that  the  inhabi- 
tants were  in  the  habit  of  using  for  domestic  purposes  the  water  of 
ponds  which  were  in  a  filthy  condition.  What  was  evidently 
wanted  was  good  wells,  and  a  practical  man  would  at  once  have 
taken  measures  to  have  them  dug.  Not  so  the  District  Zemstvo. 
It  at  once  transformed  the  simple  fact  into  a  "  question  "  requir- 
ing scientific  investigation.  A  commission  was  appointed  to  study 
the  problem,  and  after  much  deliberation  it  was  decided  to  make  a 


THE  ZEMSTVO  AND  THE  LOCAL  GOVERNMEXT  507 

geological  survey  in  order  to  ascertain  the  depth  of  good  water 
throughout  the  district  as  a  preparatory  step  towards  preparing  a 
project  which  will  some  day  be  discussed  in  the  District  Assembly, 
and  perhaps  in  the  Assembly  of  the  province.  Whilst  all  this  is 
being  done  according  to  the  strict  principles  of  bureaucratic  pro- 
cedure, the  unfortunate  peasants  for  whose  benefit  the  investiga- 
tion was  undertaken  continue  to  drink  the  muddy  water  of  the 
dirty  ponds. 

Incidents  of  that  kind,  which  I  might  multiply  almost  to  any 
extent,  remind  one  of  the  proverbial  formalism  of  the  Chinese; 
but  between  Chinese  and  Russian  pedantry  there  is  an  essential 
difference.  In  the  Middle  Kingdom  the  sacrifice  of  practical  con- 
siderations proceeds  from  an  exaggerated  veneration  of  the  wisdom 
of  ancestors ;  in  the  Empire  of  the  Tsars  it  is  due  to  an  exaggerated 
adoration  of  the  goddess  Natika  (Science)  and  a  habit  of  appeal- 
ing to  abstract  principles  and  scientific  methods  when  only  a  little 
plain  common-sense  is  required. 

On  one  occasion,  I  remember,  in  a  District  Assembly  of  the 
province  of  Eiazan,  when  the  subject  of  primary  schools  was  being 
discussed,  an  influential  member  started  up,  and  proposed  that  an 
obligatory  system  of  education  should  at  once  be  introduced  through- 
out the  whole  district.  Strange  to  say,  the  motion  was  very  nearly 
carried,  though  all  the  members  present  knew — or  at  least  might 
have  knowTi  if  they  had  taken  the  trouble  to  inquire — that  the  actual 
number  of  schools  would  have  to  be  multiplied  twenty-fold,  and  all 
were  agreed  that  the  local  rates  must  not  be  increased.  To  preserve 
his  reputation  for  liberalism,  the  honourable  member  further  pro- 
posed that,  though  the  system  should  be  obligatory,  no  fines,  pun- 
ishments, or  other  means  of  compulsion  should  be  employed.  How 
a  system  could  be  obligatory  without  using  some  means  of  compul- 
sion, he  did  not  condescend  to  explain.  To  get  out  of  the  difficulty 
one  of  his  supporters  suggested  that  the  peasants  who  did  not  send 
their  children  to  school  should  be  excluded  from  serving  as  office- 
bearers in  the  Communes;  but  this  proposition  merely  created  a 
laugh,  for  many  deputies  knew  that  the  peasants  would  regard  this 
supposed  punishment  as  a  valuable  privilege.  And  whilst  this 
discussion  about  the  necessity  of  introducing  an  ideal  system  of 
obligatory  education  was  being  carried  on,  the  street  before  the 
windows  of  the  room  was  covered  with  a  stratum  of  mud  nearly 
two  feet  in  depth !  The  other  streets  were  in  a  similar  condition ; 
and  a  large  number  of  the  members  always  arrived  late,  because 
it  was  almost  impossible  to  come  on  foot,  and  there  was  only  one 


508  EUSSIA 

public  conveyance  in  the  town.  Many  members  had,  fortunately, 
their  private  conveyances,  but  even  in  these  locomotion  was  by  no 
means  easy.  One  day,  in  the  principal  thoroughfare,  a  member 
had  his  tarantass  overturned,  and  he  himself  was  thrown  into  the 
mud! 

It  is  hardly  fair  to  compare  the  Zemstvo  with  the  older  institu- 
tions of  a  similar  kind  in  Western  Europe,  and  especially  with  our 
own  local  self-government.  Our  institutions  have  all  grown  out 
of  real,  practical  wants  keenly  felt  by  a  large  section  of  the  popu- 
lation. Cautious  and  conservative  in  all  that  concerns  the  public 
welfare,  we  regard  change  as  a  necessary  evil,  and  put  ofE  the  evil 
day  as  long  as  possible,  even  when  convinced  that  it  must  inevit- 
ably come.  Thus  our  administrative  wants  are  always  in  advance 
of  our  means  of  satisfying  them,  and  we  use  vigorously  those 
means  as  soon  as  they  are  supplied.  Our  method  of  supplying  the 
means,  too,  is  peculiar.  Instead  of  making  a  tabula  rasa,  and 
beginning  from  the  foundations,  we  utilise  to  the  utmost  what 
we  happen  to  possess,  and  add  merely  what  is  absolutely  indis- 
pensable. Metaphorically  speaking,  we  repair  and  extend  our 
I  political  edifice  according  to  the  changing  necessities  of  our  mode 

of  life,  without  paying  much  attention  to  abstract  principles  or  the 
contingencies  of  the  distant  future.  The  building  may  be  an 
aesthetic  monstrosity,  belonging  to  no  recognised  style  of  architec- 
ture, and  built  in  defiance  of  the  principles  laid  down  by  philo- 
sophical art  critics,  but  it  is  well  adapted  to  our  requirements,  and 
every  hole  and  corner  of  it  is  sure  to  be  utilised. 

Very  different  has  been  the  political  history  of  Eussia  during 
the  last  two  centuries.  It  may  be  briefly  described  as  a  series  of 
revolutions  effected  peaceably  by  the  Autocratic  Power.  Each 
young  energetic  sovereign  has  attempted  to  inaugurate  a  new 
epoch  by  thoroughly  remodelling  the  Administration  according  to 
the  most  approved  foreign  political  philosophy  of  the  time.  Insti- 
tutions have  not  been  allowed  to  grow  spontaneously  out  of  popular 
wants,  but  have  been  invented  by  bureaucratic  theorists  to  satisfy 
wants  of  which  the  people  were  still  unconscious.  The  adminis- 
trative machine  has  therefore  derived  little  or  no  motive  force 
from  the  people,  and  has  always  been  kept  in  motion  by  the  un- 
aided energy  of  the  Central  Government.  Under  these  circum- 
stances it  is  not  surprising  that  the  repeated  attempts  of  the  Gov- 
ernment to  lighten  the  burdens  of  centralised  administration  by 
creating  organs  of  local  self-government  should  not  have  been  very 
successful. 


THE  ZEMSTVO  AND  THE  LOCAL  GOVEENMEXT  509 

The  Zemstvo,  it  is  true,  offered  better  chances  of  success  than 
any  of  its  predecessors.  A  large  portion  of  the  nobles  had  become 
alive  to  the  necessity  of  improving  the  administration,  and  the 
popular  interest  in  public  affairs  was  much  greater  than  at  any 
former  period.  Hence  there  was  at  first  a  period  of  enthusiasm, 
during  which  great  preparations  were  made  for  future  activity, 
and  not  a  little  was  actually  effected.  The  institution  had  all  the/ 
charm  of  novelty,  and  the  members  felt  that  the  eyes  of  the  public) 
were  upon  them.  For  a  time  all  went  well,  and  the  Zemstvo  wasS. 
so  well  pleased  with  its  own  activity  that  the  satirical  journals  / 
compared  it  to  Narcissus  admiring  his  image  reflected  in  the  pool. 
But  when  the  charm  of  novelty  had  passed  and  the  public  turned 
its  attention  to  other  matters,  the  spasmodic  energy  evaporated, 
and  many  of  the  most  active  members  looked  about  for  more  lucra- 
tive employment.  Such  employment  was  easily  found,  for  at  that 
time  there  was  an  unusual  demand  for  able,  energetic,  educated 
men.  Several  branches  of  the  civil  service  were  being  reorganised, 
and  railways,  banks,  and  joint-stock  companies  were  being  rapidly 
multiplied.  With  these  the  Zemstvo  had  great  difficulty  in  com- 
peting. It  could  not,  like  the  Imperial  service,  offer  pensions, 
decorations,  and  prospects  of  promotion,  nor  could  it  pay  such 
large  salaries  as  the  commercial  and  industrial  enterprises.  In 
consequence  of  all  this,  the  quality  of  the  executive  bureaux  de- 
teriorated at  the  same  time  as  the  public  interest  in  the  institution 
diminished. 

To  be  just  to  the  Zemstvo,  I  must  add  that,  with  all  its  defects 
and  errors,  it  is  infinitely  better  than  the  institutions  which  it  re- 
placed. If  we  compare  it  with  previous  attempts  to  create  local 
self-government,  we  must  admit  that  the  Eussians  have  made 
great  progress  in  their  political  education.  "WTiat  its  future  may  be 
I  do  not  venture  to  predict.  From  its  infancy  it  has  had,  as  we 
have  seen,  the  ambition  to  play  a  great  political  part,  and  at 
the  beginning  of  the  recent  stirring  times  in  St.  Petersburg  its 
leading  representatives  in  conclave  assembled  took  upon  them- 
selves to  express  what  they  considered  the  national  demand  for 
liberal  representative  institutions.  The  desire,  which  had  pre- 
viously from  time  to  time  been  expressed  timidly  and  vaguely  in 
loyal  addresses  to  the  Tsar,  that  a  central  Zemstvo  Assembly,  bear- 
ing the  ancient  title  of  Zemski  Sobor,  should  be  convoked  in  the 
capital  and  endowed  with  political  functions,  was  now  put  forward 
by  the  representatives  in  plain  unvarnished  form.  Whether  this 
desire  is  destined  to  be  realised  time  will  show. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 

THE    NEW     LAW    COURTS 

Judicial  Procedure  in  the  Olden  Times — Defects  and  Abuses — Radical 
Reform — The  New  System — Justices  of  the  Peace  and  Monthly  Ses- 
sions— The  Regular  Tribunals — Court  of  Revision — Modification  of 
the  Original  Plan — How  Does  the  System  Work? — Rapid  Acclima- 
tisation— The  Bench — The  Jury — Acquittal  of  Criminals  Who  Con- 
fess Their  Crimes — Peasants,  Merchants,  and  Nobles  as  Jurymen — 
Independence  and  Political  Significance  of  the  New  Courts. 

AFTEE  serf-emancipation  and  local  self-government,  the  subject 
which  demanded  most  urgently  the  attention  of  reformers  was 
the  judicial  organisation,  which  had  sunk  to  a  depth  of  inefficiency 
and  corruption  difficult  to  describe. 

In  early  times  the  dispensation  of  justice  in  Russia,  as  in  other 
States  of  a  primitive  type,  had  a  thoroughly  popular  character. 
The  State  was  still  in  its  infancy,  and  the  duty  of  defending  the 
person,  the  property,  and  the  rights  of  individuals  lay,  of  necessity, 
chiefly  on  the  individuals  themselves.  Self-help  formed  the  basis 
of  the  judicial  procedure,  and  the  State  merely  assisted  the  indi- 
vidual to  protect  his  rights  and  to  avenge  himself  on  those  who 
voluntarily  infringed  them. 

By  the  rapid  development  of  the  Autocratic  Power  all  this  was 
changed.  Autocracy  endeavoured  to  drive  and  regulate  the  social 
machine  by  its  own  unaided  force,  and  regarded  with  suspicion  and 
jealousy  all  spontaneous  action  in  the  people.  The  dispensation 
of  justice  was  accordingly  appropriated  by  the  central  authority, 
absorbed  into  the  Administration,  and  withdrawn  from  public 
control.  Themis  Retired  from  the  market-place,  shut  herself  up 
in  a  dark  room  from  which  the  contending  parties  and  the  public 
gaze  were  rigorously  excluded,  surrounded  herself  with  secretaries 
and  scribes  who  put  the  rights  and  claims  of  the  litigants  into 
whatever  form  they  thought  proper,  weighed  according  to  her  own 
judgment  the  arguments  presented  to  her  by  her  own  servants,  and 
came  forth  from  her  seclusion  merely  to  present  a  ready-made 
decision  or  to  punish  the  accused  whom  she  considered  guilty. 

This  change,  though  perhaps  to  some  extent  necessary,  was  at- 

510 


THE    NEW    LAW    COURTS  511 

tended  with  very  bad  consequences.  Freed  from  the  control  of  the 
contending  parties  and  of  the  public,  the  courts  acted  as  uncon- 
trolled human  nature  generally  does.  Injustice,  extortion,  bribery, 
and  corruption  assumed  gigantic  proportions,  and  against  these 
evils  the  Government  found  no  better  remedy  than  a  system  of 
complicated  formalities  and  ingenious  checks.  The  judicial  func- 
tionaries were  hedged  in  by  a  multitude  of  regulations,  so  numerous 
and  complicated  that  it  seemed  impossible  for  even  the  most 
unjust  judge  to  swerve  from  the  path  of  uprightness.  Explicit, 
minute  rules  were  laid  down  for  investigating  facts  and  weighing 
evidence ;  every  scrap  of  evidence  and  every  legal  ground  on  which 
the  decision  was  based  were  committed  to  writing;  every  act  in 
the  complicated  process  of  coming  to  a  decision  was  made  the  sub- 
ject of  a  formal  document,  and  duly  entered  in  various  registers; 
every  document  and  register  had  to  be  signed  and  countersigned 
by  various  officials  who  were  supposed  to  control  each  other;  every 
decision  might  be  carried  to  a  higher  court  and  made  to  pass  a 
second  time  through  the  bureaucratic  machine.  In  a  word,  the 
legislature  introduced  a  system  of  formal  written  procedure  of  the 
most  complicated  kind,  in  the  belief  that  by  this  means  mistakes 
and  dishonesty  would  be  rendered  impossible. 

It  may  be  reasonably  doubted  whether  this  system  of  judicial 
administration  can  anywhere  give  satisfactory  results.  It  is  every- 
where found  by  experience  that  in  tribunals  from  which  the  healthy 
atmosphere  of  publicity  is  excluded  justice  languishes,  and  a  great 
many  ugly  plants  shoot  up  with  wonderful  vitality.  Languid  in- 
difference, an  indiscriminating  spirit  of  routine,  and  unblushing 
dishonesty  invariably  creep  in  through  the  little  chinks  and  crevices 
of  the  barrier  raised  against  them,  and  no  method  of  hermetically 
sealing  these  chinks  and  crevices  has  yet  been  invented.  The 
attempt  to  close  them  up  by  increasing  the  formalities  and  multi- 
plying the  courts  of  appeal  and  revision  merely  adds  to  the 
tediousness  of  the  procedure,  and  withdraws  the  whole  process  still 
more  completely  from  public  control.  At  the  same  time  the 
absence  of  free  discussion  between  the  contending  parties  renders 
the  task  of  the  judge  enormously  diflScult.  If  the  system  is  to 
succeed  at  all,  it  must  provide  a  body  of  able,  intelligent,  thor- 
oughly-trained jurists,  and  must  place  them  beyond  the  reach  of 
bribery  and  other  forms  of  corruption. 

In  Russia  neither  of  these  conditions  was  fulfilled.  Instead  of 
endeavouring  to  create  a  body  of  well-trained  jurists,  the  Govern- 
ment went  further  and  further  in  the  direction  of  letting  the 


513  EUSSIA 

judges  be  chosen  for  a  short  period  by  popular  election  from  among 
men  who  had  never  received  a  juridical  education,  or  a  fair  educa- 
tion of  any  kind ;  whilst  the  place  of  judge  was  so  poorly  paid,  and 
stood  so  low  in  public  estimation,  that  the  temptations  to  dishonesty 
were  difficult  to  resist. 

The  practice  of  choosing  the  judges  by  popular  election  was  an 
attempt  to  restore  to  the  courts  something  of  their  old  popular 
character ;  but  it  did  not  succeed,  for  very  obvious  reasons.  Popu- 
lar election  in  a  judicial  organisation  is  useful  only  when  the 
courts  are  public  and  the  procedure  simple;  on  the  contrary,  it  is 
positively  prejudicial  when  the  procedure  is  in  writing  and  ex- 
tremely complicated.  And  so  it  proved  in  Eussia.  The  elected 
judges,  unprepared  for  their  work,  and  liable  to  be  changed  at 
short  intervals,  rarely  acquired  a  knowledge  of  law  or  procedure. 
They  were  for  the  most  part  poor,  indolent  landed  proprietors, 
who  did  little  more  than  sign  the  decisions  prepared  for  them  by 
the  permanent  officials.  Even  when  a  judge  happened  to  have 
some  legal  knowledge  he  found  small  scope  for  its  application,  for 
he  rarely,  if  ever,  examined  personally  the  materials  out  of  which 
a  decision  was  to  be  elaborated.  The  whole  of  the  preliminary 
work,  which  was  in  reality  the  most  important,  was  performed  by 
minor  officials  under  the  direction  of  the  secretary  of  the  court. 
In  criminal  cases,  for  instance,  the  secretary  examined  the  written 
evidence — all  evidence  was  taken  down  in  writing — extracted  what 
he  considered  the  essential  points,  arranged  them  as  he  thought 
proper,  quoted  the  laws  which  ought  in  his  opinion  to  be  applied, 
put  all  this  into  a  report,  and  read  the  report  to  the  judges.  Of 
course  the  judges,  if  they  had  no  personal  interest  in  the  decision, 
accepted  the  secretary's  view  of  the  case.  If  they  did  not,  all  the 
preliminary  work  had  to  be  done  anew  by  themselves — a  task  that 
few  judges  were  able,  and  still  fewer  willing,  to  perform.  Thus 
the  decision  lay  virtually  in  the  hands  of  the  secretary  and  the 
minor  officials,  and  in  general  neither  the  secretary  nor  the  minor 
officials  were  fit  persons  to  have  such  power.  There  is  no  need  to 
detail  here  the  ingenious  expedients  by  which  they  increased  their 
meagre  salaries,  and  how  they  generally  contrived  to  extract  money 
from  both  parties.*  Suffice  it  to  say  that  in  general  the  chan- 
celleries of  the  courts  were  dens  of  pettifogging  rascality,  and  the 

*  Old  book-catalogues  sometimes  mention  a  play  bearing  the  signifi- 
cant title,  "The  Unheard-of  Wonder;  or,  The  Honest  Secretary"  {Nes- 
lykhannoe  Dy^lo  ili  Tchestny  Sekretdr).  I  have  never  seen  this  curious 
production,  but  I  have  no  doubt  that  it  referred  to  the  peculiarities  of  the 
old  judicial  procedure. 


THE    XEW   LAW   COUETS  513 

habitual,  unblushing  bril^ery  had  a  negative  as  well  as  a  positive 
effect.  If  a  person  accused  of  some  crime  had  no  money  wherewith 
to  grease  the  palm  of  the  secretary  he  might  remain  in  prison  for 
years  without  being  brought  to  trial.  A  well-known  Eussian 
writer  still  living  relates  that  when  visiting  a  prison  in  the  province 
of  Xizhni-jSTovgorod  he  found  among  the  inmates  undergoing  pre- 
liminary arrest  two  peasant  women,  who  were  accused  of  setting 
fire  to  a  hayrick  to  revenge  themselves  on  a  landed  proprietor,  a 
crime  for  which  the  legal  punishment  was  from  four  to  eight 
months'  imprisonment.  One  of  them  had  a  son  of  seven  years  of 
age,  and  the  other  a  son  of  twelve,  both  of  whom  had  been  born 
in  the  prison,  and  had  lived  there  ever  since  among  the  criminals. 
Such  a  long  preliminary  arrest  caused  no  surprise  or  indignation 
among  those  who  heard  of  it,  because  it  was  quite  a  common  occur- 
rence. Every  one  knew  that  bribes  were  taken  not  only  by  the 
secretary  and  his  scribes,  but  also  by  the  judges,  who  were  elected 
by  the  local  Noblesse  from  its  own  ranks. 

With  regard  to  the  scale  of  punishments,  notwithstanding  some 
humanitarian  principles  in  the  legislation,  they  were  very  severe, 
and  corporal  punishment  played  amongst  them  a  disagreeably 
prominent  part.  Capital  sentences  were  abolished  as  early  as 
1T53-54,  but  castigation  with  the  knout,  which  often  ended  fatally, 
continued  until  1845,  when  it  was  replaced  by  flogging  in  the  civil 
administration,  though  retained  for  the  military  and  for  insubor- 
dinate convicts.  For  the  non-privileged  classes  the  knout  or  the 
lash  supplemented  nearly  all  punishments  of  a  criminal  kind. 
When  a  man  was  condemned,  for  example,  to  penal  servitude,  he 
received  publicly  from  thirty  to  one  hundred  lashes,  and  was  then 
branded  on  the  forehead  and  cheeks  with  the  letters  K.  A.  T. — 
the  first  three  letters  of  l-atorzhnih  (convict).  If  he  appealed  he 
received  his  lashes  all  the  same,  and  if  his  appeal  was  rejected  by 
the  Senate  he  received  some  more  castigation  for  having  troubled 
unnecessarily  the  higher  judicial  authorities.  For  the  military  and 
insubordinate  convicts  there  was  a  barbarous  punishment  called 
Spitsruten,  to  the  extent  of  5,000  or  6,000  blows,  which  often  ended 
in  the  death  of  the  unfortunate. 

The  use  of  torture  in  criminal  investigations  was  formally 
abolished  in  1801,  but  if  we  may  believe  the  testimony  of  a  public 
prosecutor,  it  was  occasionally  used  in  Moscow  as  late  as  1850. 

The  defects  and  abuses  of  the  old  system  were  so  flagrant  that 
they  became  known  even  to  the  Emperor  Nicholas  I.,  and  caused 
him  momentary  indignation,  but  he  never  attempted  seriously  to 


514  KUSSIA 

root  them  out.  In  1844,  for  example,  he  heard  of  some  gross 
abuses  in  a  tribimal  not  far  from  the  Winter  Palace,  and  ordered 
an  investigation.  Baron  Korff,  to  whom  the  investigation  was  en- 
trusted, brought  to  light  what  he  called  "  a  yawning  abyss  of  all 
possible  horrors,  which  have  been  accumulating  for  years,"  and  his 
Majest}',  after  reading  the  report,  wrote  upon  it  with  his  own 
hand :  "  Unheard-of  disgrace !  The  carelessness  of  the  authority 
immediately  concerned  is  incredible  and  unpardonable.  I  feel 
ashamed  and  sad  that  such  disorder  could  exist  almost  under  my 
eyes  and  remain  unknown  to  me."  Unfortunately  the  outburst 
of  Imperial  indignation  did  not  last  long  enough  to  produce  any 
desirable  consequences.  The  only  result  was  that  one  member  of 
the  tribunal  was  dismissed  from  the  service,  and  the  Governor- 
General  of  St.  Petersburg  had  to  resign,  but  the  latter  subsequently 
received  an  honorary  reward,  and  the  Emperor  remarked  that  he 
was  himself  to  blame  for  having  kept  the  Governor-General  so  long 
at  his  post. 

When  his  Majesty's  habitual  optimism  happened  to  be  troubled 
by  incidents  of  this  sort  he  probably  consoled  himself  with  remem- 
bering that  he  had  ordered  some  preparatory  work,  by  which  the 
administration  of  justice  might  be  improved,  and  this  work  was 
being  diligently  carried  out  in  the  legislative  section  of  his  own 
chancery  by  Count  Bludof,  one  of  the  ablest  Eussian  lawyers  of  his 
time.  Unfortunately  the  existing  state  of  things  was  not  thereby 
improved,  because  the  preparatory  work  was  not  of  the  kind  that 
was  wanted.  On  the  assumption  that  any  evil  which  might  exist 
could  be  removed  by  improving  the  laws.  Count  Bludof  devoted 
his  efforts  almost  entirely  to  codification.  In  reality  what  was 
required  was  to  change  radically  the  organisation  of  the  courts 
and  the  procedure,  and  above  all  to  let  in  on  their  proceedings  the 
cleansing  atmosphere  of  publicity.  This  the  Emperor  Nicholas 
could  not  understand,  and  if  he  had  understood  it  he  could  not  have 
brought  himself  to  adopt  the  appropriate  remedies,  because  radical 
reform  and  control  of  oflScials  by  public  opinion  were  his  two  pet 
bugbears. 

Very  different  was  his  son  and  successor,  Alexander  II.,  in  the 
first  years  of  his  reign.  In  his  accession  manifesto  a  prominent 
place  was  given  to  his  desire  that  justice  and  mercy  should  reign 
in  the  courts  of  law.  Referring  to  these  words  in  a  later  mani- 
festo, he  explained  his  wishes  more  fully  as  "  the  desire  to  establish 
in  Eussia  expeditious,  just,  merciful,  impartial  courts  of  justice 
for  all  our  subjects;  to  raise  the  judicial  authority;  to  give  it  the 


THE    NEW    LAW    COURTS  515 

proper  indepondcnce,  and  in  general  to  implant  in  the  people  that 
respect  for  the  law  which  ought  to  be  the  constant  guide  of  all  and 
every  one  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest."  These  were  not  mere 
vain  words.  Peremptory  orders  had  been  given  that  the  great  work 
should  be  undertaken  without  delay,  and  when  the  Emancipation 
question  was  being  discussed  in  the  Provincial  Committees,  the 
Council  of  State  examined  the  question  of  judicial  reform  "  from 
the  historical,  the  theoretical,  and  the  practical  point  of  view,"  and 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  existing  organisation  must  be  com- 
pletely transformed. 

The  commission  appointed  to  consider  this  important  matter 
filed  a  lengthy  indictment  against  the  existing  system,  and  pointed 
out  no  less  than  twenty-five  radical  defects.  To  remove  these  it 
proposed  that  the  judicial  organisation  should  be  completely  sepa- 
rated from  all  other  branches  of  the  Administration ;  that  the  most 
ample  publicity,  with  trial  by  jury  in  criminal  cases,  should  be 
introduced  into  the  tribunals;  that  Justice  of  Peace  Courts  should 
be  created  for  petty  affairs ;  and  that  the  procedure  in  the  ordinary 
courts  should  be  greatly  simplified. 

These  fundamental  principles  were  published  by  Imperial  com- 
mand on  September  29th,  1862 — a  year  and  a  half  after  the  pub- 
lication of  the  Emancipation  Manifesto — and  on  November  20th, 
1864,  the  new  legislation  founded  on  these  principles  received  the 
Imperial  sanction. 

Like  most  institutions  erected  on  a  iahula  rasa,  the  new  system 
is  at  once  simple  and  symmetrical.  As  a  whole,  the  architecture 
of  the  edifice  is  decidedly  French,  but  here  and  there  we  may 
detect  immistakable  symptoms  of  English  influence.  It  is  not, 
however,  a  servile  copy  of  any  older  edifice;  and  it  may  be  fairly 
said  that,  though  every  individual  part  has  been  fashioned  accord- 
ing to  a  foreign  model,  the  whole  has  a  certain  originality. 

The  lower  part  of  the  building  in  its  original  form  was  composed 
of  two  great  sections,  distinct  from,  and  independent  of,  each 
other — on  the  one  hand  the  Justice  of  Peace  Courts,  and  on  the 
other  the  Regular  Tribunals.  Both  sections  contained  an  Ordi- 
nary Court  and  a  Court  of  Appeal.  The  upper  part  of  the  build- 
ing, covering  equally  both  sections,  was  the  Senate  as  Supreme 
Court  of  Revision  {Coiir  cle  Cassation). 

The  distinctive  character  of  the  two  independent  sections  may 
be  detected  at  a  glance.  The  function  of  the  Justice  of  Peace 
Courts  is  to  decide  petty  cases  that  involve  no  abstruse  legal  prin- 
ciples, and  to  settle,  if  possible  by  conciliation,  those  petty  conflicts 


516  EUSSIA 

and  disputes  which  arise  naturally  in  the  relations  of  ever}'day 
life;  the  function  of  the  Eegular  Tribunals  is  to  take  cognisance 
of  those  graver  affairs  in  which  the  fortune  or  honour  of  indi- 
viduals or  families  is  more  or  less  implicated,  or  in  which  the  public 
tranquillity  is  seriously  endangered.  The  two  kinds  of  courts 
were  organised  in  accordance  with  these  intended  functions.  In 
the  former  the  procedure  is  simple  and  conciliatory,  the  jurisdic- 
tion is  confined  to  cases  of  little  importance,  and  the  judges  were 
at  first  chosen  by  popular  election,  generally  from  among  the  local 
inhabitants.  In  the  latter  there  is  more  of  "  the  pomp  and 
majesty  of  the  law."  The  procedure  is  more  strict  and  formal, 
the  jurisdiction  is  unlimited  with  regard  to  the  importance 
of  the  cases,  and  the  judges  are  trained  jurists  nominated  by  the 
Emperor. 

The  Justice  of  Peace  Courts  received  jurisdiction  over  all  obli- 
gations and  civil  injuries  in  which  the  sum  at  stake  was  not  more 
than  500  roubles — about  £50 — and  all  criminal  affairs  in  which  the 
legal  punishment  did  not  exceed  300  roubles — about  £30 — or  one 
year  of  punishment.  When  any  one  had  a  complaint  to  make, 
he  might  go  to  the  Justice  of  the  Peace  {Mirovoi  Sudyd)  and  ex- 
plain the  affair  orally,  or  in  writing,  without  observing  any  formal- 
ities ;  and  if  the  complaint  seemed  well  founded,  the  Justice  at  once 
fixed  a  day  for  hearing  the  case,  and  gave  the  other  party  notice 
to  appear  at  the  appointed  time.  When  the  time  appointed  arrived, 
the  affair  was  discussed  publicly  and  orally,  either  by  the  parties 
themselves,  or  by  any  representatives  whom  they  might  appoint. 
If  it  was  a  civil  suit,  the  Justice  began  by  proposing  to  the  parties 
to  terminate  it  at  once  by  a  compromise,  and  indicated  what  he 
considered  a  fair  arrangement.  Many  affairs  were  terminated  in 
this  simple  way.  If,  however,  either  of  the  parties  refused  to 
consent  to  a  compromise,  the  matter  was  fully  discussed,  and  the 
Justice  gave  a  formal  written  decision,  containing  the  grounds  on 
which  it  was  based.  In  criminal  cases  the  amount  of  punishment 
was  always  determined  by  reference  to  a  special  Criminal  Code. 

If  the  sum  at  issue  exceeded  thirty  roubles — about  £3 — or  if  the 
punishment  exceeded  a  fine  of  fifteen  roubles — about  30s. — or  three 
days  of  arrest,  an  appeal  might  be  made  to  the  Assembly  of  Jus- 
tices (Mirovoi  Syezd).  This  is  a  point  in  which  English  rather 
than  French  institutions  were  taken  as  a  model.  According  to 
the  French  system,  all  appeals  from  a  Juge  de  Paix  are  made  to 
the  "  Tribunal  d'Arrondissement,"  and  the  Justice  of  Peace  Courts 
are  thereby  subordinated  to  the  Eegular  Tribunals.     According 


THE    XEAY   LAW    COUETS  517 

to  the  English  system,  certain  cases  may  be  carried  on  appeal  from 
the  Justice  of  the  Peace  to  the  Quarter  Sessions.  This  latter  prin- 
ciple was  adopted  and  greatly  developed  by  the  Russian  legislation. 
The  Monthly  Sessions,  composed  of  all  the  Justices  of  the  District 
(uyezd),  considered  appeals  against  the  decisions  of  the  individual 
Justices.  The  procedure  was  simple  and  informal,  as  in  the  lower 
court,  but  an  assistant  of  the  Procureur  was  always  present.  This 
functionary  gave  his  opinion  in  some  civil  and  in  all  criminal  cases 
immediately  after  the  debate,  and  the  Court  took  his  opinion  into 
consideration  in  framing  its  judgment. 

In  the  other  great  section  of  the  judicial  organisation — the 
Regular  Tribunals — there  are  likewise  Ordinary  Courts  and  Courts 
of  Appeal,  called  respectively  "  Tribunaux  d'Arrondissement " 
(Okruzhniye  Sudy)  and  "Palais  de  Justice"  (Sudehniya  Paldty). 
Each  Ordinary  Court  has  jurisdiction  over  several  Districts 
(uyezdy),  and  the  jurisdiction  of  each  Court  of  Appeals  compre- 
hends several  Provinces.  All  civil  cases  are  subject  to  appeal, 
however  small  the  sum  at  stake  may  be,  but  criminal  cases  are 
decided  finally  by  the  lower  court  with  the  aid  of  a  jury.  Thus  in 
criminal  affairs  the  "  Palais  de  Justice "  is  not  at  all  a  court  of 
appeal,  but  as  no  regular  criminal  prosecution  can  be  raised  with- 
out its  formal  consent,  it  controls  in  some  measure  the  action  of 
the  lower  courts. 

As  the  general  reader  cannot  be  supposed  to  take  an  interest  in 
the  details  of  civil  procedure,  I  shall  merely  say  on  this  subject 
that  in  both  sections  of  the  Regular  Tribunals  the  cases  are  always 
tried  by  at  least  three  judges,  the  sittings  are  public,  and  oral  de- 
bates by  officially  recognised  advocates  form  an  important  part  of 
the  proceedings.  I  venture,  however,  to  speak  a  little  more  at 
length  regarding  the  change  which  has  been  made  in  the  criminal 
procedure — a  subject  that  is  less  technical  and  more  interesting 
for  the  uninitiated. 

Down  to  the  time  of  the  recent  judicial  reforms  the  procedure 
in  criminal  cases  was  secret  and  inquisitorial.  The  accused  had 
little  opportunity  of  defending  himself,  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  State  took  endless  formal  precautions  against  condemning  the 
innocent.  The  practical  consequence  of  this  system  was  that  an 
innocent  man  might  remain  for  years  in  prison  until  the  author- 
ities convinced  themselves  of  his  innocence,  whilst  a  clever  criminal 
might  indefinitely  postpone  his  condemnation. 

In  studying  the  history  of  criminal  procedure  in  foreign  coun- 
tries, those  who  were  entrusted  with  the  task  of  preparing  projects 


518  EUSSIA 

of  reform  found  that  nearly  every  country  of  Europe  had  expe- 
rienced the  evils  from  which  Eussia  was  suffering,  and  that  one 
country  after  another  had  come  to  the  conviction  that  the  most 
efficient  means  of  removing  these  evils  was  to  replace  the  inquisi- 
torial hy  litigious  procedure,  to  give  a  fair  field  and  no  favour  to 
the  prosecutor  and  the  accused,  and  allow  them  to  fight  out  their 
battle  with  whatever  legal  weapons  they  might  think  fit.  Further, 
it  was  discovered  that,  according  to  the  most  competent  foreign 
authorities,  it  was  well  in  this  modern  form  of  judicial  combat  to 
leave  the  decision  to  a  jury  of  respectable  citizens.  The  steps 
which  Eussia  had  to  take  were  thus  clearly  marked  out  by  the 
experience  of  other  nations,  and  it  was  decided  that  they  should  be 
taken  at  once.  The  organs  for  the  prosecution  of  supposed  crimi- 
nals were  carefully  separated  from  the  judges  on  the  one  hand,  and 
from  the  police  on  the  other;  oral  discussions  between  the  Public 
Prosecutor  and  the  prisoner's  counsel,  together  with  oral  examina- 
tion and  cross-questioning  of  witnesses,  were  introduced  into  the 
procedure;  and  the  jury  was  made  an  essential  factor  in  criminal 
trials. 

When  a  case,  whether  civil  or  criminal,  has  been  decided  in  the 
Eegular  Tribunals,  there  is  no  possibility  of  appeal  in  the  strict 
sense  of  the  term,  but  an  application  may  be  made  for  a  revision 
of  the  case  on  the  ground  of  technical  informality.  To  use  the 
French  terms,  there  cannot  be  appel,  but  there  may  be  cassation. 
If  there  has  been  any  omission  or  transgression  of  essential  legal 
formalities,  or  if  the  Court  has  overstepped  the  bounds  of  its  legal 
authority,  the  injured  party  may  make  an  application  to  have  the 
case  revised  and  tried  again.*  This  is  not,  according  to  French 
juridical  conceptions,  an  appeal.  The  Court  of  Eevision  t  (Cour  de 
Cassation)  does  not  enter  into  the  material  facts  of  the  case,  but 
merely  decides  the  question  as  to  whether  the  essential  formalities 
have  been  duly  observed,  and  as  to  whether  the  law  has  been  properly 
interpreted  and  applied;  and  if  it  be  found  on  examination  that 
there  is  some  ground  for  invalidating  the  decision,  it  does  not 
decide  the  case.  According  to  the  new  Eussian  system,  the  sole 
Court  of  Eevision  is  the  Senate. 

The  Senate  thus  forms  the  regulator  of  the  whole  judicial  sys- 
tem, but  its  action  is  merely  regulative.     It  takes  cognisance  only 

*  This  is  the  procedure  referred  to  by  Karl  Karl'itch,  vide  supra,  p  37. 

1 1  am  quite  aware  that  the  term  "  Court  of  Revision  "  is  equivocal, 
but  I  have  uo  better  term  to  propose,  and  I  hope  the  above  explanations 
will  prevent  confusion. 


THE    NEW    LAW    COURTS  519 

of  what  is  presented  to  it,  and  supplies  to  the  machine  no  motive 
power.  If  any  of  the  lower  courts  should  work  slowly  or  cease  to 
work  altogether,  the  Senate  might  remain  ignorant  of  the  fact, 
and  certainly  could  take  no  official  notice  of  it.  It  was  considered 
necessary,  therefore,  to  supplement  the  spontaneous  vitality  of  the 
lower  courts,  and  for  this  purpose  was  created  a  special  centralised 
judicial  administration,  at  the  head  of  which  was  placed  the  ]\Iin- 
ister  of  Justice.  The  Minister  is  "  Procureur-General,"  and  has 
subordinates  in  all  the  courts.  The  primary  function  of  this  ad- 
ministration is  to  preserve  the  force  of  the  law,  to  detect  and  repair 
all  infractions  of  judicial  order,  to  defend  the  interests  of  the  State 
and  of  those  persons  who  are  officially  recognised  as  incapable  of 
taking  charge  of  their  own  affairs,  and  to  act  in  criminal  matters 
as  Public  Prosecutor. 

Viewed  as  a  whole,  and  from  a  little  distance,  this  grand  judicial 
edifice  seems  perfectly  symmetrical,  but  a  closer  and  more  minute 
inspection  brings  to  light  unmistakable  indications  of  a  change  of 
plan  during  the  process  of  construction.  Though  the  work  lasted 
only  about  half-a-dozen  years,  the  style  of  the  upper  differs  from 
the  style  of  the  lower  parts,  precisely  as  in  those  Gothic  cathedrals 
which  grew  up  slowly  during  the  course  of  centuries.  And  there 
is  nothing  here  that  need  surprise  us,  for  a  considerable  change 
took  place  in  the  opinions  of  the  official  world  during  that  short 
period.  The  reform  was  conceived  at  a  time  of  uncritical  en- 
thusiasm for  advanced  liberal  ideas,  of  boundless  faith  in  the 
dictates  of  science,  of  unquestioning  reliance  on  public  spirit, 
public  control,  and  public  honesty — a  time  in  which  it  was  believed 
that  the  public  would  spontaneously  do  everything  necessary  for 
the  common  weal,  if  it  were  only  freed  from  the  administrative 
swaddling-clothes  in  which  it  had  been  hitherto  bound.  Still 
smarting  from  the  severe  regime  of  Nicholas,  men  thought  more 
about  protecting  the  rights  of  the  individual  than  about  preserving 
public  order,  and  under  the  influence  of  the  socialistic  ideas  in 
vogue  malefactors  were  regarded  as  the  unfortunate,  involuntary 
victims  of  social  inequality  and  injustice. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  period  in  question  all  this  had  begun  to 
change.  Many  were  beginning  to  perceive  that  liberty  might  easily 
turn  to  license,  that  the  spontaneous  public  energy  was  largely 
expended  in  empty  words,  and  that  a  certain  amount  of  hierarchical 
discipline  was  necessary  in  order  to  keep  the  public  administration 
in  motion.  It  was  found,  therefore,  in  1864,  that  it  was  impossible 
to  carry  out  to  their  ultimate  consequences  the  general  principles 


520  EUSSIA 

laid  down  and  published  in  1862.  Even  in  those  parts  of  the  legis- 
lation which  were  actually  put  in  force,  it  was  found  necessary  to 
make  modifications  in  an  indirect,  covert  way.  Of  these,  one  may 
be  cited  by  way  of  illustration.  In  1860  criminal  inquiries  were 
taken  out  of  the  hands  of  the  police  and  transferred  to  Juges 
d'instruction  {Sudehniye  SUdovateli),  who  were  almost  entirely 
independent  of  the  Public  Prosecutor,  and  could  not  be  removed 
unless  condemned  for  some  legal  transgression  by  a  Regular  Tri- 
bunal. This  reform  created  at  first  much  rejoicing  and  great 
expectations,  because  it  raised  a  barrier  against  the  tyranny  of  the 
police  and  against  the  arbitrary  power  of  the  higher  officials.  But 
very  soon  the  defects  of  the  system  became  apparent.  Many  Juges 
d'instruction,  feeling  themselves  independent,  and  knowing  that 
they  would  not  be  prosecuted  except  for  some  flagrantly  illegal  act, 
gave  way  to  indolence,  and  spent  their  time  in  inactivity.*  In 
such  cases  it  was  always  difficult,  and  sometimes  impossible,  to 
procure  a  condemnation — for  indolence  must  assume  gigantic  pro- 
portions in  order  to  become  a  crime — and  the  minister  had  to 
adopt  the  practice  of  appointing,  without  Imperial  confirmation, 
temporary  Juges  d'instruction  whom  he  could  remove  at  pleasure. 

It  is  unnecessary,  however,  to  enter  into  these  theoretical  de- 
fects. The  important  question  for  the  general  public  is:  How  do 
the  institutions  work  in  the  local  conditions  in  which  they  are 
placed  ? 

This  is  a  question  which  has  an  interest  not  only  for  Russians, 
but  for  all  students  of  social  science,  for  it  tends  to  throw  light  on 
the  difficult  subject  as  to  how  far  institutions  may  be  successfully 
transplanted  to  a  foreign  soil.  Many  thinkers  hold,  and  not  with- 
out reason,  that  no  institution  can  work  well  unless  it  is  the  natural 
product  of  previous  historical  development.  Now  we  have  here 
an  opportunity  of  testing  this  theory  by  experience;  we  have  even 
what  Bacon  terms  an  experimentum  crucis.  This  new  judicial 
system  is  an  artificial  creation  constructed  in  accordance  with  prin- 
ciples laid  down  by  foreign  jurists.  All  that  the  elaborators  of 
the  project  said  about  developing  old  institutions  was  mere  talk. 
In  reality  they  made  a  tabula  rasa  of  the  existing  organisation. 
If  the  introduction  of  public  oral  procedure  and  trial  by  jury  was 
a  return  to  ancient  customs,  it  was  a  return  to  what  had  been  long 
since  forgotten  by  all  except  antiquarian  specialists,  and  no  serious 
attempt  was  made  to  develop  what  actually  existed.  One  form, 
indeed,  of  oral  procedure  had  been  preserved  in  the  Code,  but  it 
*  A  flagrant  case  of  this  kind  came  under  my  own  observation. 


THE   NEW   LAW    COURTS  521 

had  fallen  completely  into  disuse,  and  seems  to  have  been  over- 
looked by  the  elaborators  of  the  new  system.* 

Having  in  general  little  confidence  in  institutions  which  spring 
ready-made  from  the  brains  of  autocratic  legislators,  I  expected 
to  find  that  this  new  judicial  organisation,  which  looks  so  well  on 
paper,  was  well-nigh  worthless  in  reality.  Observation,  however, 
has  not  confirmed  my  pessimistic  expectations.  On  the  contrary, 
I  have  found  that  these  new  institutions,  though  they  have  not  yet 
had  time  to  strike  deep  root,  and  are  very  far  from  being  perfect 
even  in  the  human  sense  of  the  term,  work  on  the  whole  remark- 
ably well,  and  have  already  conferred  immense  benefit  on  the 
country. 

In  the  course  of  a  few  years  the  Justice  of  Peace  Courts,  which 
may  perhaps  be  called  the  newest  part  of  the  new  institutions,  be- 
came thoroughly  acclimatised,  as  if  they  had  existed  for  generations. 
As  soon  as  they  were  opened  they  became  extremely  popular.  In 
Moscow  the  authorities  had  calculated  that  under  the  new  system 
the  number  of  cases  would  be  more  than  doubled,  and  that  on  an 
average  each  justice  would  have  nearly  a  thousand  cases  brought 
before  him  in  the  course  of  the  year.  The  reality  far  exceeded 
their  expectations:  each  justice  had  on  an  average  2,800  cases. 
In  St,  Petersburg  and  the  other  large  towns  the  amount  of  work 
which  the  justices  had  to  get  through  was  equally  great. 

To  understand  the  popularity  of  the  Justice  of  Peace  Courts, 
we  must  know  something  of  the  old  police  courts  which  they  sup- 
planted. The  nobles,  the  military,  and  the  small  oflBcials  had 
always  looked  on  the  police  with  contempt,  because  their  position 
secured  them  against  interference,  and  the  merchants  acquired  a 
similar  immunity  by  submitting  to  blackmail,  which  often  took 
the  form  of  a  fixed  subsidy;  but  the  lower  classes  in  town  and 
country  stood  in  fear  of  the  humblest  policeman,  and  did  not  dare 
to  complain  of  him  to  his  superiors.  If  two  workmen  brought 
their  differences  before  a  police  court,  instead  of  getting  their  case 
decided  on  grounds  of  equity,  they  were  pretty  sure  to  get  scolded 
in  language  unfit  for  ears  polite,  or  to  receive  still  worse  treatment. 
Even  among  the  higher  officers  of  the  force  many  became  famous 
for  their  brutality.  A  Gorodnitchi  of  the  town  of  Tcherkassy,  for 
example,  made  for  himself  in  this  respect  a  considerable  reputation. 
If  any  humble  individual  ventured  to  offer  an  objection  to  him, 

*  I  refer  to  the  so-called  Sud  po  fonn6  established  by  an  ukaz  of 
Peter  the  Great,  in  1723.  I  was  much  astonished  when  I  accidentally 
stumbled  upon  it  in  the  Code. 


522  KUSSIA 

he  had  at  once  recourse  to  his  fists,  and  any  reference  to  the  law 
put  him  into  a  state  of  frenzy.  "  The  town,"  he  was  wont  to  say 
on  such  occasions,  "  has  been  entrusted  to  me  by  his  Majesty,  and 
you  dare  to  talk  to  me  of  the  law  ?  There  is  the  law  for  you !  " — 
the  remark  being  accompanied  with  a  blow.  Another  officer  of 
the  same  type,  long  resident  in  Kief,  had  a  somewhat  different 
method  of  maintaining  order.  He  habitually  drove  about  the 
town  with  a  Cossack  escort,  and  when  any  one  of  the  lower  classes 
had  the  misfortune  to  displease  him,  he  ordered  one  of  his 
Cossacks  to  apply  a  little  corporal  punishment  on  the  spot  without 
any  legal  formalities. 

In  the  Justice  of  Peace  Courts  things  were  conducted  in  a  ybtj 
different  style.  The  justice,  always  scrupulously  polite  without 
distinction  of  persons,  listened  patiently  to  the  complaint,  tried  to 
arrange  the  affairs  amicably,  and  when  his  efforts  failed,  gave  his 
decision  at  once  according  to  law  and  common-sense.  No  atten- 
tion was  paid  to  rank  or  social  position.  A  general  who  would 
not  attend  to  the  police  regulations  was  fined  like  an  ordinary 
workingman,  and  in  a  dispute  between  a  great  dignitary  and  a 
man  of  the  people  the  two  were  treated  in  precisely  the  same  way. 
No  wonder  such  courts  became  popular  among  the  masses;  and 
their  popularity  was  increased  when  it  became  known  that  the 
affairs  were  disposed  of  expeditiously,  without  unnecessary  for- 
malities and  without  any  bribes  or  blackmail.  Many  peasants 
regarded  the  justice  as  they  had  been  wont  to  regard  kindly  pro- 
prietors of  the  old  patriarchal  type,  and  brought  their  griefs  and 
sorrows  to  him  in  the  hope  that  he  would  somehow  alleviate  them. 
Often  they  submitted  most  intimate  domestic  and  matrimonial 
concerns  of  which  no  court  could  possibly  take  cognisance,  and 
sometimes  they  demanded  the  fulfilment  of  contracts  which  were  in 
flagrant  contradiction  not  only  with  the  written  law,  but  also  with 
ordinary  morality.* 

Of  course,  the  courts  were  not  entirely  without  blemishes.  In 
the  matter,  for  example,  of  making  no  distinction  of  persons  some 
of  the  early  justices,  in  seeking  to  avoid  Scylla,  came  dangerously 
near  to  Charybdis.  Imagining  that  their  mission  was  to  eradicate 
the  conceptions  and  habits  which  had  been  created  and  fostered 
by  serfage,  they  sometimes  used  their  authority  for  giving  lessons 
in  philanthropic  liberalism,  and  took  a  malicious  delight  in  wound- 

*  Many  curious  instances  of  this  have  come  to  my  knowledge,  but  they 
are  of  such  a  kind  that  they  cannot  be  quoted  in  a  work  intended  for  the 
general  public. 


THE    NEW   LAW    COUETS  523 

ing  the  susceptibilities,  and  occasionally  even  the  material  interests, 
of  those  whom  they  regarded  as  enemies  to  the  good  cause.  In 
disputes  between  master  and  servant,  or  between  employer  and  work- 
men, the  justice  of  this  type  considered  it  his  duty  to  resist  the 
tyranny  of  capital,  and  was  apt  to  forget  his  official  character  of 
judge  in  his  assumed  character  of  social  reformer.  Happily  these 
aberrations  on  the  part  of  the  justices  are  already  things  of  the 
past,  but  they  helped  to  bring  about  a  reaction,  as  we  shall  see 
presently. 

The  extreme  popularity  of  the  Justice  of  Peace  Courts  did  not 
last  very  long.  Their  history  resembled  that  of  the  Zemstvo  and 
many  other  new  institutions  in  Kussia — at  first,  enthusiasm  and 
inordinate  expectations ;  then  consciousness  of  defects  and  practical 
inconveniences;  and,  lastly,  in  an  influential  section  of  the  public, 
the  pessimism  of  shattered  illusions,  accompanied  by  the  adoption 
of  a  reactionary  policy  on  the  part  of  the  Government.  The  dis- 
content appeared  first  among  the  so-called  privileged  classes.  To 
people  who  had  all  their  lives  enjoyed  great  social  consideration  it 
seemed  monstrous  that  they  should  be  treated  exactly  in  the  same 
way  as  the  muzhik ;  and  when  a  general  who  was  accustomed  to  be 
addressed  as  "Your  Excellency,"  was  accused  of  using  abusive 
language  to  his  cook,  and  found  himself  seated  on  the  same  bench 
with  the  menial,  he  naturally  supposed  that  the  end  of  all  things 
was  at  hand;  or  perhaps  a  great  civil  official,  who  was  accustomed 
to  regard  the  police  as  created  merely  for  the  lower  classes,  sud- 
denly found  himself,  to  his  inexpressible  astonishment,  fined  for  a 
contravention  of  police  regulations!  Naturally  the  justices  were 
accused  of  dangerous  revolutionary  tendencies,  and  when  they  hap- 
pened to  bring  to  light  some  injustice  on  the  part  of  the  tchinovnik 
they  were  severely  condemned  for  undermining  the  prestige  of  the 
Imperial  authority. 

For  a  time  the  accusations  provoked  merely  a  smile  or  a  caustic 
remark  among  the  Liberals,  but  about  the  middle  of  the  eighties 
criticisms  began  to  appear  even  in  the  Liberal  Press.  No  very 
grave  allegations  were  made,  but  defects  in  the  system  and  mis- 
carriages of  justice  were  put  forward  and  severely  commented 
upon.  Occasionally  it  happened  that  a  justice  was  indolent,  or 
that  at  the  Sessions  in  a  small  country  town  it  was  impossible 
to  form  a  quorum  on  the  appointed  day.  Overlooking  the  good 
features  of  the  institution  and  the  good  services  rendered  by  it, 
the  critics  began  to  propose  partial  reorganisation  in  the  sense 
of  greater  control  by  central  authorities.     It  was  suggested,  for 


524  EUSSIA 

example,  that  the  President  of  Sessions  should  be  appointed  by 
the  Government,  that  the  justices  should  be  subordinated  to  the 
Eegular  Tribunals,  and  that  the  principle  of  election  by  the  Zemstvo 
should  be  abolished. 

These  complaints  were  not  at  all  unwelcome  to  the  Government, 
because  it  had  embarked  on  a  reactionary  policy,  and  in  1889  it 
suddenly  granted  to  the  critics  a  great  deal  more  than  they  desired. 
In  the  rural  districts  of  Central  Eussia  the  justices  were  replaced 
by  the  rural  supervisors,  of  whom  I  have  spoken  in  a  previous 
chapter,  and  the  part  of  their  functions  which  could  not  well  be 
entrusted  to  those  new  officials  was  transferred  to  judges  of  the 
Eegular  Courts.  In  some  of  the  larger  towns  and  in  the  rural 
districts  of  outlying  provinces  the  justices  were  preserved,  but 
instead  of  being  elected  by  the  Zemstvo  they  were  nominated  by  the 
Government. 

The  regular  Tribunals  likewise  became  acclimatised  in  an  incredi- 
bly short  space  of  time.  The  first  judges  were  not  by  any  means 
profound  jurists,  and  were  too  often  deficient  in  that  dispassionate 
calmness  which  we  are  accustomed  to  associate  with  the  Bench; 
but  they  were  at  least  honest,  educated  men,  and  generally  pos- 
sessed a  fair  knowledge  of  the  law.  Their  defects  were  due  to  the 
fact  that  the  demand  for  trained  jurists  far  exceeded  the  supply, 
and  the  Government  was  forced  to  nominate  men  who  under 
ordinary  circumstances  would  never  have  thought  of  presenting 
themselves  as  candidates.  At  the  beginning  of  1870,  in  the  33 
"  Tribunaux  d'Arrondissement  ^'  which  then  eS;isted,  there  were  227 
judges,  of  whom  44  had  never  received  a  juridical  education. 
Even  the  presidents  had  not  all  passed  through  a  school  of  law. 
Of  course  the  courts  could  not  become  thoroughly  effective  until 
all  the  judges  were  men  who  had  received  a  good  special  education 
and  had  a  practical  acquaintance  with  judicial  matters.  This  has 
now  been  effected,  and  the  present  generation  of  judges  are  better 
prepared  and  more  capable  than  their  predecessors.  On  the  score 
of  probity  I  have  never  heard  any  complaints. 

Of  all  the  judicial  innovations,  perhaps  the  most  interesting  is 
the  jury. 

At  the  time  of  the  reforms  the  introduction  of  the  jury  into  the 
judicial  organisation  awakened  among  the  educated  classes  a  great 
amount  of  sentimental  enthusiasm.  The  institution  had  the  repu- 
tation of  being  "  liberal,"  and  was  known  to  be  approved  of  by  the 
latest  authorities  in  criminal  jurisprudence.  This  was  sufficient 
to  insure  it  a  favourable  reception,  and  to  excite  most  exaggerated 


THE    NEW   LAW    COURTS  525 

expectations  as  to  its  beneficent  influence.  Ten  years  of  experience 
somewhat  cooled  this  enthusiasm,  and  voices  might  be  heard  de- 
claring that  the  introduction  of  the  jury  was  a  mistake.  The 
Russian  people,  it  was  held,  was  not  yet  ripe  for  such  an  institution, 
and  numerous  anecdotes  were  related  in  support  of  this  opinion. 
One  jury,  for  instance,  was  said  to  have  returned  a  verdict  of  "  not 
guilty  with  extenuating  circumstances " ;  and  another,  being 
unable  to  come  to  a  decision,  was  reported  to  have  cast  lots  before 
an  Icon,  and  to  have  given  a  verdict  in  accordance  with  the  result ! 
Besides  this,  juries  often  gave  a  verdict  of  "  not  guilty  "  when  the 
accused  made  a  full  and  formal  confession  to  the  court. 

How  far  the  comic  anecdotes  are  true  I  do  not  undertake  to 
decide,  but  I  venture  to  assert  that  such  incidents,  if  they  really 
occur,  are  too  few  to  form  the  basis  of  a  serious  indictment.  The 
fact,  however,  that  juries  often  acquit  prisoners  who  openly  con- 
fess their  crime  is  beyond  all  possibility  of  doubt. 

To  most  Englishmen  this  fact  will  probably  seem  sufficient  to 
prove  that  the  introduction  of  the  institution  was  at  least  premature, 
but  before  adopting  this  sweeping  conclusion  it  will  be  well  to 
examine  the  phenomenon  a  little  more  closely  in  connection  with 
Russian  criminal  procedure  as  a  whole. 

In  England  the  Bench  is  allowed  very  great  latitude  in  fixing 
the  amount  of  punishment.  The  jury  can  therefore  confine  them- 
selves to  the  question  of  fact  and  leave  to  the  judge  the  apprecia- 
tion of  extenuating  circumstances.  In  Russia  the  position  of  the 
jury  is  different.  The  Russian  criminal  law  fixes  minutely  the 
punishment  for  each  category  of  crimes,  and  leaves  almost  no  lati- 
tude to  the  judge.  The  jury  know  that  if  they  give  a  verdict  of 
guilty,  the  prisoner  will  inevitably  be  punished  according  to  the 
Code.  Now  the  Code,  borrowed  in  great  part  from  foreign  legis- 
lation, is  founded  on  conceptions  very  different  from  those  of  the 
Russian  people,  and  in  many  cases  it  attaches  heavy  penalties  to 
acts  which  the  ordinary  Russian  is  wont  to  regard  as  mere  pec- 
cadilloes, or  positively  justifiable.  Even  in  those  matters  in 
which  the  Code  is  in  harmony  with  the  popular  morality,  there  are 
many  exceptional  cases  in  which  sumnium  Jus  is  really  summa 
injuria.  Suppose,  for  instance — as  actually  happened  in  a  case 
which  came  under  my  notice — that  a  fire  breaks  out  in  a  village, 
and  that  the  Village  Elder,  driven  out  of  patience  by  the  apathy 
and  laziness  of  some  of  his  young  fellow-villagers,  oversteps  the 
limits  of  his  authority  as  defined  by  law,  and  accompanies  his 
reproaches  and  exhortations  with  a  few  lusty  blows.     Surely  such 


536  EUSSIA 

a  man  is  not  guilty  of  a  very  heinous  crime — certainly  he  is  not  in 
the  opinion  of  the  peasantry — and  yet  if  he  be  prosecuted  and 
convicted  he  inevitably  falls  into  the  jaws  of  an  article  of  the  Code 
which  condemns  to  transportation  for  a  long  term  of  years. 

In  such  cases  what  is  the  jury  to  do?  In  England  they  might 
safely  give  a  verdict  of  guilty,  and  leave  the  judge  to  take  into  con- 
sideration all  the  extenuating  circumstances;  but  in  Eussia  they 
cannot  act  in  this  way,  for  they  know  that  the  judge  must  condemn 
the  prisoner  according  to  the  Criminal  Code.  There  remains, 
therefore,  but  one  issue  out  of  the  difficulty — a  verdict  of  acquittal ; 
and  Eussian  juries — to  their  honour  be  it  said — ^generally  adopt 
this  alternative.  Thus  the  jury,  in  those  cases  in  which  it  is  most 
severely  condemned,  provides  a  corrective  for  the  injustice  of  the 
criminal  legislation.  Occasionally,  it  is  true,  they  go  a  little  too 
far  in  this  direction  and  arrogate  to  themselves  a  right  of  pardon, 
but  cases  of  that  kind  are,  I  believe,  very  rare.  I  know  of  only  one 
well-authenticated  instance.  The  prisoner  had  been  proved  guilty 
of  a  serious  crime,  but  it  happened  to  be  the  eve  of  a  great  religious 
festival,  and  the  jury  thought  that  in  pardoning  the  prisoner  and 
giving  a  verdict  of  acquittal  they  would  be  acting  as  good 
Christians ! 

The  legislation  regards,  of  course,  this  practice  as  an  abuse,  and 
has  tried  to  prevent  it  by  concealing  as  far  as  possible  from  the 
jury  the  punishment  that  awaits  the  accused  if  he  be  condemned. 
For  this  purpose  it  forbids  the  counsel  for  the  prisoner  to  inform 
the  jury  what  punishment  is  prescribed  by  the  Code  for  the  crime 
in  question.  This  ingenious  device  not  only  fails  in  its  object, 
but  has  sometimes  a  directly  opposite  effect.  Not  knowing  what 
the  punishment  will  be,  and  fearing  that  it  may  be  out  of  all  propor- 
tion to  the  crime,  the  jury  sometimes  acquit  a  criminal  whom  they 
would  condemn  if  they  knew  what  punishment  would  be  inflicted. 
And  when  a  jury  is,  as  it  were,  entrapped,  and  finds  that  the  pun- 
ishment is  more  severe  than  it  supposed,  it  can  take  its  revenge 
in  the  succeeding  cases.  I  know  at  least  of  one  instance  of  this 
kind.  A  jury  convicted  a  prisoner  of  an  offence  which  it  regarded 
as  very  trivial,  but  which  in  reality  entailed,  according  to  the 
Code,  seven  years  of  penal  servitude !  So  surprised  and  frightened 
were  the  jurymen  by  this  unexpected  consequence  of  their  verdict, 
that  they  obstinately  acquitted,  in  the  face  of  the  most  convincing 
evidence,  all  the  other  prisoners  brought  before  them. 

The  most  famous  case  of  acquital  when  there  was  no  conceivable 
doubt  as  to  the  guilt  of  the  accused  was  that  of  Vera  Zasulitch, 


THE   NEW   LAW   COURTS  527 

who  shot  General  Trepof,  Prefect  of  St.  Petersburg;  but  the  cir- 
cumstances were  so  peculiar  that  they  will  hardly  support  any 
general  conclusion.  I  happened  to  be  present,  and  watched  the 
proceedings  closely.  Vera  Zasulitch,  a  young  woman  who  had  for 
some  time  taken  part  in  the  revolutionary  movement,  heard  that  a 
young  revolutionist  called  Bogoliubof,  imprisoned  in  St.  Peters- 
burg, had  been  flogged  by  orders  of  General  Trepof,*  and  though 
she  did  not  know  the  victim  personally  she  determined  to  avenge 
the  indignity  to  which  he  had  been  subjected.  With  this  intention 
she  appeared  at  the  Prefecture,  ostensibly  for  the  purpose  of  present- 
ing a  petition,  and  when  she  found  herself  in  the  presence  of  the 
Prefect  she  fired  a  revolver  at  him,  wounding  him  seriously,  but 
not  mortally.  At  the  trial  the  main  facts  were  not  disputed,  and 
yet  the  jury  brought  in  a  verdict  of  not  guilty.  This  unexpected 
result  was  due,  I  believe,  partly  to  a  desire  to  make  a  little  political 
demonstration,  and  partly  to  a  strong  suspicion  that  the  prison 
authorities,  in  carrying  out  the  Prefect's  orders,  had  acted  in  sum- 
mary fashion  without  observing  the  tedious  formalities  prescribed 
by  the  law.  Certainly  one  of  the  prison  officials,  when  under  cross- 
examination,  made  on  me,  and  on  the  public  generally,  the  impres- 
sion that  he  was  prevaricating  in  order  to  shield  his  superiors. 

At  the  close  of  the  proceedings,  which  were  dexterously  conducted 
by  Counsel  in  such  a  way  that,  as  the  Emperor  is  reported  to  have 
said,  it  was  not  Vera  Zasulitch  but  General  Trepof  who  was  being 
tried,  an  eminent  Kussian  journalist  rushed  up  to  me  in  a  state 
of  intense  excitement  and  said :  "  Is  not  this  a  great  day  for  the 
cause  of  political  freedom  in  Russia  ?  "  I  could  not  agree  with 
him  and  I  ventured  to  predict  that  neither  of  us  would  ever  again, 
see  a  political  case  tried  publicly  by  jury  in  an  ordinary  court.  The 
prediction  has  proved  true.  Since  that  time  political  offenders 
have  been  tried  by  special  tribunals  without  a  jury  or  dealt  with 
"  by  administrative  procedure,"  that  is  to  say,  inquisitorially,  with- 
out any  regular  trial. 

The  defects,  real  and  supposed,  of  the  present  system  are  com- 
monly attributed  to  the  predominance  of  the  peasant  element  in 
the  juries;  and  this  opinion,  founded  on  a  priori  reasoning,  seems 
to  many  too  evident  to  require  verification.  The  peasantry  are  in 
many  respects  the  most  ignorant  class,  and  therefore,  it  is  assumed, 

*  The  reasou  alleged  by  General  Trepof  for  giving  these  orders  was 
that,  during  a  visit  of  inspection,  Bogoliubof  had  behaved  disrespect- 
fully towards  him,  and  had  thereby  comnutted  an  infraction  of  prison 
discipline,  for  which  the  law  prescribes  the  use  of  corporal  punishment 


528  RUSSIA 

they  are  least  capable  of  weighing  conflicting  evidence.  Plain 
and  conclusive  as  this  reasoning  seems,  it  is  in  my  opinion  erro- 
neous. The  peasants  have,  indeed,  little  education,  but  they  have 
a  large  fund  of  plain  common-sense;  and  experience  proves — so  at 
least  I  have  been  informed  by  many  judges  and  Public  Prosecutors 
— that,  as  a  general  rule,  a  peasant  jury  is  more  to  be  relied  on 
than  a  jury  dravra  from  the  educated  classes.  It  must  be  ad- 
mitted, however,  that  a  peasant  jury  has  certain  peculiarities,  and 
it  is  not  a  little  interesting  to  observe  what  those  peculiarities  are. 

In  the  first  place,  a  jury  composed  of  peasants  generally  acts  in 
a  somewhat  patriarchal  fashion,  and  does  not  always  confine  its 
attention  to  the  evidence  and  the  arguments  adduced  at  the  trial. 
The  members  form  their  judgment  as  men  do  in  the  affairs  of 
ordinary  life,  and  are  sure  to  be  greatly  influenced  by  any  jurors 
who  happen  to  be  personally  acquainted  with  the  prisoner.  If 
several  of  the  jurors  know  him  to  be  a  bad  character,  he  has  little 
chance  of  being  acquitted,  even  though  the  chain  of  evidence 
against  him  should  not  be  quite  perfect.  Peasants  cannot  under- 
stand why  a  notorious  scoundrel  should  be  allowed  to  escape  be- 
cause a  little  link  in  the  evidence  is  wanting,  or  because  some  little 
judicial  fornjality  has  not  been  duly  observed.  Indeed,  their 
ideas  of  criminal  procedure  in  general  are  extremely  primitive. 
The  Communal  method  of  dealing  with  malefactors  is  best  in  ac- 
cordance with  their  conceptions  of  well-regulated  society.  The 
Mir  may,  by  a  Communal  decree  and  without  a  formal  trial,  have 
any  of  its  unruly  members  transported  to  Siberia!  This  sum- 
mary, informal  mode  of  procedure  seems  to  the  peasants  very 
satisfactory.  They  are  at  a  loss  to  understand  how  a  notorious 
culprit  is  allowed  to  "buy"  an  advocate  to  defend  him,  and  are 
very  insensible  to  the  bought  advocate's  eloquence.  To  many  of 
them,  if  I  may  trust  to  conversations  which  I  have  casually  over- 
heard in  and  around  the  courts,  "buying  an  advocate"  seems  to 
be  very  much  the  same  kind  of  operation  as  bribing  a  judge. 

In  the  second  place,  the  peasants,  when  acting  as  jurors,  are  very 
severe  with  regard  to  crimes  against  property.  In  this  they  are 
instigated  by  the  simple  instinct  of  self-defence.  They  are,  in 
fact,  continually  at  the  mercy  of  thieves  and  malefactors.  They 
live  in  wooden  houses  easily  set  on  fire;  their  stables  might  be 
broken  into  by  a  child;  at  night  the  village  is  guarded  merely  by 
an  old  man,  who  cannot  be  in  more  than  one  place  at  a  time,  and 
in  the  one  place  he  is  apt  to  go  to  sleep;  a  police  ofiicer  is  rarely 
seen,  except  when  a  crime  has  actually  been  committed.     A  few 


THE    NEW   LAW    COURTS  529 

clever  horse-stealers  may  ruin  many  families,  and  a  fire-raiser,  in 
his  desire  to  avenge  himself  on  an  enemy,  may  reduce  a  whole 
village  to  destitution.  These  and  similar  considerations  tend  to 
make  the  peasants  very  severe  against  theft,  rol)bery,  and  arson; 
and  a  Public  Prosecutor  who  desires  to  obtain  a  conviction  against 
a  man  charged  with  one  of  these  crimes  endeavours  to  have  a  jury 
in  which  the  peasant  class  is  largely  represented. 

With  regard  to  fraud  in  its  various  forms,  the  peasants  are  much 
more  lenient,  probably  because  the  line  of  demarcation  between 
honest  and  dishonest  dealing  in  commercial  affairs  is  not  very 
clearly  drawn  in  their  minds.  Many,  for  instance,  are  convinced 
that  trade  cannot  be  successfully  carried  on  without  a  little  clever 
cheating;  and  hence  cheating  is  regarded  as  a  venial  offence.  If 
the  money  fraudulently  acquired  be  restored  to  the  owner,  the 
crime  is  supposed  to  be  completely  condoned.  Thus  when  a  Volost 
Elder  appropriates  the  public  money,  and  succeeds  in  repaying  it 
before  the  case  comes  on  for  trial,  he  is  invariably  acquitted — and 
sometimes  even  re-elected ! 

An  equal  leniency  is  generally  shown  by  peasants  towards  crimes 
against  the  person,  such  as  assaults,  cruelty,  and  the  like.  This 
fact  is  easily  explained.  Refined  sensitiveness  and  a  keen  sym- 
pathy with  physical  suffering  are  the  result  of  a  certain  amount  of 
material  well-being,  together  with  a  certain  degree  of  intellectual 
and  moral  culture,  and  neither  of  these  is  yet  possessed  by  the 
Russian  peasantry.  Any  one  who  has  had  opportunities  of  fre- 
quently observing  the  peasants  must  have  been  often  astonished  by 
their  indifference  to  suffering,  both  in  their  own  persons  and  in 
the  person  of  others.  In  a  drunken  brawl  heads  may  be  broken  and 
wounds  inflicted  without  any  interference  on  the  part  of  the  spec- 
tators. If  no  fatal  consequences  ensue,  the  peasant  does  not  think 
it  necessary  that  oflQcial  notice  should  be  taken  of  the  incident,  and 
certainly  does  not  consider  that  any  of  the  combatants  should  be 
transported  to  Siberia.  Slight  wounds  heal  of  their  own  accord 
without  any  serious  loss  to  the  sufferer,  and  therefore  the  man  who 
inflicts  them  is  not  to  be  put  on  the  same  level  as  the  criminal  who 
reduces  a  family  to  beggary.  This  reasoning  may,  perhaps,  shock 
people  of  sensitive  nerves,  but  it  undeniably  contains  a  certain 
amount  of  plain,  homely  wisdom. 

Of  all  kinds  of  cruelty,  that  which  is  perhaps  most  revolting  to 
civilised  mankind  is  the  cruelty  of  the  husband  towards  his  wife; 
but  to  this  crime  the  Russian  peasant  shows  especial  leniency.  He 
is  still  influenced  by  the  old  conceptions  of  the  husband's  rights. 


530  KUSSIA 

and  by  that  low  estimate  of  the  weaker  sex  which  finds  expression 
in  many  popular  proverbs. 

The  peculiar  moral  conceptions  reflected  in  these  facts  are  evi- 
dently the  result  of  external  conditions,  and  not  of  any  recondite 
ethnographical  peculiarities,  for  they  are  not  found  among  the 
merchants,  who  are  nearly  all  of  peasant  origin.  On  the  contrary, 
the  merchants  are  more  severe  with  regard  to  crimes  against  the 
person  than  with  regard  to  crimes  against  property.  The  explana- 
tion of  this  is  simple.  The  merchant  has  means  of  protecting  his 
property,  and  if  he  should  happen  to  suffer  by  theft,  his  fortune 
is  not  likely  to  be  seriously  affected  by  it.  On  the  other  hand,  he 
has  a  certain  sensitiveness  with  regard  to  such  crimes  as  assault; 
for  though  he  has  commonly  not  much  more  intellectual  and  moral 
culture  than  the  peasant,  he  is  accustomed  to  comfort  and  material 
well-being,  which  naturally  develop  sensitiveness  regarding  physical 
pain. 

Towards  fraud  the  merchants  are  quite  as  lenient  as  the  peas- 
antry. This  may,  perhaps,  seem  strange,  for  fraudulent  practices 
are  sure  in  the  long  run  to  undermine  trade.  The  Russian  mer- 
chants, however,  have  not  yet  arrived  at  this  conception,  and  can 
point  to  many  of  the  richest  members  of  their  class  as  a  proof  that 
fraudulent  practices  often  create  enormous  fortunes.  Long  ago 
Samuel  Butler  Justly  remarked  that  we  damn  the  sins  we  have 
no  mind  to. 

As  the  external  conditions  have  little  or  no  influence  on  the 
religious  conceptions  of  the  merchants  and  the  peasantry,  the  two 
classes  are  equally  severe  with  regard  to  those  acts  which  are 
regarded  as  crimes  against  the  Deity.  Hence  acquittals  in  cases 
of  sacrilege,  blasphemy,  and  the  like  never  occur  unless  the  jury 
is  in  part  composed  of  educated  men. 

In  their  decisions,  as  in  their  ordinary  modes  of  thought,  the 
jurors  drawn  from  the  educated  classes  are  little,  if  at  all,  affected 
by  theological  conceptions,  but  they  are  sometimes  influenced  in  a 
not  less  unfortunate  way  by  conceptions  of  a  different  order.  It 
may  happen,  for  instance,  that  a  juror  who  had  passed  through 
one  of  the  higher  educational  establishments  has  his  own  peculiar 
theory  about  the  value  of  evidence,  or  he  is  profoundly  impressed 
with  the  idea  that  it  is  better  that  a  thousand  guilty  men  should 
escape  than  that  one  innocent  man  should  be  punished,  or  he  is 
imbued  with  sentimental  pseudo-philanthropy,  or  he  is  convinced 
that  punishments  are  useless  because  they  neither  cure  the  delin- 
quent nor  deter  others  from  crime ;  in  a  word,  he  may  have  in  some 


THE    NEW    LAW    COURTS  '  531 

way  or  other  lost  his  mental  balance  in  that  moral  chaos  through 
which  Eussia  is  at  present  passing.  In  England,  France,  or  Ger- 
many such  an  individual  would  have  little  influence  on  his  fellow- 
jurymen,  for  in  these  countries  there  are  very  few  people  who  allow 
new  paradoxical  ideas  to  overturn  their  traditional  notions  and 
obscure  their  common-sense ;  but  in  Russia,  where  even  the  elemen- 
tary moral  conceptions  are  singularly  unsta])lo  and  pliable,  a  man 
of  this  type  may  succeed  in  leading  a  Jury.  IMoro  than  once  I 
have  heard  men  boast  of  having  induced  their  fellow-jurymen  to 
acquit  every  prisoner  brought  before  them,  not  because  they  be- 
lieved the  prisoners  to  be  innocent  or  the  evidence  to  be  insuflScient, 
but  because  all  punishments  are  useless  and  Ijarbarous. 

One  word  in  conclusion  regarding  the  independence  and  political 
significance  of  the  new  courts.  When  the  question  of  judicial 
reform  was  first  publicly  raised  many  people  hoped  that  the  new 
courts  would  receive  complete  autonomy  and  real  independence, 
and  would  thus  form  a  foundation  for  political  liberty.  These 
hopes,  like  so  many  illusions  of  that  strange  time,  have  not  been 
realised.  A  large  measure  of  autonomy  and  independence  was 
indeed  granted  in  theory.  The  law  laid  down  the  principle  that 
no  judge  could  be  removed  unless  convicted  of  a  definite  crime,  and 
that  the  courts  should  present  candidates  for  all  the  vacant  places 
on  the  Bench;  but  these  and  similar  rights  have  little  practical 
significance.  If  the  Minister  cannot  depose  a  judge,  he  can  de- 
prive him  of  all  possibility  of  receiving  promotion,  and  he  can  easily 
force  him  in  an  indirect  way  to  send  in  his  resignation ;  and  if  the 
courts  have  still  the  right  to  present  candidates  for  vacant  places, 
the  Minister  has  also  this  right,  and  can,  of  course,  always  secure 
the  nomination  of  his  own  candidate.  By  the  influence  of  that 
centripetal  force  which  exists  in  all  centralised  bureaucracies,  the 
Procureurs  have  become  more  important  personages  than  the  Presi- 
dents of  the  courts. 

From  the  political  point  of  view  the  question  of  the  independence 
of  the  Courts  has  not  yet  acquired  much  practical  importance,  be- 
cause the  Government  can  always  have  political  offenders  tried  by 
a  special  tribunal  or  can  send  them  to  Siberia  for  an  indefinite  term 
of  years  without  regular  trial  by  the  "  administrative  procedure  "  to 
which  I  have  above  referred. 


CHAPTEE    XXXIV 

REVOLUTIONARY     NIHILISM     AND     THE     REACTION 

The  Reform-enthusiasm  Becomes  Unpractical  and  Culminates  in  Nihil- 
ism— Nihilism,  the  Distorted  Reflection  of  Academic  Western  Social- 
ism— Russia  Well  Prepared  for  Reception  of  Ultra-Socialist  Virus — 
Social  Reorganisation  According  to  Latest  Results  of  Science — 
Positivist  Theory — Leniency  of  Press-censure — Chief  Representatives 
of  New  Movement  —  Government  Becomes  Alarmed  —  Repressive 
Measures — Reaction  in  the  Public — The  Term  Nihilist  Invented — 
The  Nihilist  and  His  Theory — Further  Repressive  Measures — Atti- 
tude of  Landed  Proprietors — Foundation  of  a  Liberal  Party — Liber- 
alism Checked  by  Polish  Insurrection — Practical  Reform  Continued 
— An  Attempt  at  Regicide  Forms  a  Turning-point  of  Government's 
Policy — Change  in  Educational  System — Decline  of  Nihilism. 

THE  rapidly  increasing  enthusiasm  for  reform  did  not  confine 
itself  to  practical  measures  such  as  the  emancipation  of  the 
serfs,  the  creation  of  local  self-government,  and  the  thorough  re- 
organisation of  the  law-courts  and  legal  procedure.  In  the  younger 
section  of  the  educated  classes,  and  especially  among  the  students 
of  the  universities  and  technical  colleges,  it  produced  a  feverish 
intellectual  excitement  and  wild  aspirations  which  culminated  in 
what  is  commonly  knovni  as  Nihilism. 

In  a  preceding  chapter  I  pointed  out  that  during  the  last  two 
centuries  all  the  important  intellectual  movements  in  Western 
Europe  have  been  reflected  in  Eussia,  and  that  these  reflections 
have  generally  been  what  may  fairly  be  termed  exaggerated  and 
distorted  reproductions  of  the  originals.*  Eoughly  speaking,  the 
Nihilist  movement  in  Eussia  may  be  described  as  the  exaggerated, 
distorted  reflection  of  the  earlier  Socialist  movements  of  the  West ; 
but  it  has  local  peculiarities  and  local  colouring  which  deserve 
attention. 

The  Eussian  educated  classes  had  been  well  prepared  by  their 
past  history  for  the  reception  and  rapid  development  of  the  Social- 
ist virus.  For  a  century  and  a  half  the  country  had  been  subjected 
to  a  series  of  drastic  changes,  administrative  and  social,  by  the 
energetic  action  of  the  Autocratic  Power,  with  little  spontaneous 
*  See  Chapter  XXVI. 
532 


EEVOLUTIONAEY  NIHILISM  AND  THE  REACTION   533 

co-operation  on  the  part  of  the  people.  In  a  nation  with  such  a 
history.  Socialistic  ideas  naturally  found  favour,  because  all  Socialist 
systems  until  quite  recent  times  were  founded  on  the  assumption 
that  political  and  social  progress  must  be  the  result  not  of  slow 
natural  development,  but  rather  of  philosophic  speculation,  legisla- 
tive wisdom,  and  administrative  energy. 

This  assumption  lay  at  the  bottom  of  the  reform  enthusiasm  in 
St.  Petersburg  at  the  commencement  of  Alexander  ll.'s  reign. 
Eussia  might  be  radically  transformed,  it  was  thought,  politically 
and  socially,  according  to  abstract  scientific  principles,  in  the  space 
of  a  few  years,  and  be  thereby  raised  to  the  level  of  West-European 
civilisation,  or  even  higher.  The  older  nations  had  for  centuries 
groped  in  darkness,  or  stumbled  along  in  the  faint  light  of  prac- 
tical experience,  and  consequently  their  progress  had  been  slow 
and  uncertain.  For  Eussia  there  was  no  necessity  to  follow  such 
devious,  unexplored  paths.  She  ought  to  profit  by  the  experience 
of  her  elder  sisters,  and  avoid  the  errors  into  which  they  had 
fallen.  Nor  was  it  difficult  to  ascertain  what  these  errors  were, 
because  they  had  been  discovered,  examined  and  explained  by  the 
most  eminent  thinkers  of  France  and  England,  and  efficient  remedies 
had  been  prescribed.  Eussian  reformers  had  merely  to  study 
and  apply  the  conclusions  at  which  these  eminent  authorities  had 
arrived,  and  their  task  would  be  greatly  facilitated  by  the  fact  that 
they  could  operate  on  virgin  soil,  untrammelled  by  the  feudal  tradi- 
tions, religious  superstitions,  metaphysical  conceptions,  romantic 
illusions,  aristocratic  prejudices,  and  similar  obstacles  to  social 
and  political  progress  which  existed  in  Western  Europe. 

Such  was  the  extraordinary  intellectual  atmosphere  in  which  the 
Eussian  educated  classes  lived  during  the  early  years  of  the  sixties. 
On  the  "  men  with  aspirations,"  who  had  longed  in  vain  for  more 
light  and  more  public  activity  under  the  obscurantist,  repressive 
regime  of  the  preceding  reign,  it  had  an  intoxicating  effect.  The 
more  excitable  and  sanguine  amongst  them  now  believed  seriously 
that  they  had  discovered  a  convenient  short-cut  to  national  pros- 
perity, and  that  for  Eussia  a  grandiose  social  and  political 
millennium  was  at  hand.* 

In  these  circumstances  it  is  not  surprising  that  one  of  the  most 
prominent  characteristics  of  the  time  was  a  boundless,  child-like 

*  I  was  not  myself  in  St.  Petersburg  at  that  period,  but  on  arriving  a 
few  years  afterwards  I  became  intimately  acquainted  with  men  and 
women  who  had  lived  through  it,  and  who  still  retained  much  of  their 
early  enthusiasm. 


534  EUSSIA 

faith  in  the  so-called  "  latest  results  of  science."  Infallible  science 
was  supposed  to  have  found  the  solution  of  all  political  and  social 
problems.  What  a  reformer  had  to  do — and  who  was  not  a 
would-be  reformer  in  those  days? — was  merely  to  study  the  best 
authorities.  Their  works  had  been  long  rigidly  excluded  by  the 
Press  censure,  but  now  that  it  was  possible  to  obtain  them,  they 
were  read  with  avidity.  Chief  among  the  new,  infallible  prophets 
whose  works  were  profoundly  venerated  was  Auguste  Comte,  the 
inventor  of  Positivism.  In  his  classification  of  the  sciences  the 
crowning  of  the  edifice  was  sociology,  which  taught  how  to  organise 
human  society  on  scientific  principles.  Piussia  had  merely  to 
adopt  the  principles  laid  down  and  expounded  at  great  length  in  the 
Cours  de  PhilosopMe  Positive.  There  Comte  explained  that  hu- 
manity had  to  pass  through  three  stages  of  intellectual  develop- 
ment— the  religious,  the  metaphysical,  and  the  positive — and 
that  the  most  advanced  nations,  after  spending  centuries  in  the 
two  first,  were  entering  on  the  third.  Eussia  must  endeavour, 
therefore,  to  get  into  the  positive  stage  as  quickly  as  possible,  and 
there  was  reason  to  believe  that,  in  consequence  of  certain  ethno- 
graphical and  historical  peculiarities,  she  could  make  the  transition 
more  quickly  than  other  nations.  After  Comte's  works,  the  book 
which  found,  for  a  time,  most  favour  was  Buckle's  "  History  of 
Civilisation,"  which  seemed  to  reduce  history  and  progress  to  a 
matter  of  statistics,  and  which  laid  down  the  principle  that  prog- 
ress is  always  in  the  inverse  ratio  of  the  influence  of  theological 
conceptions.  This  principle  was  regarded  as  of  great  practical 
importance,  and  the  conclusion  drawn  from  it  was  that  rapid  na- 
tional progress  was  certain  if  only  the  influence  of  religion  and 
theology  could  be  destroyed.  '  Very  popular,  too,  was  John  Stuart 
Mill,  because  he  was  "imbued  with  enthusiasm  for  humanity  and 
female  emancipation  " ;  and  in  his  tract  on  Utilitarianism  he  showed 
that  morality  was  simply  the  crystallised  experience  of  many  genera- 
tions as  to  what  was  most  conducive  to  the  greatest  good  of 
the  greatest  number.  The  minor  prophets  of  the  time,  among 
whom  Btichner  occupied  a  prominent  place,  are  too  numerous  to 
mention. 

Strange  to  say,  the  newest  and  most  advanced  doctrines  ap- 
peared regularly,  under  a  very  thin  and  transparent  veil,  in  the 
St.  Petersburg  daily  Press,  and  especially  in  the  thick  monthly 
magazines,  which  were  as  big  as,  or  bigger  than,  our  venerable 
quarterlies.  The  art  of  writing  and  reading  "  between  the  lines," 
not  altogether  unknown  under  the  Draconian  regime  of  Nicholas 


EEVOLUTIONAEY  NIHILISM  AND  THE  EEACTION   535 

I.,  was  now  developed  to  such  a  marvellous  extent  that  almost 
any  thing  could  be  written  clearly  enough  to  be  understood  by  the 
initiated  without  calling  for  the  thunderbolts  of  the  Press  censors, 
which  was  now  only  intermittently  severe.  Indeed,  the  Press 
censors  themselves  were  sometimes  carried  away  by  the  reform 
enthusiasm.  One  of  them  long  afterwards  related  to  me  that 
during  "the  mad  time,"  as  he  called  it,  in  the  course  of  a  single 
year  he  had  received  from  his  superiors  no  less  than  seventeen 
rej^rimands  for  passing  objectionable  articles  without  remark. 

The  movement  found  its  warmest  partisans  among  the  students 
and  young  literary  men,  but  not  a  few  grey-beards  were  to  be 
found  among  the  youthful  apostles.  All  who  read  the  periodical 
literature  became  more  or  less  imbued  with  the  new  spirit;  but  it 
must  be  presumed  that  many  of  those  who  discoursed  most  elo- 
quently had  no  clear  idea  of  what  they  were  talking  about;  for 
even  at  a  later  date,  when  the  novices  had  had  time  to  acquaint 
themselves  with  the  doctrines  they  professed,  I  often  encountered 
the  most  astounding  ignorance.  Let  me  give  one  instance  by  way 
of  illustration: 

A  young  gentleman  who  was  in  the  habit  of  talking  glibly 
about  the  necessity  of  scientifically  reorganising  human  society, 
declared  to  me  one  day  that  not  only  sociology,  but  also  biol- 
ogy should  be  taken  into  consideration.  Confessing  my  com- 
plete ignorance  of  the  latter  science,  I  requested  him  to  enlighten  me 
by  giving  me  an  instance  of  a  biological  principle  which  could  be 
applied  to  social  regeneration.  He  looked  confused,  and  tried 
to  ride  out  of  the  difficulty  on  vague  general  phrases;  but  I  per- 
sistently kept  him  to  the  point,  and  maliciously  suggested  that  as 
an  alternative  he  might  cite  to  me  a  biological  principle  which 
could  not  be  used  for  such  a  purpose.  Again  he  failed,  and  it 
became  evident  to  all  present  that  of  biology,  about  which  he 
talked  so  often,  he  knew  absolutely  nothing  but  the  name !  After 
this  I  frequently  employed  the  same  pseudo-Socratic  method  of 
discussion,  and  very  often  with  a  similar  result.  Not  one  in  fifty, 
perhaps,  ever  attempted  to  reduce  the  current  hazy  conceptions 
to  a  concrete  form.  The  enthusiasm  was  not  the  less  intense, 
however,  on  that  account. 

At  first  the  partisans  of  the  movement  seemed  desirous  of  as- 
sisting, rather  than  of  opposing  or  undermining  the  Government, 
and  so  long  as  they  merely  talked  academically  about  scientific 
principles  and  similar  vague  entities,  the  Government  felt  no 
necessity  for  energetic  interference;  but  as  early  as  1861  symp- 


536  EUSSIA 

toms  of  a  change  in  the  character  of  the  movement  became 
apparent.  A  secret  society  of  officers  organised  a  small  printing- 
press  in  the  building  of  the  Headquarters  Staff  and  issued  clan- 
destinely three  numbers  of  a  periodical  called  the  VeUlcoruss 
(Great  Russian),  which  advocated  administrative  reform,  the 
convocation  of  a  constituent  assembly,  and  the  emancipation  of 
Poland  from  Eussian  rule.  A  few  months  later  (April,  1862)  a 
seditious  proclamation  appeared,  professing  to  emanate  from  a 
central  revolutionary  committee,  and  declaring  that  the  Roman- 
offs must  expiate  with  their  blood  the  misery  of  the  people. 

These  symptoms  of  an  underground  revolutionary  agitation 
caused  alarm  in  the  official  world,  and  repressive  measures  were 
at  once  adopted.  Sunday  schools  for  the  working  classes,  reading- 
rooms,  students'  clubs,  and  similar  institutions  which  might  be 
used  for  purposes  of  revolutionary  propaganda  were  closed ;  several 
trials  for  political  offences  took  place;  the  most  popular  of  the 
monthly  periodicals  (Sovremennilc)  was  suspended,  and  its  editor, 
Tchernishevski,  arrested.  There  was  nothing  to  show  that  Tcher- 
nishevski  was  implicated  in  any  treasonable  designs,  but  he 
was  undoubtedly  the  leader  of  a  group  of  youthful  writers  whose 
aspirations  went  far  beyond  the  intentions  of  the  Government, 
and  it  was  thought  desirable  to  counteract  his  influence  by  shut- 
ting him  up  in  prison.  Here  he  wrote  and  published,  with  the 
permission  of  the  authorities  and  the  imprimatur  of  the  Press 
censure,  a  novel  called  "  Shto  delat'?  "  ("What  is  to  be  Done?  "), 
which  was  regarded  at  first  as  a  most  harmless  production,  but 
which  is  now  considered  one  of  the  most  influential  and  baneful 
works  in  the  whole  range  of  Nihilist  literature.  As  a  novel  it 
had  no  pretensions  to  artistic  merit,  and  in  ordinary  times  it 
would  have  attracted  little  or  no  attention,  but  it  put  into  concrete 
shape  many  of  the  vague  Socialist  and  Communist  notions  that 
were  at  the  moment  floating  about  in  the  intellectual  atmosphere, 
and  it  came  to  be  looked  upon  by  the  young  enthusiasts  as  a  sort 
of  informal  manifesto  of  their  new-born  faith.  It  was  divided 
into  two  parts ;  in  the  first  was  described  a  group  of  students  living 
according  to  the  new  ideas  in  open  defiance  of  traditional  conven- 
tionalities, and  in  the  second  was  depicted  a  village  organised  on  the 
communistic  princijDles  recommended  by  Fourier.  The  first  was 
supposed  to  represent  the  dawn  of  the  new  era ;  the  second,  the  goal 
to  be  ultimately  attained.  When  the  authorities  discovered  the 
mistake  they  had  committed  in  allowing  the  book  to  be  published, 
it  was  at  once  confiscated  and  withdrawn  from  circulation,  whilst 


EEVOLUTIONAEY  NIHILISM  AND  THE  REACTION   537 

the  author,  after  heing  tried  l)y  tlie  Senate,  was  exiled  to  North- 
eastern Siberia  and  kept  there  for  nearly  twenty  years.* 

With  the  arrest  and  exile  of  Tchernishevski  the  young  would-be 
reformers  were  constrained  to  recognise  that  they  had  no  chance 
of  carrying  the  Government  with  them  in  their  endeavours  to 
realise  their  patriotic  aspirations.  Police  supervision  over  the 
young  generation  was  increased,  and  all  kinds  of  association, 
whether  for  mutual  instruction,  mutual  aid,  or  any  other  purpose, 
were  discouraged  or  positively  forbidden.  And  it  was  not  merely  in 
the  mind  of  the  police  that  suspicion  was  aroused.  In  the  opinion 
of  the  great  majority  of  moderate,  respectable  people  the  young 
enthusiasts  were  becoming  discredited.  The  violently  seditious  proc- 
lamations with  which  they  were  supposed  to  sympathise,  and  a  series 
of  destructive  fires  in  St.  Petersburg,  erroneously  attributed  to  them, 
frightened  timid  Liberals  and  gave  the  Reactionaries,  who  had 
hitherto  remained  silent,  an  opportunity  of  preaching  their 
doctrines  with  telling  effect.  The  celebrated  novelist,  Turgeneif, 
long  the  idol  of  the  young  generation,  had  inadvertently  in 
"  Fathers  and  Children  "  invented  the  term  Nihilist,  and  it  at  once 
came  to  be  applied  as  an  opprobrious  epithet,  notwithstanding  the 
efforts  of  Pissaref,  a  popular  writer  of  remarkable  talent,  to  prove 
to  the  public  that  it  ought  to  be  regarded  as  a  term  of  honour. 

Pissaref's  attempt  at  rehabilitation  made  no  impression  outside 
of  his  own  small  circle.  According  to  popular  opinion  the  Nihil- 
ists were  a  band  of  fanatical  young  men  and  women,  mostly 
medical  students,  who  had  determined  to  turn  the  world  upside 
down  and  to  introduce  a  new  kind  of  social  order,  founded  on  the 
most  advanced  principles  of  social  equality  and  Communism.  As 
a  first  step  towards  the  great  transformation  they  had  reversed  the 
traditional  order  of  things  in  the  matter  of  coiffure:  the  males 
allowed  their  hair  to  grow  long,  and  the  female  adepts  cut  their 

*  Tchernishevski  was  a  man  of  eucyclopiedic  Ivnowledge  and  specially 
conversant  with  political  economy.  According  to  the  testimony  of  those 
who  knew  him  intimately,  he  was  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  sympathetic 
men  of  his  generation.  During  his  exile  a  bold  attempt  was  made  to 
rescue  him,  and  very  nearly  succeeded.  A  daring  youth,  disguised  as 
an  officer  of  gendarmes  and  provided  with  forged  official  papers,  reached 
the  place  where  he  was  confined  and  procured  his  release,  but  the  officer 
in  charge  had  vague  suspicions,  and  insisted  on  the  two  travellers  being 
escorted  to  the  next  post-station  by  a  couple  of  Cossacks.  The  rescuer 
tried  to  get  rid  of  the  escort  by  means  of  his  revolver,  but  he  failed  in 
the  attempt,  and  the  fugitives  were  arrested.  In  188.3  Tchernishevski 
was  transferred  to  the  milder  climate  of  Astrakhan,  and  in  1889  he  was 
allowed  to  return  to  his  native  town,  Saratof,  where  he  died  a  few 
months  afterwards. 


538  KUSSIA 

hair  short,  adding  occasionally  the  additional  badge  of  blue  spec- 
tacles. Their  unkempt  appearance  naturally  shocked  the  aesthetic 
feelings  of  ordinary  people,  but  to  this  they  were  indifferent. 
They  had  raised  themselves  above  the  level  of  popular  notions, 
took  no  account  of  so-called  public  opinion,  gloried  in  Bohemian- 
ism,  despised  Philistine  respectability,  and  rather  liked  to  scan- 
dalise old-fashioned  people  imbued  with  antiquated  prejudices. 

This  was  the  ridiculous  side  of  the  movement,  but  underneath 
the  absurdities  there  was  something  serious.  These  young  men  and 
women,  who  were  themselves  terribly  in  earnest,  were  systematically 
hostile  not  only  to  accepted  conventionalities  in  the  matter  of  dress, 
but  to  all  manner  of  shams,  hypocrisy,  and  cant  in  the  broad  Car- 
lylean  sense  of  those  terms.  To  the  "  beautiful  souls  "  of  the  older 
generation,  who  had  habitually,  in  conversation  and  literature,  shed 
pathetic  tears  over  the  defects  of  Eussian  social  and  political  organi- 
sation without  ever  moving  a  finger  to  correct  them — especially  the 
landed  proprietors  who  talked  and  wrote  about  civilisation,  culture, 
and  justice  while  living  comfortably  on  the  revenues  provided 
for  them  by  their  unfortunate  serfs — these  had  the  strongest  aver- 
sion; and  this  naturally  led  them  to  condemn  in  strong  language 
the  worship  of  aesthetic  culture.  But  here  again  they  fell  into 
exaggeration.  Professing  extreme  utilitarianism,  they  explained 
that  the  humble  shoemaker  who  practises  his  craft  diligently  is,  in 
the  true  sense,  a  greater  man  than  a  Shakespeare,  or  a  Goethe, 
because  humanity  has  more  need  of  shoes  than  of  dramas  and 
poetry. 

Such  silly  paradoxes  provoked,  of  course,  merely  a  smile  of 
compassion ;  what  alarmed  the  sensible,  respectable  "  Philistine " 
was  the  method  of  cleansing  the  Augean  stable  recommended  by 
these  enthusiasts.  Having  discovered  in  the  course  of  their 
desultory  reading  that  most  of  the  ills  that  flesh  is  heir  to 
proceed  directly  or  indirectly  from  uncontrolled  sexual  passion 
and  the  lust  of  gain,  they  proposed  to  seal  hermetically  these  two 
great  sources  of  crime  and  misery  by  abolishing  the  old-fashioned 
institutions  of  marriage  and  private  property.  When  society,  they 
argued,  should  be  so  organised  that  all  the  healthy  instincts  of 
human  nature  could  find  complete  and  untrammelled  satisfaction, 
there  would  be  no  motive  or  inducement  for  committing  crimes 
or  misdemeanours.  For  thousands  of  years  humanity  had  been  sail- 
ing on  a  wrong  tack.  The  great  law-givers  of  the  world,  religious 
and  civil,  in  their  ignorance  of  physical  science  and  positivist 
methods,  had  created  institutions,  commonly  known  as  law  and 


EEVOLUTIONAEY  NIHILISM  AND  THE  EEACTION   539 

morality,  which  were  utterly  unfitted  to  human  nature,  and  then 
the  magistrate  and  the  moralist  had  endeavoured  to  compel  or 
persuade  men  and  women  to  conform  to  them,  but  their  efforts 
had  failed  most  signally.  In  vain  the  police  had  threatened  and 
punished  and  the  priests  had  preached  and  admonished.  Human 
nature  had  systematically  and  obstinately  rebelled,  and  still  rebels, 
against  the  unnatural  constraint.  It  is  time,  therefore,  to  try  a 
new  system.  Instead  of  continuing,  as  has  been  done  for  thou- 
sands of  years,  to  force  men  and  women,  as  it  were,  into  badly 
fitting,  unelastic  clothes  which  cause  intense  discomfort  and  pre- 
vent all  healthy  muscular  action,  why  not  adapt  the  costume  to 
the  anatomy  and  physiology  of  the  human  frame?  Then  the 
clothes  will  no  longer  be  rent,  and  those  who  wear  them  will 
be  contented  and  happy. 

Unfortunately  for  the  progress  of  humanity  there  are  serious  ob- 
stacles in  the  way  of  this  radical  change  of  system.  The  absurd, 
antiquated  and  pernicious  institutions  and  customs  are  supported 
by  abstruse  metaphysical  reasons  and  enshrined  in  mystical  ro- 
mantic sentiment,  and  in  this  way  they  may  still  be  preserved  for 
generations  unless  the  axe  be  laid  to  the  root  of  the  tree.  Now 
is  the  critical  moment.  Eussia  must  be  made  to  rise  at  once  from 
the  metaphysical  to  the  positivist  stage  of  intellectual  development ; 
metaphysical  reasoning  and  romantic  sentiment  must  be  rigorously 
discarded;  and  everything  must  be  brought  to  the  touchstone  of 
naked  practical  utilit}^ 

One  might  naturally  suppose  that  men  holding  such  opinions 
must  be  materialists  of  the  grossest  type — and,  indeed,  many  of 
them  gloried  in  the  name  of  materialist  and  atheist — but  such  an 
inference  would  be  erroneous.  While  denouncing  metaphysics, 
they  were  themselves  metaphysicians  in  so  far  as  they  were  con- 
stantly juggling  with  abstract  conceptions,  and  letting  themselves 
be  guided  in  their  walk  and  conversation  by  a  priori  deductions; 
while  ridiculing  romanticism,  they  had  romantic  sentiment 
enough  to  make  them  sacrifice  their  time,  their  property,  and 
sometimes  even  their  life,  to  the  attainment  of  an  unrealisable 
ideal;  and  while  congratulating  themselves  on  having  passed 
from  the  religious  to  the  positivist  stage  of  intellectual  develop- 
ment, they  frequently  showed  themselves  animated  with  the  spirit 
of  the  early  martyrs!  Earely  have  the  strange  inconsistencies  of 
human  nature  been  so  strikingly  exemplified  as  in  these  unprac- 
tical, anti-religious  fanatics.  In  dealing  with  them  I  might 
easily,  without  very  great  exaggeration,  produce  a  most  amusing 


540  RUSSIA 

caricature,  but  I  prefer  describing  them  as  they  really  were.  A 
few  years  after  the  period  here  referred  to  I  knew  some  of  them 
intimately,  and  I  must  say  that,  without  at  all  sharing  or  sym- 
pathising with  their  opinions,  I  could  not  help  respecting  them  as 
honourable,  upright,  quixotic  men  and  women  who  had  made  great 
sacrifices  for  their  convictions.  One  of  them  whom  I  have  specially 
in  view  at  this  moment  suffered  patiently  for  years  from  the  utter 
shipwreck  of  his  generous  illusions,  and  when  he  could  no  longer 
hope  to  see  the  dawn  of  a  brighter  day,  he  ended  by  committing 
suicide.  Yet  that  man  believed  himself  to  be  a  Eealist,  a  Material- 
ist, and  a  Utilitarian  of  the  purest  water,  and  habitually  professed  a 
scathing  contempt  for  every  form  of  romantic  sentiment!  In 
reality  he  was  one  of  the  best  and  most  sympathetic  men  I  have 
ever  known. 

To  return  from  this  digression.  So  long  as  the  subversive 
opinions  were  veiled  in  abstract  language  they  raised  misgivings 
in  only  a  comparative  small  circle;  but  when  school-teachers  put 
them  into  a  form  suited  to  the  juvenile  mind,  they  were  apt  to 
produce  startling  effects.  In  a  satirical  novel  of  the  time  a  little 
girl  is  represented  as  coming  to  her  mother  and  saying,  "  Little 
mamma!  Maria  Ivan'na  (our  new  school-mistress)  says  there  is  no 
God  and  no  Tsar,  and  that  it  is  wrong  to  marry !  "  Whether  such 
incidents  actually  occurred  in  real  life,  as  several  friends  assured 
me,  I  am  not  prepared  to  say,  but  certainly  people  believed  that  they 
might  occur  in  their  own  families,  and  that  was  quite  sufficient  to 
produce  alarm  even' in  the  ranks  of  the  Liberals,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  rapidly  increasing  army  of  the  Eeactionaries. 

To  illustrate  the  general  uneasiness  produced  in  St.  Petersburg, 
I  may  quote  here  a  letter  written  in  October,  1861,  by  a  man  who 
occupied  one  of  the  highest  positions  in  the  Administration.  As 
he  had  the  reputation  of  being  an  ultra-Liberal  who  sympathised 
overmuch  with  Young  Eussia,  we  may  assume  that  he  did  not  take 
an  exceptionally  alarmist  view  of  the  situation. 

"  You  have  not  been  long  absent — merely  a  few  months ;  but  if  you 
returned  now,  you  would  be  astonished  by  the  progress  which  the 
Opposition,  one  might  say  the  Revolutionary  Party,  has  already  made. 
The  disorders  in  the  university  do  not  concern  merely  the  students. 
I  see  in  the  affair  the  beginning  of  serious  dangers  for  public  tran- 
quillity and  the  existing  order  of  things.  Young  people,  without  dis- 
tinction of  costume,  uniform  and  origin,  take  part  in  the  street  dem- 
onstrations. Besides  the  students  of  the  university,  there  are  the 
students  of  other  institutions,  and  a  mass  of  people  who  are  students 
only  in  name.     Among  these  last  are  certain  gentlemen  in  long  beards 


EEVOLUTIONAEY  NIHILISM  AND  THE  REACTION   541 

and  a  number  of  rcvolutionnaires  in  crinoline,  who  are  of  all  the  most 
fanatical.  Blue  collars — the  distinguishing  mark  of  the  students'  uni- 
form— have  become  the  signc  de  rallicmcnt.  Almost  all  the  professors 
and  many  officers  take  the  part  of  the  students.  The  newspai)er  critics 
openly  defend  their  colleagues.  Mikhailof  has  been  convicted  of  writ- 
ing, printing  and  circulating  one  of  the  most  violent  proclamations  that 
ever  existed,  under  the  heading,  '  To  the  young  generation ! '  Among 
the  students  and  the  men  of  letters  there  is  unquestionably  an  organised 
conspiracy,  which  has  perhaps  leaders  outside  the  literary  circle.  .  .  . 
The  police  are  powerless.  They  arrest  any  one  they  can  lay  hands  on. 
About  eighty  people  have  already  been  sent  to  the  fortress  and  examined, 
but  all  this  leads  to  no  practical  result,  because  the  revolutionary 
ideas  have  taken  possession  of  all  classes,  all  ages,  all  professions, 
and  are  publicly  expressed  in  the  streets,  in  the  barracks,  and  in  the 
Ministries.  I  believe  the  police  itself  is  carried  away  by  them !  What 
this  will  lead  to,  it  is  difficult  to  predict.  I  am  very  much  afraid 
of  some  bloody  catastrophe.  Even  if  it  should  not  go  to  such  a  length 
immediately,  the  position  of  the  Government  will  be  extremely  difficult. 
Its  authority  is  shaken,  and  all  are  convinced  that  it  is  powerless,  stupid 
and  incapable.  On  that  point  there  is  the  most  perfect  unanimity 
among  all  parties  of  all  colours,  even  the  most  opposite.  The  most  des- 
perate '  planter '  *  agrees  in  that  respect  with  the  most  desperate  social- 
ist. Meanwhile  those  who  have  the  direction  of  affairs  do  almost 
nothing  and  have  no  plan  or  definite  aim  in  view.  At  present  the  Em- 
peror is  not  in  the  Capital,  and  now,  more  than  at  any  other  time,  there 
is  complete  anarchy  in  the  absence  of  the  master  of  the  house.  There  is  a 
great  deal  of  bustle  and  talk,  and  all  blame  they  know  not  whom."  t 

The  expected  revolution  did  not  take  place,  but  timid  people 
had  no  difficulty  in  perceiving  signs  of  its  approach.  The  Press 
continued  to  disseminate,  under  a  more  or  less  disguised  form, 
ideas  which  were  considered  dangerous.  The  Kolohol,  a  Eussian 
revolutionary  paper  published  in  London  by  Herzen  and  strictly 
prohibited  by  the  Press-censure,  found  its  way  in  large  quantities 
into  the  country,  and,  as  is  recorded  in  an  earlier  chapter,  was  read 
by  thousands,  including  the  higher  officials  and  the  Emperor  him- 
self, who  found  it  regularly  on  his  writing-table,  laid  there  by  some 
unknown  hand.  In  St.  Petersburg  the  arrest  of  Tchernishevski 
and  the  suspension  of  his  magazine,  The  Contemporary,  made  the 
writers  a  little  more  cautious  in  their  mode  of  expression,  but  the 
spirit  of  the  articles  remained  unchanged.     These  energetic  intoler- 

*  An  epithet  commonly  applied,  at  the  time  of  the  Emancipation,  to  the 
partisans  of  serfage  and  the  defenders  of  the  proprietors'  rights. 

fl  found  this  interesting  letter  (which  might  have  been  written  to- 
day) thirty  years  ago  among  the  private  papers  of  Nicholas  Milutin,  who 
played  a  leading  part  as  an  official  in  the  reforms  of  the  time.  It  was 
first  published  in  an  article  on  "  Secret  Societies  in  Russia,"  which  I 
contributed  to  the  Fnrtnighthj  Review  of  1st  August,  1877. 


542  RUSSIA 

ant  leaders  of  public  opinion  were  novi  homines  not  personally  con- 
nected with  the  social  strata  in  which  moderate  views  and  retrograde 
tenderness  had  begun  to  prevail.  Mostly  sons  of  priests  or  of  petty 
officials,  they  belonged  to  a  recently  created  literary  proletariat 
composed  of  young  men  with  boundless  aspirations  and  meagre  na- 
tional resources,  who  earned  a  precarious  subsistence  by  journalism 
or  by  giving  lessons  in  private  families.  Living  habitually  in  a  world 
of  theories  and  unrestrained  by  practical  acquaintance  with  public 
life,  they  were  ready,  from  the  purest  and  most  disinterested  motives 
to  destroy  ruthlessly  the  existing  order  of  things  in  order  to  realise 
their  crude  notions  of  social  regeneration.  Their  heated  imagina- 
tion showed  them  in  the  near  future  a  Xew  Eussia,  composed  of 
independent  federated  Communes,  without  any  bureaucracy  or  any 
central  power — a  happy  land  in  which  everybody  virtuously  and 
automatically  fulfilled  his  public  and  private  duties,  and  in  which 
the  policeman  and  all  other  embodiments  of  material  constraint 
were  wholly  superfluous. 

Governments  are  not  easily  converted  to  Utopian  schemes  of  that 
idyllic  type,  and  it  is  not  surprising  that  even  a  Government  with 
liberal  humanitarian  aspirations  like  that  of  Alexander  II.  should 
have  become  alarmed  and  should  have  attempted  to  stem  the 
current.  What  is  to  be  regretted  is  that  the  repressive  measures 
adopted  were  a  little  too  Oriental  in  their  character.  Scores  of 
young  students  of  both  sexes — for  the  Nihilist  army  included  a 
strong  female  contingent — were  secretly  arrested  and  confined  for 
months  in  unwholesome  prisons,  and  many  of  them  were  finally 
exiled,  without  any  regular  trial,  to  distant  provinces  in  European 
Eussia  or  to  Siberia.  Their  exile,  it  is  true,  was  not  at  all  so 
terrible  as  is  commonly  supposed,  because  political  exiles  are  not 
usually  confined  in  prisons  or  compelled  to  labour  in  the  mines,, 
but  are  obliged  merely  to  reside  at  a  given  place  under  police 
supervision.  Still,  such  punishment  was  severe  enough  for  educated 
young  men  and  women,  especially  when  their  lot  was  cast  among  a 
population  composed  exclusively  of  peasants  and  small  shop-keepers 
or  of  Siberian  aborigines,  and  when  there  were  no  means  of  satis- 
fying the  most  elementary  intellectual  wants.  For  those  who  had 
no  private  resources  the  punishment  was  particularly  severe,  because 
the  Government  granted  merely  a  miserable  monthly  pittance, 
hardly  sufficient  to  purchase  food  of  the  coarsest  kind,  and  there 
was  rarely  an  opportunity  of  adding  to  the  meagre  official  allowance 
by  intellectual  or  manual  labour.  In  all  cases  the  treatment  ac- 
corded to  the  exiles  wounded  their  sense  of  justice  and  increased 


REVOLUTIONAEY  NIHILISM  AND  THE  REACTION   543 

the  existing  discontent  among  their  friends  and  acquaintances. 
Instead  of  acting  as  a  deterrent,  the  system  produced  a  feeling  of 
profound  indignation,  and  ultimately  transformed  not  a  few  sen- 
timental dreamers  into  active  conspirators. 

At  first  there  was  no  conspiracy  or  regularly  organised  secret 
society  and  nothing  of  which  the  criminal  law  in  Western  Europe 
could  have  taken  cognisance.  Students  met  in  each  other's  rooms 
to  discuss  prohibited  books  on  political  and  social  science,  and 
occasionally  short  essays  on  the  subjects  discussed  were  written  in 
a  revolutionary  spirit  by  members  of  the  coterie.  This  was  called 
mutual  instruction.  Between  the  various  coteries  or  groups  there 
were  private  personal  relations,  not  only  in  the  capital,  but  also  in 
the  provinces,  so  that  manuscripts  and  printed  papers  could  be 
transmitted  from  one  group  to  another.  From  time  to  time  the 
police  captured  these  academic  disquisitions,  and  made  raids  on  the 
meetings  of  students  who  had  come  together  merely  for  conversation 
and  discussion;  and  the  fresh  arrests  caused  by  these  incidents 
increased  the  hostility  to  the  Government. 

In  the  letter  above  quoted  it  is  said  that  the  revolutionary  ideas 
had  taken  possession  of  all  classes,  all  ages,  and  all  professions. 
This  may  have  been  true  with  regard  to  St.  Petersburg,  but  it 
could  not  have  been  said  of  the  provinces.  There  the  landed  pro- 
prietors were  in  a  very  different  frame  of  mind.  They  had  to 
struggle  with  a  multitude  of  urgent  practical  affairs  which  left 
them  little  time  for  idyllic  dreaming  about  an  imaginary  mil- 
lennium. Their  serfs  had  been  emancipated,  and  what  remained 
to  them  of  their  estates  had  to  be  reorganised  on  the  basis  of  free 
labour.  Into  the  semi-chaotic  state  of  things  created  by  such  far- 
reaching  changes,  legal  and  economic,  they  did  not  wish  to  see 
any  more  confusion  introduced,  and  they  did  not  at  all  feel  that 
they  could  dispense  with  the  Central  Government  and  the  police- 
man. On  the  contrary,  the  Central  Government  was  urgently 
needed  in  order  to  obtain  a  little  ready  money  wherewith  to  reor- 
ganise the  estates  in  the  new  conditions,  and  the  police  organi- 
sation required  to  be  strengthened  in  order  to  compel  the  eman- 
cipated serfs  to  fulfil  their  legal  obligations.  These  men  and  their 
families  were,  therefore,  much  more  conservative  than  the  class 
commonly  designated  "  the  young  generation,"  and  they  naturally 
sympathised  with  the  "Philistines"  in  St.  Petersburg,  who  had 
been  alarmed  by  the  exaggerations  of  the  Nihilists. 

Even  the  landed  proprietors,  however,  were  not  so  entirely  free 
from  discontent  and  troublesome  political  aspirations  as  the  Govern- 


544  EUSSIA 

ment  would  have  desired.  They  had  not  forgotten  the  autocratic 
and  bureaucratic  way  in  which  the  Emancipation  had  been  prepared, 
and  their  indignation  had  been  only  partially  appeased  by  their  being 
allowed  to  carry  out  the  provisions  of  the  law  without  much 
bureaucratic  interference.  So  much  for  the  discontent.  As  for 
the  reform  aspirations,  they  thought  that,  as  a  compensation  for 
having  consented  to  the  liberation  of  their  serfs  and  for  hav- 
ing been  expropriated  from  about  a  half  of  their  land,  they 
ought  to  receive  extensive  political  rights,  and  be  admitted,  like 
the  upper  classes  in  Western  Europe,  to  a  fair  share  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  country.  Unlike  the  fiery  young  Nihilists  of  St. 
Petersburg,  they  did  not  want  to  abolish  or  paralyse  the  central 
power;  what  they  wanted  was  to  co-operate  with  it  loyally  and  to 
give  their  advice  on  important  questions  by  means  of  representative 
institutions.  They  formed  a  constitutional  group  which  exists 
still  at  the  present  day,  as  we  shall  see  in  the  sequel,  but  which  has 
never  been  allowed  to  develop  into  an  organised  political  party. 
Its  aims  were  so  moderate  that  its  programme  might  have  been 
used  as  a  convenient  safety-valve  for  the  explosive  forces  which 
were  steadily  accumulating  under  the  surface  of  Society,  but  it 
never  found  favour  in  the  official  world.  When  some  of  its  lead- 
ing members  ventured  to  hint  in  the  Press  and  in  loyal  addresses 
to  the  Emperor  that  the  Government  would  do  well  to  consult  the 
country  on  important  questions,  their  respectful  suggestions  were 
coldly  received  or  bluntly  rejected  by  the  bureaucracy  and  the 
Autocratic  Power. 

The  more  the  revolutionary  and  constitutional  groups  sought  to 
strengthen  their  position,  the  more  pronounced  became  the  reac- 
tionary tendencies  in  the  official  world,  and  these  received  in  1863 
an  immense  impetus  from  the  Polish  insurrection,  with  which  the 
Nihilists  and  even  some  of  the  Liberals  sympathised.*  That  ill- 
advised  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  Poles  to  recover  their  inde- 
pendence had  a  curious  effect  on  Eussian  public  opinion.  Alexan- 
der II.,  with  the  warm  approval  of  the  more  Liberal  section  of  the 
educated  classes,  was  in  the  course  of  creating  for  Poland  almost 
complete  administrative  autonomy  under  the  viceroyalty  of  a 
Eussian  Grand  Duke;  and  the  Emperor's  brother  Constantine  was 
preparing  to  carry  out  the  scheme  in  a  generous  spirit.  Soon  it 
became  evident  that  what  the  Poles  wanted  was  not  administrative 

*  The  students  of  the  St.  Petersburg  University  scandalised  their 
more  patriotic  fellow-countrymen  by  making  a  pro-Polish  demonstra- 
tion. 


EEVOLUTIOXAEY  NIHILISM  AND  THE  EEACTION   545 

autonomy,  but  political  independence,  with  the  frontiers  which 
existed  before  the  first  partition !     Trusting  to  the  expected  assis- 
tance of  the  Western  Powers  and  the  secret  connivance  of  Austria, 
they  raised  the  standard  of  insurrection,  and  some  trifling  suc- 
cesses  were   magnified   by   the   pro-Polish   Press   into   important 
victories.     As  the  news  of  the  rising  spread  over  Eussia,  there  was 
a  moment  of  hesitation.     Those  who  had  been  for  some  years 
habitually  extolling  liberty  and  self-government  as  the  normal  con- 
ditions of  progress,  who  had  been  sympathising  warmly  with  every 
Liberal  movement,  whether  at  home  or  abroad,  and  who  had  put 
forward  a  voluntary  federation  of  independent  Communes  as  the 
ideal  State  organism,  could  not  well  frown  on  the  political  aspira- 
tions of  the  Polish  patriots.     The  Liberal  sentiment  of  that  time 
was  so  extremely  philosophical  and  cosmopolitan  that  it  hardly 
distinguished  between  Poles  and  Eussians,  and  liberty  was  sup- 
posed to  be  the  birthright  of  every  man  and  woman  to  whatever 
nationality  they  might  happen  to  belong.     But  underneath  these 
beautiful  artificial  clouds  of  cosmopolitan  Liberal  sentiment  lay 
the  volcano  of  national  patriotism,  dormant  for  the  moment,  but 
by  no  means  extinct.     Though  the  Eussians  are  in  some  respects 
the  most  cosmopolitan  of  European  nations,  they  are  at  the  same 
time  capable  of  indulging  in  violent  outbursts  of  patriotic  fanati- 
cism; and  events  in  ^Yarsaw  brought  into  hostile  contact  these  two 
contradictory  elements  in  the  national  character.    The  struggle  was 
only  momentary.    Ere  long  the  patriotic  feelings  gained  the  upper 
hand  and  crushed  all  cosmopolitan  sympathy  with  political  freedom. 
The  Moscow  Gazette,  the  first  of  the  papers  to  recover  its  mental 
equilibrium,  thundered  against  the  pseudo-Liberal  sentimentalism, 
which  would,  if  unchecked,  necessarily  lead  to  the  dismemberment 
of  the  Empire,  and  its  editor,  Katkoff,  became  for  a  time  the 
most  influential  private  individual  in  the  country.     A  few,  indeed, 
remained  true  to  their  convictions.     Herzen,  for  instance,  wrote 
in  the  K6lol-ol  a  glowing  panegyric  on  two  Eussian  oSicers  who  had 
refused  to  fire  on  the  insurgents ;  and  here  and  there  a  good  Ortho- 
dox Eussian  might  be  found  who  confessed  that  he  was  ashamed  of 
Muravieff's  extreme  severity  in  Lithuania.     But  such  men  were 
few,  and  were  commonly  regarded  as  traitors,  especially  after  the 
ill-advised  diplomatic  intervention  of  the  Western  Powers.     Even 
Herzen,  by  his  publicly  expressed  sympathy  with  the  insurgents, 
lost  entirely  his  popularity  and  influence  among  his  fellow-country- 
men.    The  great  majority  of  the  public  thoroughly  approved  of  the 
severe  energetic  measures  adopted  by  the  Government,  and  when  the 


546  EUSSIA 

insurrection  was  suppressed,  men  who  had  a  few  months  previously 
spoken  and  written  in  magniloquent  terms  about  humanitarian 
Liberalism  joined  in  the  ovations  offered  to  Muravieff !  At  a  great 
dinner  given  in  his  honour,  that  ruthless  administrator  of  the  old 
Muscovite  type,  who  had  systematically  opposed  the  emancipation 
of  the  serfs  and  had  never  concealed  his  contempt  for  the  Liberal 
ideas  in  fashion,  could  ironically  express  his  satisfaction  at  seeing 
around  him  so  many  "  new  friends  "  !  *  This  revulsion  of  public 
feeling  gave  the  Moscow  Slavophils  an  opportunity  of  again  preach- 
ing their  doctrine  that  the  safety  and  prosperity  of  Russia  were  to 
be  found,  not  in  the  Liberalism  and  Constitutionalism  of  Western 
Europe,  but  in  patriarchal  autocracy.  Eastern  Orthodoxy,  and  other 
peculiarities  of  Eussian  nationality.  Thus  the  reactionary  ten- 
dencies gained  ground ;  but  Alexander  II.,  while  causing  all  politi- 
cal agitation  to  be  repressed,  did  not  at  once  abandon  his  policy 
of  introducing  radical  reforms  by  means  of  the  Autocratic  Power. 
On  the  contrary,  he  gave  orders  that  the  preparatory  work  for  creat- 
ing local  self-government  and  reorganising  the  Law  Courts  should 
be  pushed  on  energetically.  The  important  laws  for  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Zemstvo  and  for  the  great  Judicial  reforms,  which  I 
have  described  in  previous  chapters,  both  date  from  the  year  1864. 

These  and  other  reforms  of  a  less  important  kind  made  no 
impression  on  the  young  irreconcilables.  A  small  group  of  them, 
under  the  leadership  of  a  certain  Ishutin,  formed  in  Moscow  a 
small  secret  society,  and  conceived  the  design  of  assassinating  the 
Emperor,  in  the  hope  that  his  son  and  successor,  who  was  errone- 
ously supposed  to  be  imbued  with  ultra-Liberal  ideas,  might  con- 
tinue the  work  which  his  father  had  begun  and  had  not  the  courage 
to  complete.  In  April,  1866,  the  attempt  on  the  life  of  the  Em- 
peror was  made  by  a  youth  called  Karakozof  as  his  Majesty  was 
leaving  a  public  garden  in  St.  Petersburg,  but  the  bullet  happily 
missed  its  mark,  and  the  culprit  was  executed. 

This  incident  formed  a  turning-point  in  the  policy  of  the  Govern- 
ment. Alexander  II.  began  to  fear  that  he  had  gone  too  far,  or, 
at  least,  too  quickly,  in  his  policy  of  radical  reform.  An  Imperial 
rescript  announced  that  law,  property,  and  religion  were  in  danger, 

*  In  fairness  to  Count  Mnravieff  I  must  say  that  he  was  not  quite 
so  black  as  he  was  painted  in  the  Polish  and  West-European  Press. 
He  left  an  interesting  autobiographical  fragment  relating  to  the  history 
of  this  time,  but  it  is  not  likely  to  be  printed  for  some  years.  As  an 
historical  document  it  is  valuable,  but  must  be  used  with  caution  by 
the  future  historian.  A  copy  of  it  was  for  some  time  in  my  possession, 
but  I  was  bound  by  a  promise  not  to  make  extracts. 


EEVOLUTIONAEY  NIHILISM  AND  THE  KEACTION   547 

and  that  the  Government  would  lean  on  the  Noblesse  and  other 
conservative  elements  of  Society.  The  two  periodicals  which  advo- 
cated the  most  advanced  views  {Sovremennik  and  Russl-oye  Slovo) 
were  suppressed  permanently,  and  precautions  were  taken  to  pre- 
vent the  annual  assemblies  of  the  Zemstvo  from  giving  public  ex- 
pression to  the  aspirations  of  the  moderate  Liberals. 

A  secret  official  inquiry  showed  that  the  revolutionary  agitation 
proceeded  in  all  cases  from  young  men  who  were  studying,  or  had 
recently  studied,  in  the  universities,  the  seminaries,  or  the  tech- 
nical schools,  such  as  the  Medical  Academy  and  the  Agricultural 
Institute.  Plainly,  therefore,  the  system  of  education  was  at  fault. 
The  semi-military  system  of  the  time  of  Nicholas  had  been  sup- 
planted by  one  in  which  discipline  was  reduced  to  a  minimum  and 
the  study  of  natural  science  formed  a  prominent  element.  Here 
it  was  thought,  lay  the  chief  root  of  the  evil.  Englishmen  may 
have  some  difficulty  in  imagining  a  possible  connection  between 
natural  science  and  revolutionary  agitation.  To  them  the  two 
things  must  seem  wide  as  the  poles  asunder.  Surely  mathematics, 
chemistry,  physiology,  and  similar  subjects  have  nothing  to  do  with 
politics.  When  a  young  Englishman  takes  to  studying  any  branch 
of  natural  science  he  gets  up  his  subject  by  means  of  lectures, 
text-books,  and  museums  or  laboratories,  and  Avhen  he  has  mastered 
it  he  probably  puts  his  knowledge  to  some  practical  use.  In 
Russia  it  is  otherwise.  Few  students  confine  themselves  to  their 
speciality.  The  majority  of  them  dislike  the  laborious  work  of  mas- 
tering dry  details,  and,  with  the  presumption  which  is  often  found 
in  conjunction  with  youth  and  a  smattering  of  knowledge,  they 
aspire  to  become  social  reformers  and  imagine  themselves  specially 
qualified  for  such  activity. 

But  what,  it  may  be  asked,  has  social  reform  to  do  with  natural 
science?  I  have  already  indicated  the  connection  in  the  Eussian 
mind.  Though  very  few  of  the  students  of  that  time  had  ever 
read  the  voluminous  works  of  Auguste  Comte,  they  were  all  more  or 
less  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  the  Positive  Philosophy,  in  which  all 
the  sciences  are  subsidiary  to  sociology,  and  social  reorganisa- 
tion is  the  ultimate  object  of  scientific  research.  The  imaginative 
Positivist  can  see  with  prophetic  eye  humanity  reorganised  on 
strictly  scientific  principles.  Cool-headed  people  who  have  had  a 
little  experience  of  the  world,  if  they  ever  indulge  in  such  delight- 
ful dreams,  recognise  clearly  that  this  ultimate  goal  of  human  intel- 
lectual activity,  if  it  is  ever  to  be  reached,  is  still  a  long  way  off 
in   the  misty   distance   of  the   future;   but   the  would-be   social 


548  RUSSIA 

reformers  among  the  Eussian  students  of  the  sixties  were  too 
young,  too  inexperienced,  and  too  presumptuously  self-confident  to 
recognise  this  plain,  simple  truth.  They  felt  that  too  much  valu- 
able time  had  been  already  lost,  and  they  were  madly  impatient  to 
begin  the  great  work  without  further  delay.  As  soon  as  they  had 
acquired  a  smattering  of  chemistry,  physiology,  and  biology  they 
imagined  themselves  capable  of  reorganising  human  society  from 
top  to  bottom,  and  when  they  had  acquired  this  conviction  they 
were  of  course  unfitted  for  the  patient,  plodding  study  of  details. 

To  remedy  these  evils.  Count  Dimitri  Tolstoy,  who  was  regarded 
as  a  pillar  of  Conservatism,  was  appointed  Minister  of  Public 
Instruction,  with  the  mission  of  protecting  the  young  generation 
against  pernicious  ideas,  and  eradicating  from  the  schools,  colleges, 
and  universities  all  revolutionary  tendencies.  He  determined  to 
introduce  more  discipline  into  all  the  educational  establishments 
and  to  supplant  to  a  certain  extent  the  superficial  study  of  natural 
science  by  the  thorough  study  of  the  classics — that  is  to  say, 
Latin  and  Greek.  This  scheme,  which  became  known  before  it 
was  actually  put  into  execution,  produced  a  storm  of  discontent 
in  the  young  generation.  Discipline  at  that  time  was  regarded 
as  an  antiquated  and  useless  remnant  of  patriarchal  tyranny,  and 
young  men  who  were  impatient  to  take  part  in  social  reorganisation 
resented  being  treated  as  naughty  schoolboys.  To  them  it  seemed 
that  the  Latin  grammar  was  an  ingenious  instrument  for  stultify- 
ing youthful  intelligence,  destroying  intellectual  development,  and 
checking  political  progress.  Ingenious  speculations  about  the  pos- 
sible organisation  of  the  working  classes  and  grandiose  views  of  the 
future  of  humanity  are  so  much  more  interesting  and  agreeable 
than  the  rules  of  Latin  syntax  and  the  Greek  irregular  verbs ! 

Count  Tolstoy  could  congratulate  himself  on  the  efficacy  of  his 
administration,  for  from  the  time  of  his  appointment  there  was  a 
lull  in  the  political  excitement.  During  three  or  four  years  there 
v^as  only  one  political  trial,  and  that  an  insignificant  one ;  whereas 
there  had  been  twenty  between  1861  and  1864,  and  all  more  or  less 
important.  I  am  not  at  all  sure,  however,  that  the  educational 
reform  which  created  much  momentary  irritation  and  discontent 
liad  anything  to  do  with  the  improvement  in  the  situation.  In  any 
case,  there  were  other  and  more  potent  causes  at  work.  The  excite- 
ment was  too  intense  to  be  long-lived,  and  the  fashionable  theories 
too  fanciful  to  stand  the  wear  and  tear  of  everyday  life.  They 
evaporated,  therefore,  with  amazing  rapidity  when  the  leaders  of 
the   movement   had   disappeared — Tchernishevski   and   others   by 


EEVOLUTIONAEY  NIHILISM  AND  THE  EEACTION   549 

exile,  and  Dobrolubof  and  Pissaref  by  death — and  when  among 
the  less  prominent  representatives  of  the  younger  generation  many 
succumbed  to  the  sobering  influences  of  time  and  experience  or 
drifted  into  lucrative  professions.  Besides  this,  the  reactionary 
currents  were  making  themselves  felt,  especially  since  the  attempt 
on  the  life  of  the  Emperor.  So  long  as  these  had  been  confined  to 
the  official  world  they  had  not  much  affected  the  literature,  except 
externally  through  the  Press-censure,  but  when  they  permeated  the 
reading  public  their  influence  was  much  stronger.  Whatever  the 
cause,  there  is  no  doubt  that,  in  the  last  years  of  the  sixties,  there 
was  a  subsidence  of  excitement  and  enthusiasm  and  the  peculiar 
intellectual  phenomenon  which  had  been  nicknamed  Nihilism  was 
supposed  to  be  a  thing  of  the  past.  In  reality  the  movement  of 
which  Nihilism  was  a  prominent  manifestation  had  merely  lost 
something  of  its  academic  character  and  was  entering  on  a  new 
stage  of  development. 


CHAPTER    XXXV 

SOCIALIST   PROPAGANDA,    REVOLUTIONARY   AGITATION,   AND 

TERRORISM 

Closer  Relations  with  Western  Socialism — Attempts  to  Influence  the 
Masses — Bakunin  and  Lavroff — "  Going  in  among  the  People  " — 
The  Missionaries  of  Revolutionary  Socialism — Distinction  between 
Propaganda  and  Agitation — Revolutionary  Pamphlets  for  the  Com- 
mon People — Aims  and  Motives  of  the  Propagandists — Failure  of 
Propaganda — Energetic  Repression — Fruitless  Attempts  at  Agita- 
tion— Proposal  to  Combine  with  Liberals — Genesis  of  Terrorism — 
My  Personal  Relations  with  the  Revolutionists — Shadowers  and 
Shadowed — A  Series  of  Terrorist  Crimes — A  Revolutionist  Con- 
gress— Unsuccessful  Attempts  to  Assassinate  the  Tsar — Ineffectual 
Attempt  at  Conciliation  by  Loris  Melikof — Assassination  of  Alex- 
ander II. — The  Executive  Committee  Shows  Itself  Unpractical — 
Widespread  Indignation  and  Severe  Repression — Temporary  Col- 
lapse of  the  Revolutionary  Movement — A  New  Revolutionary  Move- 
ment in  Sight. 

pOUXT  TOLSTOY'S  educational  reform  had  one  effect  which 
^  was  not  anticipated:  it  brought  the  revolutionists  into  closer 
contact  with  Western  Socialism.  Many  students,  finding  their 
position  in  Eussia  uncomfortable,  determined  to  go  abroad  and 
continue  their  studies  in  foreign  universities,  where  they  would 
be  free  from  the  inconveniences  of  police  supervision  and  Press- 
censure.  Those  of  the  female  sex  had  an  additional  motive  to 
emigrate,  because  they  could  not  complete  their  studies  in  Eussia, 
but  they  had  more  difficulty  in  carrying  out  their  intention,  because 
parents  naturally  disliked  the  idea  of  their  daughters  going  abroad 
to  lead  a  Bohemian  life,  and  they  very  often  obstinately  refused 
to  give  their  consent.  In  such  cases  the  persistent  daughter  found 
herself  in  a  dilemna.  Though  she  might  run  away  from  her  fam- 
ily and  possibly  earn  her  ovm  living,  she  could  not  cross  the  frontier 
without  a  passport,  and  without  the  parental  sanction  a  passport 
could  not  be  obtained.  Of  course  she  might  marry  and  get  the 
consent  of  her  husband,  but  most  of  the  young  ladies  objected  to  the 
trammels  of  matrimony.  Occasionally  the  problem  was  solved  by 
means  of  a  fictitious  marriage,  and  when  a  young  man  could  not  be 
found  to  co-operate  voluntarily  in  the  arrangement,  the  Terrorist 
methods,  which  the  revolutionists  adopted  a  few  years  later  for 

550 


SOCIALIST    PEOPAGANDA    AND    TERRORISM     551 

other  purposes,  might  be  employed.  I  have  heard  of  at  least  one 
ease  in  which  an  ardent  female  devotee  of  medical  science  threat- 
ened to  shoot  a  student  who  was  going  abroad  if  he  did  not  submit 
to  the  matrimonial  ceremony  and  allow  her  to  accompany  him  to 
the  frontier  as  his  official  wife ! 

Strange  as  this  story  may  seem,  it  contains  nothing  inherently 
improbable.  At  that  time  the  energetic  young  ladies  of  the  Nihil- 
ist school  were  not  to  be  diverted  from  their  purpose  by  trifling 
obstacles.  We  shall  meet  some  of  them  hereafter,  displaying  great 
courage  and  tenacity  in  revolutionary  activity.  One  of  them,  for 
example,  attempted  to  murder  the  Prefect  of  St.  Petersburg;  and 
another,  a  young  person  of  considerable  refinement  and  great  per- 
sonal charm,  gave  the  signal  for  the  assassination  of  Alexander  II. 
and  expiated  her  crime  on  the  scaffold  without  the  least  sign  of 
repentance. 

Most  of  the  studious  emigres  of  both  sexes  went  to  Zurich,  where 
female  students  were  admitted  to  the  medical  classes.  Here  they 
made  the  acquaintance  of  noted  Socialists  from  various  countries 
who  had  settled  in  Switzerland,  and  being  in  search  of  panaceas 
for  social  regeneration,  they  naturally  fell  under  their  influence, 
at  the  same  time  they  read  with  avidity  the  works  of  Proudhon, 
Lassalle,  Biichner,  Marx,  Flerovski,  Pfeifl'er,  and  other  writers  of 
"  advanced  opinions." 

Among  the  apostles  of  socialism  living  at  that  time  in  Switzer- 
land they  found  a  s}Tnpathetic  fellow-countryman  in  the  famous 
Anarchist,  Bakunin,  who  had  succeeded,  in  escaping  from  Siberia. 
His  ideal  was  the  immediate  overthrow  of  all  existing  Govern- 
ments, the  destruction  of  all  administrative  organisation,  the  aboli- 
tion of  all  hourgeois  institutions,  and  the  establishment  of  an 
entirely  new  order  of  things  on  the  basis  of  a  free  federation  of 
productive  Communes,  in  which  all  the  land  should  be  distributed 
among  those  capable  of  tilling  it  and  the  instruments  of  production 
confided  to  co-operative  associations.  Efforts  to  obtain  mere  polit- 
ical reforms,  even  of  the  most  radical  type,  were  regarded  by  him 
with  contempt  as  miserable  palliatives,  which  could  be  of  no  real, 
permanent  benefit  to  the  masses,  and  might  be  positively  injurious 
by  prolonging  the  present  era  of  bourgeois  domination. 

For  the  dissemination  of  these  principles  a  special  organ  called 
The  Cause  of  the  People  {Narodnoye  Dyelo)  was  founded  in 
Geneva  in  1868  and  was  smuggled  across  the  Russian  frontier  in 
considerable  quantities.  It  aimed  at  drawing  away  the  young  gen- 
eration from  Academic  Nihilism  to  more  practical  revolutionary 


552  EUSSIA 

activity,  but  it  evidently  remained  to  some  extent  under  the  old 
influences,  for  it  indulged  occasionally  in  very  abstract  philosoph- 
ical disquisitions.  In  its  first  number,  for  example,  it  published 
a  programme  in  which  the  editors  thought  it  necessary  to  declare 
that  they  were  materialists  and  atheists,  because  the  belief  in  God 
and  a  future  life,  as  well  as  every  other  kind  of  idealism,  demoralises 
the  people,  inspiring  it  with  mutually  contradictory  aspirations,  and 
thereby  depriving  it  of  the  energy  necessary  for  the  conquest  of  its 
natural  rights  in  this  world,  and  the  complete  organisation  of  a 
free  and  happy  life.  At  the  end  of  two  years  this  organ  for 
moralising  the  people  collapsed  from  want  of  funds,  but  other 
periodicals  and  pamphlets  were  printed,  and  the  clandestine  rela- 
tions between  the  exiles  in  Switzerland  and  their  friends  in  St. 
Petersburg  were  maintained  without  difficulty,  notwithstanding  the 
efforts  of  the  police  to  cut  the  connection.  In  this  way  Young 
Eussia  became  more  and  more  saturated  with  the  extreme  Socialist 
theories  current  in  Western  Europe. 

Thanks  partly  to  this  foreign  influence  and  partly  to  their  own 
practical  experience,  the  would-be  reformers  who  remained  at  home 
came  to  understand  that  academic  talking  and  discussing  could 
bring  about  no  serious  results.  Students  alone,  however  numerous 
and  however  devoted  to  the  cause,  could  not  hope  to  overthrow  or 
coerce  the  Government.  It  was  childish  to  suppose  that  the  walls 
of  the  autocratic  Jericho  would  fall  by  the  blasts  of  academic 
trumpets.  Attempts  at  revolution  could  not  be  successful  without 
the  active  support  of  the  people,  and  consequently  the  revolutionary 
agitation  must  be  extended  to  the  masses.  So  far  there  was  com- 
plete agreement  among  the  revolutionists,  but  with  regard  to  the 
modus  operandi  emphatic  differences  of  opinion  appeared.  Those 
who  were  carried  away  by  the  stirring  accents  of  Bakunin  imagined 
that  if  the  masses  could  only  be  made  to  feel  themselves  the  victims 
of  administrative  and  economic  oppression,  they  would  rise  and  free 
themselves  by  a  united  effort.  According  to  this  view  all  that  was 
required  was  that  popular  discontent  should  be  excited  and  that 
precautions  should  be  taken  to  ensure  that  the  explosions  of  dis- 
content should  take  place  simultaneously  all  over  the  country. 
The  rest  might  safely  be  left,  it  was  thought,  to  the  operation  of 
natural  forces  and  the  inspiration  of  the  moment.  Against  this 
dangerous  illusion  warning  voices  were  raised.  Lavroff,  for  exam- 
ple, while  agreeing  with  Bakunin  that  mere  political  reforms  were 
of  little  or  no  value,  and  that  any  genuine  improvement  in  the 
condition  of  the  working  classes  could  proceed  only  from  economic 


SOCIALIST    PROPAGANDA    AND    TERRORISM     553 

and  social  reorganisation,  maintained  stoutly  that  the  revolution, 
to  be  permanent  and  beneficial,  must  be  accomplished,  not  by 
demagogues  directing  the  ignorant  masses,  but  by  the  people  as  a 
whole,  after  it  had  been  enlightened  and  instructed  as  to  its  true 
interests.  The  preparatory  work  would  necessarily  require  a  whole 
generation  of  educated  propagandists,  living  among  the  labouring 
population  rural  and  urban. 

For  some  time  there  was  a  conflict  between  these  two  currents 
of  opinion,  but  the  views  of  Lavroff,  which  were  simply  a  practical 
development  of  academic  Nihilism,  gained  far  more  adherents  than 
the  violent  anarchical  proposals  of  Bakunin,  and  finally  the  gran- 
diose scheme  of  realising  gradually  the  Socialist  ideal  by  indoctrinat- 
ing the  masses  was  adopted  with  enthusiasm.  In  St.  Petersburg, 
Moscow  and  other  large  towns  the  student  association  for  mutual 
instruction,  to  which  I  have  referred  in  the  foregoing  chapter,  be- 
came centres  of  popular  propaganda,  and  the  academic  Nihilists 
were  transformed  into  active  missionaries.  Scores  of  male  and 
female  students,  impatient  to  convert  the  masses  to  the  gospel 
of  freedom  and  terrestrial  felicity,  sought  to  get  into  touch  with  the 
common  people  by  settling  in  the  villages  as  school-teachers,  medical 
practitioners,  midwives,  etc.,  or  by  working  as  common  factory 
hands  in  the  industrial  centres.  In  order  to  obtain  employment  in 
the  factories  and  conceal  their  real  purpose,  they  procured  false 
passports,  in  which  they  were  described  as  belonging  to  the  lower 
classes;  and  even  those  who  settled  in  the  villages  lived  generally 
under  assumed  names.  Thus  was  formed  a  class  of  professional 
revolutionists,  sometimes  called  the  Illegals,  who  were  liable  to  be 
arrested  at  any  moment  by  the  police.  As  compensation  for  the 
privations  and  hardships  which  they  had  to  endure,  they  had  the 
consolation  of  believing  that  they  were  advancing  the  good  cause. 
The  means  they  usually  employed  were  formal  conversations  and 
pamphlets  expressly  written  for  the  purpose.  The  more  enthusi- 
astic and  persevering  of  these  missionaries  would  continue  their 
efforts  for  months  and  years,  remaining  in  communication  with 
the  headquarters  in  the  capital  or  some  provincial  town  in  order 
to  report  progress,  obtain  a  fresh  supply  of  pamphlets,  and  get 
their  forged  passports  renewed.  This  extraordinary  movement 
was  called  "going  in  among  the  people,"  and  it  spread  among 
the  young  generation  like  an  epidemic.  In  1873  it  was  sud- 
denly reinforced  by  a  detachment  of  fresh  recruits.  Over  a 
hundred  Russian  students  were  recalled  by  the  Government  from 
Switzerland,  in  order  to  save  them  from  the  baneful  influence  of 


654  EUSSIA 

Bakunin,  Lavroff,  and  other  noted  Socialists,  and  a  large  pro- 
portion of  them  joined  the  ranks  of  the  propagandists.* 

With  regard  to  the  aims  and  methods  of  the  propagandists,  a 
good  deal  of  information  was  obtained  in  the  course  of  a  judicial 
inquiry  instituted  in  1875.  A  peasant,  who  was  at  the  same 
time  a  factory  worker,  informed  the  police  that  certain  persons 
were  distributing  revolutionary  pamphlets  among  the  factory- 
hands,  and  as  a  proof  of  what  he  said  he  produced  some  pamphlets 
which  he  had  himself  received.  This  led  to  an  investigation,  which 
showed  that  a  number  of  young  men  and  women,  evidently  belong- 
ing to  the  educated  classes,  were  disseminating  revolutionary  ideas 
by  means  of  pamphlets  and  conversation.  Arrests  followed,  and  it 
was  soon  discovered  that  these  agitators  belonged  to  a  large  secret 
association,  which  had  its  centre  in  Moscow  and  local  branches  in 
Ivanovo,  Tula,  and  Kief.  In  Ivanovo,  for  instance — a  manufac- 
turing town  about  a  hundred  miles  to  the  northeast  of  Moscow — 
the  police  found  a  small  apartment  inhabited  by  three  young  men 
and  four  young  women,  all  of  whom,  though  belonging  by  birth 
to  the  educated  classes,  had  the  appearance  of  ordinary  factory 
workers,  prepared  their  own  food,  did  with  their  own  hands  all 
the  domestic  work,  and  sought  to  avoid  everything  which  could 
distinguish  them  from  the  labouring  population.  In  the  apart- 
ment were  found  240  copies  of  revolutionary  pamphlets,  a  con- 
siderable sum  of  money,  a  large  amount  of  correspondence  in 
cypher,  and  several  forged  passports. 

How  many  persons  the  society  contained,  it  is  impossible  to 
say,  because  a  large  portion  of  them  eluded  the  vigilance  of  the 
police;  but  many  were  arrested,  and  ultimately  forty-seven  were 
condemned.  Of  these,  eleven  were  noble,  seven  were  sons  of  parish 
priests,  and  the  remainder  belong  to  the  lower  classes — that  is  to  say, 
the  small  officials,  burghers,  and  peasants.  The  average  age  of  the 
prisoners  was  twenty-four,  the  oldest  being  thirty-six  and  the  young- 
est under  seventeen !  Only  five  or  six  were  over  twenty-five,  and  none 
of  these  were  ringleaders.  The  female  element  was  represented  by 
no  less  than  fifteen  young  persons,  whose  ages  were  on  an  average 
under  twenty-two.  Two  of  these,  to  judge  by  their  photographs, 
were  of  refined,  prepossessing  appearance,  and  seemingly  little  fitted 
for  taking  part  in  wholesale  massacres  such  as  the  society  talked 
of  organising. 

The  character  and  aims  of  the  society  were  clearly  depicted  in 

♦  Instances  of  going  in  among  the  people  had  happened  as  early  as 
1864,  but  they  did  not  become  frequent  till  after  1870. 


SOCIALIST    PROPAGANDA    AND    TEEPORISM     555 

the  documentary  and  oral  evidence  produced  at  the  trial.  Accord- 
ing to  the  fundamental  principles,  there  should  exist  among  the 
members  absolute  equality,  complete  mutual  responsibility  and  full 
frankness  and  confidence  with  regard  to  the  affairs  of  the  associa- 
tion. Among  the  conditions  of  admission  we  find  that  the  candi- 
date should  devote  himself  entirely  to  revolutionary  activity;  that 
he  should  be  ready  to  sever  all  ties,  whether  of  friendship  or  of 
love,  for  the  good  cause;  that  he  should  possess  great  powers  of 
self-sacrifice  and  the  capacity  for  keeping  secrets;  and  that  he 
should  consent  to  become,  when  necessary,  a  common  labourer  in 
a  factory.  The  desire  to  maintain  absolute  equality  is  well  illus- 
trated by  the  article  of  the  statutes  regarding  the  administration: 
the  office-bearers  are  not  to  be  chosen  by  election,  but  all  members 
are  to  be  oSice-bearers  in  turn,  and  the  term  of  office  must  not  exceed 
one  month ! 

The  avowed  aim  of  the  society  was  to  destroy  the  existing  social 
order,  and  to  replace  it  by  one  in  which  there  should  be  no  private 
property  and  no  distinctions  of  class  or  wealth ;  or,  as  it  is  expressed 
in  one  document,  "  to  found  on  the  ruins  of  the  present  social 
organisation  the  Empire  of  the  working  classes."  The  means  to  be 
employed  were  indicated  in  a  general  way,  but  each  member  was 
to  adapt  himself  to  circumstances  and  was  to  devote  all  his  energy 
to  forwarding  the  cause  of  the  revolution.  For  the  guidance 
of  the  inexperienced,  the  following  means  were  recommended: 
simple  conversations,  dissemination  of  pamphlets,  the  exciting  of 
discontent,  the  formation  of  organised  groups,  the  creation 
of  funds  and  libraries.  These,  taken  together,  constitute,  in  the 
terminology  of  revolutionary  science,  "  propaganda,"  and  in  ad- 
dition to  it  there  should  be  "  agitation."  The  technical  dis- 
tinction between  these  two  processes  is  that  propaganda  has  a 
purely  preparatory  character,  and  aims  merely  at  enlightening  the 
masses  regarding  the  true  nature  of  the  revolutionary  cause, 
whereas  agitation  aims  at  exciting  an  individual  or  a  group  to  acts 
which  are  considered,  in  the  existing  regime,  as  illegal.  In  time  of 
peace  "  pure  agitation  "  was  to  be  carried  on  by  meaijs  of  organised 
bands  which  should  frighten  the  Government  and  the  privileged 
classes,  draw  away  the  attention  of  the  authorities  from  less  overt 
kinds  of  revolutionary  action,  raise  the  spirit  of  the  people  and 
thereby  render  it  more  accessible  to  revolutionary  ideas,  obtain 
pecuniary  means  for  further  activity,  and  liberate  political  pris- 
oners. In  time  of  insurrection  the  members  should  give  to  all 
movements  every  assistance  in  their  power,  and  impress  on  them 


556  RUSSIA 

a  Socialistic  character.  The  central  administration  and  the  local 
branches  should  establish  relations  with  publishers,  and  take  steps 
to  secure  a  regular  supply  of  prohibited  books  from  abroad.  Such 
are  a  few  characteristic  extracts  from  a  document  which  might 
fairly  be  called  a  treatise  on  revolutionology. 

As  a  specimen  of  the  revolutionary  pamphlets  circulated  by  the 
propagandists  and  agitators  I  may  give  here  a  brief  account  of  one 
which  is  well  known  to  the  political  police.  It  is  entitled  KM- 
traya  MekMnika  (Cunning  Machinery),  and  gives  a  graphic 
picture  of  the  ideas  and  methods  employed.  The  niise  en  scene 
is  extremely  simple.  Two  peasants,  Stepan  and  Andrei,  are  repre- 
sented as  meeting  in  a  gin-shop  and  drinking  together.  Stepan 
is  described  as  good  and  kindly  when  he  has  to  do  with  men  of  his 
own  class,  but  very  sharp-tongued  when  speaking  with  a  fore- 
man or  manager.  Always  ready  with  an  answer,  he  can  on 
occasions  silence  even  an  official !  He  has  travelled  all  over  the 
Empire,  has  associated  with  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men,  sees 
everything  most  clearly,  and  is,  in  short,  a  very  remarkable  man. 
One  of  his  excellent  qualities  is  that,  being  "  enlightened  "  himself, 
he  is  always  ready  to  enlighten  others,  and  he  now  finds  an  oppor- 
tunity of  displaying  his  powers.  When  Andrei,  who  is  still  unen- 
lightened, proposes  that  they  should  drink  another  glass  of  vodka, 
he  replies  that  the  Tsar,  together  with  the  nobles  and  traders,  bars 
the  way  to  the  throat.  As  his  companion  does  not  understand  this 
metaphorical  language,  he  explains  that  if  there  were  no  Tsars, 
nobles,  or  traders,  he  could  get  five  glasses  of  vodka  for  the  sum 
that  he  now  pays  for  one  glass.  This  naturally  suggests  wider 
topics,  and  Stepan  gives  something  like  a  lecture.  The  common 
people,  he  explains,  pay  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  taxation, 
and  at  the  same  time  do  all  the  work;  they  plough  the  fields, 
build  the  houses  and  churches,  work  in  the  mills  and  factories, 
and  in  return  they  are  systematically  robbed  and  beaten.  And 
what  is  done  with  all  the  money  that  is  taken  from  them?  First 
of  all,  the  Tsar  gets  nine  millions  of  roubles — enough  to  feed  half 
a  province — and  with  that  sum  he  amuses  himself,  has  hunting- 
parties,  and  feasts,  eats,  drinks,  makes  merry,  and  lives  in  stone 
houses.  He  gave  liberty,  it  is  true,  to  the  peasants;  but  we  know 
what  the  Emancipation  really  was.  The  best  land  was  taken  away 
and  the  taxes  were  increased,  lest  the  muzhik  should  get  fat  and 
lazy.  The  Tsar  is  himself  the  richest  landed  proprietor  and  manu- 
facturer in  the  country.  He  not  only  robs  us  as  much  as  he 
pleases,  but  he  has  sold  into  slavery  (by  forming  a  national  debt) 


SOCIALIST    PROPAGANDA    AND    TERRORISM     557 

our  children  and  grandchildren.  He  takes  our  sons  as  soldiers, 
shuts  them  up  in  barracks  so  that  they  should  not  see  their  brother- 
peasants,  and  hardens  their  hearts  so  that  they  become  wild  beasts, 
ready  to  rend  their  parents.  The  nobles  and  traders  likewise  rob 
the  poor  peasants.  In  short,  all  the  upper  classes  have  invented 
a  bit  of  cunning  machinery  by  which  the  muzhik  is  made  to  pay 
for  their  pleasures  and  luxuries.  The  people  will  one  day  rise 
and  break  this  machinery  to  pieces.  When  that  day  comes  they 
must  break  every  part  of  it,  for  if  one  bit  escapes  destruction  all 
the  other  parts  of  it  will  immediately  grow  up  again.  All  the  force 
is  on  the  side  of  the  peasants,  if  they  only  knew  how  to  use  it. 
Knowledge  will  come  in  time.  They  will  then  destroy  this  machine, 
and  perceive  that  the  only  real  remedy  for  all  social  evils  is  brother- 
hood. People  should  live  like  brothers,  having  no  mine  and  thine, 
but  all  things  in  common.  When  we  have  created  brotherhood, 
there  will  be  no  riches  and  no  thieves,  but  right  and  righteousness 
without  end.  In  conclusion,  Stepan  addresses  a  word  to  "the 
torturers":  "When  the  people  rise,  the  Tsar  will  send  troops 
against  us,  and  the  nobles  and  capitalists  will  stake  their  last  rouble 
on  the  result.  If  they  do  not  succeed,  they  must  not  expect  any 
quarter  from  us.  They  may  conquer  us  once  or  twice,  but  we  shall 
at  last  get  our  own,  for  there  is  no  power  that  can  withstand  the 
"whole  people.  Then  we  shall  cleanse  the  country  of  our  persecu- 
tors, and  establish  a  brotherhood  in  which  there  will  be  no  mine 
and  thine,  but  all  will  work  for  the  common  weal.  We  shall  con- 
struct no  cunning  machinery,  but  shall  pluck  up  evil  by  the  roots, 
and  establish  eternal  justice  !  " 

The  above-mentioned  distinction  between  Propaganda  and 
Agitation,  which  plays  a  considerable  part  in  revolutionary 
literature,  had  at  that  time  more  theoretical  than  practical  impor- 
tance. The  great  majority  of  those  who  took  an  active  part  in  the 
movement  confined  their  efforts  to  indoctrinating  the  masses  with 
Socialistic  and  subversive  ideas,  and  sometimes  their  methods  were 
rather  childish.  As  an  illustration  I  may  cite  an  amusing  inci- 
dent related  by  one  of  the  boldest  and  most  tenacious  of  the  revolu- 
tionists, who  subsequently  acquired  a  certain  sense  of  humour. 
He  and  a  friend  were  walking  one  day  on  a  country  road,  when 
they  were  overtaken  by  a  peasant  in  his  cart.  Ever  anxious  to 
sow  the  good  seed,  they  at  once  entered  into  conversation  with  the 
rustic,  telling  him  that  he  ought  not  to  pay  his  taxes,  because  the 
tchinovnils  robbed  the  people,  and  trying  to  convince  him  by 
quotations  from  Scripture  that  he  ought  to  resist  the  authorities, 


558  RUSSIA 

The  prudent  muzhik  whipped  up  his  horse  and  tried  to  get  out 
of  hearing,  but  the  two  zealots  ran  after  him  and  continued 
the  sermon  till  they  were  completely  out  of  breath.  Other  propa- 
gandists were  more  practical,  and  preached  a  species  of  agrarian 
socialism  which  the  rural  population  could  understand.  At  the 
time  of  the  Emancipation  the  peasants  were  convinced  as  I  have 
mentioned  in  a  previous  chapter,  that  the  Tsar  meant  to  give  them 
all  the  land,  and  to  compensate  the  landed  proprietors  by  salaries. 
Even  when  the  law  was  read  and  explained  to  them,  they  clung 
obstinately  to  their  old  convictions,  and  confidently  expected  that 
the  real  Emancipation  would  be  proclaimed  shortly.  Taking 
advantage  of  this  state  of  things,  the  propagandists  to  whom  I 
refer  confirmed  the  peasants  in  their  error,  and  sought  in  this  way 
to  sow  discontent  against  the  proprietors  and  the  Government. 
Their  watchword  was  "  Land  and  Liberty,"  and  they  formed  for 
a  good  many  years  a  distinct  group,  under  that  title  {Zemlya  i 
Volya,  or  more  briefly  Zemlevoltsi). 

In  the  St.  Petersburg  group,  which  aspired  to  direct  and  con- 
trol this  movement,  there  were  one  or  two  men  who  held  different 
views  as  to  the  real  object  of  propaganda  and  agitation.  One  of 
these,  Prince  Krapotkin,  has  told  the  world  what  his  object  was  at 
that  time.  He  hoped  that  the  Government  would  be  frightened 
and  that  the  Autocratic  Power,  as  in  France  on  the  eve  of  the 
Revolution,  would  seek  support  in  the  landed  proprietors,  and  call 
together  a  National  Assembly.  Thus  a  constitution  would  be 
granted,  and  thougli  the  first  Assembly  might  be  conservative  in 
spirit,  autocracy  would  be  compelled  in  the  long  run  to  }ield  to 
parliamentary  pressure. 

No  such  elaborate  projects  were  entertained,  I  believe,  by  the 
majority  of  the  propagandists.  Their  reasoning  was  much 
simpler:  "The  Government,  having  become  reactionary,  tries  to 
prevent  us  from  enlightening  the. people;  we  will  do  it  in  spite  of 
the  Government ! "  The  dangers  to  which  they  exposed  them- 
selves only  confirmed  them  in  their  resolution.  Though  they 
honestly  believed  themselves  to  be  Realists  and  ^Materialists,  they 
were  at  heart  romantic  Idealists,  panting  to  do  something  heroic. 
They  had  been  taught  by  the  apostles  whom  they  venerated,  from 
Belinski  downwards,  that  the  man  who  simply  talks  about  the 
good  of  the  people,  and  does  nothing  to  promote  it,  is  among  the 
most  contemptible  of  human  beings.  Xo  such  reproach  must  be 
addressed  to  them.  If  the  Government  opposed  and  threatened, 
that  was  no  excuse  for  inactivity.     They  must  be  up  and  doing. 


SOCIALIST    PEOPAGANDA    AND    TEEROEISM    559 

"  Forward !  forward !  Let  us  plunge  into  the  people,  identify  our- 
selves with  them,  and  work  for  their  benefit !  Suffering  is  in  store 
for  us,  but  we  must  endure  it  with  fortitude !  "  The  type  which 
Tehernishevski  had  depicted  in  his  famous  novel,  under  the  name 
of  Eakhmetof — the  youth  who  led  an  ascetic  life  and  subjected 
himself  to  privation  and  suffering  as  a  preparation  for  future 
revolutionary  activity — now  appeared  in  the  flesh.  If  we  may  credit 
Bakunin,  these  Eakhmetofs  had  not  even  the  consolation  of  believ- 
ing in  the  possibility  of  a  revolution,  but  as  they  could  not  and 
would  not  remain  passive  spectators  of  the  misfortunes  of  the  peo- 
ple, they  resolved  to  go  in  among  the  masses  in  order  to  share 
with  them  fraternally  their  sufferings,  and  at  the  same  time  to 
teach  and  prepare,  not  theoretically,  but  practically  by  their 
living  example.*  This  is,  I  believe,  an  exaggeration.  The 
propagandists  were,  for  the  most  part  of  incredibly  sanguine 
temperament. 

The  success  of  the  propaganda  and  agitation  was  not  at  all  in 
proportion  to  the  numbers  and  enthusiasm  of  those  who  took  part 
in  it.  Most  of  these  displayed  more  zeal  than  mother-wit  and  dis- 
cretion. Their  Socialism  was  too  abstract  and  scientific  to  be  under- 
stood by  rustics,  and  when  they  succeeded  in  making  themselves 
intelligible  they  awakened  in  their  hearers  more  suspicion  than  sym- 
pathy. The  muzhik  is  a  very  matter-of-fact,  practical  person,  totally 
incapable  of  understanding  what  Americans  call  "  hifalutin " 
tendencies  in  speech  and  conduct,  and  as  he  listened  to  the  preach- 
ing of  the  new  Gospel  doubts  and  questionings  spontaneously  rose 
in  his  mind :  "  What  do  those  young  people,  who  betray  their 
gentlefolk  origin  by  their  delicate  white  hands,  their  foreign 
phrases,  their  ignorance  of  the  common  things  of  everyday 
peasant  life,  really  want?  Why  are  they  bearing  hardships  and 
taking  so  much  trouble?  They  tell  us  it  is  for  our  good,  but  we 
are  not  such  fools  and  simpletons  as  they  take  us  for.  They  are 
not  doing  it  all  for  nothing.  What  do  they  expect  from  us  in 
return  ?  Whatever  it  is,  they  are  evidently  evil-doers,  and  perhaps 
moshenniJci  (swindlers).  Devil  take  them!"  and  thereupon  the 
cautious  muzhik  turns  his  back  upon  his  disinterested  self-sacri- 
ficing teachers,  or  goes  quietly  and  denounces  them  to  the  police! 
It  is  not  only  in  Spain  that  we  encounter  Don  Quixotes  and  Sancho 
Panzas ! 

Occasionally   a   worse    fate   befell   the   missionaries.      If   they 

♦Bakunin:  "  Gosudarstveunost'  i  Anarkhiya  "  ("State  Organisation 
and  Anarchy  " ) ,  Zurich,  1873. 


560  EUSSIA 

allowed  themselves,  as  they  sometimes  did,  to  "blaspheme" 
against  religion  or  the  Tsar,  they  ran  the  risk  of  being  maltreated 
on  the  spot.  I  have  heard  of  one  case  in  which  the  punishment 
for  blasphemy  was  applied  by  sturdy  peasant  matrons.  Even  when 
they  escaped  such  mishaps  they  had  not  much  reason  to  congratulate 
themselves  on  their  success.  After  three  years  of  arduous  labour 
the  hundreds  of  apostles  could  not  boast  of  more  than  a  score  or 
two  of  converts  among  the  genuine  working  classes,  and  even 
these  few  did  not  all  remain  faithful  unto  death.  Some  of  them, 
however,  it  must  be  admitted,  laboured  and  suffered  to  the  end 
with  the  courage  and  endurance  of  true  martyrs. 

It  was  not  merely  the  indifference  or  hostility  of  the  masses 
that  the  propagandists  had  to  complain  of.  The  police  soon  got 
on  their  track,  and  did  not  confine  themselves  to  persuasion  and 
logical  arguments.  Towards  the  end  of  1873  they  arrested  some 
members  of  the  central  directory  group  in  St.  Petersburg,  and  in 
the  following  May  they  discovered  in  the  province  of  Saratof  an 
affiliated  organisation  with  which  nearly  800  persons  were  con- 
nected, about  one-fifth  of  them  belonging  to  the  female  sex,  A  few 
came  of  well-to-do  families — sons  and  daughters  of  minor  officials 
or  small  landed  proprietors — but  the  great  majority  were  poor  stu- 
dents o^  humbler  origin,  a  larg-e  contingent  being  supplied  by  the 
sons  of  the  poor  parish  clergy.  In  other  provinces  the  authorities 
made  similar  discoveries.  Before  the  end  of  the  year  a  large  propor- 
tion of  the  propagandists  were  in  prison,  and  the  centralised 
organisation,  so  far  as  such  a  thing  existed,  was  destroyed.  Gradu- 
ally it  dawned  on  the  minds  even  of  the  Don  Quixotes  that  pacific 
propaganda  was  no  longer  possible,  and  that  attempts  to  con- 
tinue it  could  lead  only  to  useless  sacrifices. 

For  a  time  there  wa.>  universal  discouragement  in  the  revolu- 
tionary ranks ;  and  among  those  who  had  escaped  arrest  there  were 
mutual  recriminations  and  endless  discussions  about  the  causes  of 
failure  and  the  changes  to  be  made  in  modes  of  action.  The 
practical  results  of  these  recriminations  and  discussions  was  that 
the  partisans  of  a  slow,  pacific  propaganda  retired  to  the  back- 
ground, and  the  more  impatient  revolutionary  agitators  took  pos- 
session of  the  movement.  These  maintained  stoutly  that  as  pacific 
propaganda  had  become  impossible,  stronger  methods  must  be 
adopted.  The  masses  must  be  organised  so  as  to  offer  successful 
resistance  to  the  Government.  Conspiracies  must  therefore  be 
formed,  local  disorders  provoked,  and  blood  made  to  flow.  The 
part  of  the  country  which  seemed  best  adapted  for  experiments  of 


SOCIALIST    PKOPAGAXDA    AND    TEREORISM    561 

this  kind  was  the  southern  and  southeastern  region,  inhabited  by 
the  descendants  of  the  turbulent  Cossack  population  which  had 
raised  formidable  insurrections  under  Stenka  Razin  and  Pugat- 
cheff  in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries.  Here,  then,  the 
more  impatient  agitators  began  their  work.  A  Kief  group  called 
the  Buntari  (rioters),  composed  of  about  twenty-five  individuals, 
settled  :;n  various  localities  as  small  shopkeepers  or  horse  dealers, 
or  went  about  as  workmen  or  peddlers.  One  member  of  the  group 
has  given  us  in  his  reminiscences  an  amusing  account  of  the  experi- 
ment. Everywhere  the  agitators  found  ihe  peasants  suspicious  and 
inhospitable,  r.nd  consequently  they  had  to  suffer  a  great  deal  of 
discomfort.  Some  of  them  at  once  gave  up  the  task  as  hopeless. 
The  others  settled  in  a  village  and  began  operations.  Having 
made  a  topographic  survey  of  the  locality,  they  worked  out  an 
ingenious  plan  of  campaign;  but  they  had  no  recruits  for  the 
future  army  of  insurrection,  and  if  they  had  been  able  to  get 
recruits,  they  had  no  arms  for  them,  and  no  money  wherewith  to 
purchase  arms  or  anything  else.  In  these  circumstances  they 
gravely  appointed  a  committee  to  collect  funds,  knowing  very  well 
that  no  money  would  be  I'orthcoming.  It  was  as  if  a  shipwrecked 
crew  in  an  open  boat,  having  reached  the  brink  of  starvation, 
appointed  a  committee  to  obtain  a  supply  of  fresh  water  and  pro- 
visions !  In  the  hope  of  <  )btaining  assistance  from  headquarters,  a 
delegate  was  sent  to  St.  Petersburg  and  Moscow  to  explain  that  for 
the  arming  of  the  population  about  a  quarter  of  a  million  of  roubles 
was  required.  The  delcggoe  brought  back  thirty  second-hand  revolv- 
ers !  The  revolutionist  who  confe£3GS  all  this  *  recognises  that  the 
whole  scheme  was  childishly  unpractical:  "We  chose  the  path 
of  popular  insurrection  because  wo  had  faith  in  the  revolutionary 
spirit  of  the  masses,  in  its  power  and  its  invincibility.  That  was 
the  weak  side  of  our  position ;  and  the  most  curious  part  of  it  was 
that  we  drew  proofs  in  support  of  our  theory  from  history— from 
the  abortive  insuirections  of  Razin  and  Pugatcheff,  which  took 
place  in  an  age  when  the  Government  had  only  a  small  regular 
army  and  no  railways  or  telegraphs!  We  did  not  even  think  of 
attempting  a  propaganda  among  the  military!"  In  the  district 
of  Tchigirin  the  agitators  had  a  little  momentary  success,  but  the 
result  was  the  same.  There  a  student  called  Stefanovitch  pre- 
tended that  the  Tsar  was  struggling  with  the  officials  to  benefit  the 
peasantry,  and  he  showed  the  simple  rustics  a  forged  imperial 

*  Debogorio-Mokrievitch :       "  Vospominaniya  "       ( "  Reminiscences  " ) . 
Paris,  1894-99. 


5G2  RUSSIA 

manifesto  in  which  they  were  ordered  to  form  a  society  for  the 
purpose  of  raising  an  insurrection  against  the  officials,  the  nobles, 
and  the  priests.  At  one  moment  (April,  1877),  the  society  had 
about  600  members,  but  a  few  months  later  it  was  discovered  by 
the  police,  and  the  leaders  and  peasants  were  arrested. 

WTien  it  had  thus  become  evident  that  propag-^nda  and  agitation 
were  alike  useless,  and  when  numerous  arrests  were  being  made 
daily,  it  became  necessary  for  the  revolutionists  to  reconsider  their 
position,  and  some  of  the  more  moderate  proposed  to  rally  to  the 
Liberals,  as  a  temporary  measure.  Hitherto  there  had  been  very 
little  sympathy  and  a  good  deal  of  openly  avowed  hostility  between 
Liberals  and  revolutionists.  The  latter,  convinced  that  they  could 
overthrow  the  Autocratic  Power  by  their  own  unaided  efforts,  had 
looked  askance  at  Liberalism  because  they  believed  that  parliament- 
ary discussions  and  party  struggles  would  impede  rather  than  facili- 
tate the  advent  of  the  Socialist  Millennium,  and  ptrengthen  the 
domination  of  the  bourgeoisie  without  really  improving  the  condi- 
tion of  the  masses.  Now,  however,  when  the  need  of  allies  was 
felt,  it  seemed  that  constitutional  government  might  be  used  as  a 
stepping-stone  for  reaching  the  Socialist  ideal,  because  it  must  grant 
a  certain  liberty  of  the  Press  and  of  association,  and  it  would 
necessarily  abolish  the  existing  autocratic  system  of  arresting, 
imprisoning  and  exiling,  on  mere  suspicion,  without  any  regular 
form  of  legal  procedure.  As  usual,  an  appeal  was  made  to  history, 
and  arguments  were  easily  found  in  favour  of  this  course  of  action. 
The  past  of  other  nations  had  shown  that  in  the  march  of  progress 
there  are  no  sudden  leaps  and  bounds,  and  it  was  therefore  absurd 
to  imagine,  as  the  revolutionists  had  hitherto  done,  that  Eussian 
Autocracy  could  be  swallowed  by  Socialism  at  a  gulp.  There  must 
always  be  periods  of  transition,  and  it  seemed  that  such  a  transition 
period  might  now  be  initiated.  Liberalism  might  be  allowed  to 
destroy,  or  at  least  weaken,  Autocracy,  and  then  it  might  be 
destroyed  in  its  turn  by  Socialism  of  the  most  advanced  tv'pe. 

Having  adopted  this  theory  of  gradual  historic  development,  some 
of  the  more  practical  revolutionists  approached  the  more  advanced 
Liberals  and  urged  them  to  more  energetic  action;  but  before  anj-- 
thing  could  be  arranged  the  more  impatient  revolutionists — notably 
the  group  called  the  NdrodovoUsi  (National-will-ists) — intervened, 
denounced  what  they  considered  an  unholy  alliance,  and  proposed  a 
policy  of  terrorism  by  which  the  Government  would  be  frightened 
into  a  more  conciliatory  attitude.  Their  idea  was  that  the  officials 
who  displayed  most  zeal  against  the  revolutionary  movement  should 


SOCIALIST    PROPAGANDA    AND    TERRORISM.  563 

be  assassinated,  and  that  every  act  of  severity  on  the  part  of  the 
Administration  should  be  answered  by  an  act  of  "  revolutionary 
justice." 

As  it  was  evident  that  the  choice  between  these  two  courses  of 
action  must  determine  in  great  measure  the  future  character  and 
ultimate  fate  of  the  movement,  there  was  much  discussion  between 
the  two  groups;  but  the  question  did  not  long  remain  in  suspense. 
Soon  the  extreme  party  gained  the  upper  hand,  and  the  Terrorist 
policy  was  adopted.  I  shall  let  the  revolutionists  themselves 
explain  this  momentous  decision.  In  a  long  proclamation  published 
some  years  later  it  is  explained  thus : 

"The  revolutionary  movement  in  Russia  began  with  the  so-called 
•going  in  among  the  people.'  The  first  Russian  revolutionists  thought 
that  the  freedom  of  the  people  could  be  obtained  only  by  the  people  itself, 
and  they  imagined  that  the  only  thing  necessary  was  that  the  people 
should  absorb  Socialistic  ideas.  To  this  it  was  supposed  that  the  peas- 
antry were  naturally  inclined,  because  they  already  possess,  in  the  rural 
Commune,  institutions  which  contain  the  seeds  of  Socialism,  and  which 
might  serve  as  a  basis  for  the  reconstruction  of  society  according  to 
Socialist  principles.  The  propagandists  hoped,  therefore,  that  in  the 
teachings  of  West  European  Socialism  the  people  would  recognise  its 
own  instinctive  creations  in  riper  and  more  clearly  defined  forms  and 
that  it  would  joyfully  accept  the  new  teaching. 

"  But  the  people  did  not  understand  its  friends,  and  showed  itself 
hostile  to  them.  It  turned  out  that  institutions  born  in  slavery  could 
not  serve  as  a  foundation  for  the  new  construction,  and  that  the  man 
who  was  yesterday  a  serf,  though  capable  of  taking  part  in  disturb- 
ances, is  not  fitted  for  conscious  revolutionary  work.  With  pain  in  their 
heart  the  revolutionists  had  to  confess  that  they  were  deceived  in  their 
hopes  of  the  people.  Around  them  were  no  social  revolutionary  forces 
on  which  they  could  lean  for  support,  and  yet  they  could  not  reconcile 
themselves  with  the  existing  state  of  violence  and  slavery.  Thereupon 
awakened  a  last  hope — the  hope  of  a  drowning  man  who  clutches  at  a 
straw :  a  little  group  of  heroic  and  self-sacrificing  individuals  might 
accomplish  with  their  own  strength  the  difiicult  task  of  freeing  Russia 
from  the  yoke  of  autocracy.  They  had  to  do  it  themselves,  because  there 
was  no  other  means.  But  would  they  be  able  to  accomplish  it?  For  them 
that  question  did  not  exist.  The  struggle  of  that  little  group  against 
autocracy  was  like  the  heroic  means  on  which  a  doctor  decides  when 
there  is  no  longer  any  hope  of  the  patient's  recovery.  Terrorism  was 
the  only  means  that  I'emained,  and  it  had  the  advantage  of  giving  a 
natural  vent  to  pent-up  feelings,  and  of  seeming  a  reaction  against  the 
cruel  persecutions  of  the  Government.  The  party  called  the  Narod- 
naya  Volya  (National  Will)  was  accordingly  formed,  and  during 
several  years  the  world  witnessed  a  spectacle  that  had  never  been 
seen  before  in  history.  The  Narodnaya  Volya,  insignificant  in  num- 
bers but  strong  in  spirit,  engaged  in  single  combat  with  the  powerful 
Russian  Government.     Neither  executions,  nor  imprisonment  with  hard 


564  RUSSIA 

labour,  nor  ordinary  imprisonment  and  exile,  destroyed  the  energy 
of  the  revolutionists.  Under  their  shots  fell,  one  after  the  other,  the 
most  zealous  and  typical  representatives  of  arbitrary  action  and 
violence.    .    .    ." 

It  was  at  this  time,  in  1877,  when  propaganda  and  agitation 
among  the  masses  were  being  abandoned  for  the  system  of  terrorism, 
but  before  any  assassinations  had  taken  place,  that  I  accidentally 
came  into  personal  relations  with  some  prominent  adherents  of  the 
revolutionary  movement.  One  day  a  young  man  of  sympathetic  ap- 
pearance, whom  I  did  not  know  and  who  brought  no  credentials, 
called  on  me  in  St.  Petersburg  and  suggested  to  me  that  I  might 
make  public  through  the  English  Press  what  he  described  as  a 
revolting  act  of  tyranny  and  cruelty  committed  by  General  Trepof, 
the  Prefect  of  the  city.  That  official,  he  said,  in  visiting  recently 
one  of  the  prisons,  had  noticed  that  a  young  political  prisoner  called 
Bogolubof  did  not  salute  him  as  he  passed,  and  he  had  ordered  him 
to  be  flogged  in  consequence.  To  this  I  replied  that  I  had  no  reason 
to  disbelieve  the  story,  but  that  I  had  equally  no  reason  to  accept 
it  as  accurate,  as  it  rested  solely  on  the  evidence  of  a  person  with 
whom  I  was  totally  unacquainted.  My  informant  took  the  objection 
in  good  part,  and  offered  me  the  names  and  addresses  of  a  number  of 
persons  who  could  supply  me  with  any  proofs  that  I  might  desire. 

At  his  next  visit  I  told  him  I  had  seen  several  of  the  persons  he 
had  named,  and  that  I  could  not  help  perceiving  that  they  were 
closely  connected  with  the  revolutionary  movement.  I  then  went  on 
to  suggest  that  as  the  sympathisers  with  that  movement  constantly 
complained  that  they  were  systematically  misrepresented,  calumni- 
ated and  caricatured,  the  leaders  ought  to  give  the  world  an  ac- 
curate account  of  their  real  doctrines,  and  in  this  respect  I  should 
be  glad  to  assist  them.  Already  I  knew  something  of  the  subject, 
because  I  had  many  friends  and  acquaintances  among  the  sympa- 
thisers, and  had  often  had  with  them  interminable  discussions. 
"With  their  ideas,  so  far  as  I  knew  them,  I  felt  bound  to  confess  that 
I  had  no  manner  of  sympathy,  but  I  flattered  myself,  and  he  himself 
had  admitted,  that  I  was  capable  of  describing  accurately  and  crit- 
icising impartially  doctrines  with  which  I  did  not  agree.  My  new 
acquaintance,  whom  I  may  call  Dimitry  Ivan'itch,  was  pleased  with 
the  proposal,  and  after  he  had  consulted  with  some  of  his  friends, 
we  came  to  an  agreement  by  which  I  should  receive  all  the  materials 
necessary  for  writing  an  accurate  account  of  the  doctrinal  side  of 
the  movement.  With  regard  to  any  conspiracies  that  might  be  in 
progress,  I  warned  him  that  he  must  be  strictly  reticent,  because  if 


SOCIALIST    PEOPAGANDA   AND    TEEEOEISM    5G5 

I  came  accidentally  to  know  of  any  terrorist  designs,  I  should  con- 
sider it  my  duty  to  warn  the  authorities.  For  this  reason  I  declined 
to  attend  any  secret  conclaves,  and  it  was  agreed  that  I  should  be 
instructed  without  being  initiated. 

The  first  step  in  my  instruction  was  not  very  satisfactory  or 
encouraging.  One  day  Dimitri  Ivan'itch  brought  me  a  large  manu- 
script, which  contained,  he  said,  the  real  doctrines  of  the  revolution- 
ists and  the  explanation  of  their  methods.  I  was  surprised  to  find 
that  it  was  written  in  English,  and  I  perceived  at  a  glance  that  it 
was  not  at  all  what  I  wanted.  As  soon  as  I  had  read  the  first  sen- 
tence I  turned  to  my  friend  and  said : 

"  I  am  very  sorry  to  find,  Dimitri  Ivan'itch,  that  you  have  not 
kept  your  part  of  the  bargain.  We  agreed,  you  may  remember,  that 
we  were  to  act  towards  each  other  in  absolutely  good  faith,  and  here 
I  find  a  flagrant  bit  of  bad  faith  in  the  very  first  sentence  of  the 
manuscript  which  you  have  brought  me.  The  document  opens  with 
the  statement  that  a  large  number  of  students  have  been  arrested  and 
imprisoned  for  distributing  books  among  the  people.  That  state- 
ment may  be  true  according  to  the  letter,  but  it  is  evidently  intended 
to  mislead.  These  youths  have  been  arrested,  as  you  must  know, 
not  for  distributing  ordinary  books,  as  the  memorandum  suggests, 
but  for  distributing  books  of  a  certain  hind.  I  have  read  some  of 
them,  and  I  cannot  feel  at  all  surprised  that  the  Government  should 
object  to  their  being  put  into  the  hands  of  the  ignorant  masses. 
Take,  for  example,  the  one  entitled  Khitraya  MeTclianilca,  and  others 
of  the  same  type.  The  practical  teaching  they  contain  is  that  the 
peasants  should  be  ready  to  rise  and  cut  the  throats  of  the  landed 
proprietors  and  officials.  Now,  a  wholesale  massacre  of  the  kind 
may  or  may  not  be  desirable  in  the  interests  of  Society,  and  justifi- 
able according  to  some  new  code  of  higher  morality.  That  is  a 
question  into  which  I  do  not  enter.  All  I  maintain  is  that  the 
writer  of  this  memorandum,  in  speaking  of  '  books,'  meant  to  mis- 
lead me.'^ 

Dimitri  Ivan'itch  looked  puzzled  and  ashamed.  "  Forgive  me," 
he  said ;  "  I  am  to  blame — not  for  having  attempted  to  deceive  you, 
but  for  not  having  taken  precautions.  I  have  not  read  the  manu- 
script, and  I  could  not  if  I  wished,  for  it  is  written  in  English,  and 
I  know  no  language  but  my  mother  tongue.  My  friends  ought  not 
to  have  done  this.  Give  me  back  the  paper,  and  I  shall  take  care 
that  nothing  of  the  sort  occurs  in  future." 

This  promise  was  faithfully  kept,  and  I  had  no  further  reason  to 
complain.     Dimitri  Ivan'itch  gave  me  a  considerable  amount  of 


566  KUSSIA 

information,  and  lent  me  a  valuable  collection  of  revolutionary 
pamphlets.  Unfortunately  the  course  of  tuition  was  suddenly 
interrupted  by  unforeseen  circumstances,  vrhich  I  may  mention  as 
characteristic  of  life  in  St.  Petersburg  at  the  time.  My  servant,  an 
excellent  young  Russian,  more  honest  than  intelligent,  came  to  me 
one  morning  with  a  mysterious  air,  and  warned  me  to  be  on  my 
guard,  because  there  were  "bad  people"  going  about.  On  being 
pressed  a  little,  he  explained  to  me  what  he  meant.  Two  strangers 
had  come  to  him  and,  after  offering  him  a  few  roubles,  had  asked 
him  a  number  of  questions  about  my  habits — at  what  hour  I  went 
out  and  came  home,  what  persons  called  on  me,  and  much  more  of 
the  same  sort.  "They  even  tried,  sir,  to  get  into  your  sitting- 
room  ;  but  of  course  I  did  not  allow  them.  I  believe  they  want  to 
rob  you ! " 

It  was  not  difficult  to  guess  who  these  "  bad  people  "  were  who 
took  such  a  keen  interest  in  my  doings,  and  who  wanted  to  examine 
my  apartment  in  my  absence.  Any  doubts  I  had  on  the  subject 
were  soon  removed.  On  the  morrow  and  following  days  I  noticed 
that  whenever  I  went  out,  and  wherever  I  might  walk  or  drive,  I 
was  closely  followed  by  two  unsmpathetic-looking  individuals — so 
closely  that  when  I  turned  round  sharp  they  ran  into  me.  The  first 
and  second  times  this  little  accident  occurred  they  received  a  strong 
volley  of  unceremonious  vernacular;  but  when  we  became  better 
acquainted  we  simply  smiled  at  each  other  knowingly,  as  the  old 
Eoman  Augurs  are  supposed  to  have  done  when  they  met  in  public 
unobserved.  There  was  no  longer  any  attempt  at  concealment  or 
mystification.  I  knew  I  was  being  shadowed,  and  the  shadowers 
could  not  help  perceiving  that  I  knew  it.  Yet,  strange  to  say,  they 
were  never  changed ! 

The  reader  probably  assumes  that  the  secret  police  had  somehow 
got  wind  of  my  relations  with  the  revolutionists.  Such  an  assump- 
tion presupposes  on  the  part  of  the  police  an  amount  of  intelligence 
and  perspicacity  which  they  do  not  usually  possess.  On  this  occa- 
sion they  were  on  an  entirely  wrong  scent,  and  the  very  day  when  I 
first  noticed  my  shadowers  a  high  official,  who  seemed  to  regard  the 
whole  thing  as  a  good  joke,  told  me  confidentially  what  the  wrong 
scent  was.  At  the  instigation  of  an  ex-ambassador,  from  whom  I 
had  the  misfortune  to  differ  in  matters  of  foreign  policy,  the  Mos- 
cow Gazette  had  denounced  me  publicly  by  name  as  a  person  who 
was  in  the  habit  of  visiting  daily  the  Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs — 
doubtless  with  the  nefarious  purpose  of  obtaining  by  illegal  means 
secret  political  information — and  the  police  had  concluded  that  I 


SOCIALIST    PEOPAGANDA    AND    TERRORISM     567 

was  a  fit  and  proper  person  to  be  closely  watched.  In  reality,  my 
relations  with  the  Russian  Foreign  Office,  though  inconvenient  to 
the  ex-ambassador,  were  perfectly  regular  and  above-board — sanc- 
tioned, in  fact,  by  Prince  Gortchakoff — but  the  indelicate  attentions 
of  the  secret  police  were  none  the  less  extremely  unwelcome,  because 
some  intelligent  police-agent  might  get  onto  the  real  scent,  and  cause 
me  serious  inconvenience.  I  determined,  therefore,  to  break  off  all 
relations  with  Dimitri  Ivan'itch  and  his  friends,  and  postpone  my 
studies  to  a  more  convenient  season;  but  that  decision  did  not 
entirely  extricate  me  from  my  difficulties.  The  collection  of  revo- 
lutionary pamphlets  was  still  in  my  possession,  and  I  had  promised 
to  return  it.  For  some  little  time  I  did  not  see  how  I  could  keep 
mv  promise  without  compromising  myself  or  others,  but  at  last — 
after  having  had  my  shadowers  carefully  shadowed  in  order  to  learn 
accurately  their  halDits,  and  having  taken  certain  elaborate  precau- 
tions, with  which  I  need  not  trouble  the  reader,  as  he  is  not 
likely  ever  to  require  them — I  paid  a  visit  secretly  to  Dimitri  Ivan- 
'itch in  his  small  room,  almost  destitute  of  furniture,  handed  him 
the  big  parcel  of  pamphlets,  warned  him  not  to  visit  me  again,  and 
bade  him  farewell.  Thereupon  we  went  our  separate  ways  and  I 
saw  him  no  more.  Whether  he  subsequently  played  a  leading  part 
in  the  movement  I  never  could  ascertain,  because  I  did  not  know  his 
real  name;  but  if  the  conception  which  I  formed  of  his  character 
was  at  all  accurate,  he  probably  ended  his  career  in  Siberia,  for  he 
was  not  a  man  to  look  back  after  having  put  his  hand  to  the  plough. 
That  is  a  peculiar  trait  of  the  Russian  revolutionists  of  the  period 
in  question.  Their  passion  for  realising  an  impossible  ideal  was 
incurable.  Many  of  them  were  again  and  again  arrested;  and  as 
soon  as  they  escaped  or  were  liberated  they  almost  invariably  went 
back  to  their  revolutionary  activity  and  worked  energetically  until 
they  again  fell  into  the  clutches  of  the  police. 

From  this  digression  into  the  sphere  of  personal  reminiscences  I 
return  now  and  take  up  again  the  thread  of  the  narrative. 

We  have  seen  how  the  propaganda  and  the  agitation  had  failed, 
partly  because  the  masses  showed  themselves  indifferent  or  hostile, 
and  partly  because  the  Government  adopted  vigorous  repressive 
measures.  We  have  seen,  too,  how  the  leaders  found  themselves  in 
face  of  a  formidable  dilemma;  either  they  must  abandon  their 
schemes  or  they  must  attack  their  persecutors.  The  more  energetic 
among  them,  as  I  have  already  stated,  chose  the  latter  alternative, 
and  they  proceeded  at  once  to  carry  out  their  policy.  In  the  course 
of  a  single  year  (February,  1878,  to  February,  1879)  a  whole  series 


5G8  EUSSIA 

of  terrorist  crimes  was  committed;  in  Kief  an  attempt  was  made 
on  the  life  of  the  Public  Prosecutor,  and  an  officer  of  gendarmerie 
was  stabbed;  in  St.  Petersburg  the  Chief  of  the  Political  Police 
of  the  Empire  (General  Mezentsef)  was  assassinated  in  broad  day- 
light in  one  of  the  central  streets,  and  a  similar  attempt  was  made 
on  his  successor  (General  Drenteln)  ;  at  Kharkof  the  Governor 
(Prince  Krapotkin)  was  shot  dead  when  entering  his  residence. 
During  the  same  period  two  members  of  the  revolutionary  organisa- 
tion, accused  of  treachery,  were  "  executed  "  by  order  of  local  Com- 
mittees. In  most  cases  the  perpetrators  of  the  crimes  contrived  to 
escape.  One  of  them  became  well  known  in  Western  Europe  as  an 
author  under  the  pseudonym  of  Stepniak. 

Terrorism  had  not  the  desired  effect.  On  the  contrary,  it  stimu- 
lated the  zeal  and  activity  of  the  authorities,  and  in  the  course  of 
the  winter  of  1878-79  hundreds  of  arrests — some  say  as  many  as 
2,000 — were  made  in  St.  Petersburg  alone.  Driven  to  desperation, 
the  revolutionists  still  at  large  decided  that  it  was  useless  to 
assassinate  mere  officials;  the  fons  et  origo  mali  must  be  reached; 
a  blow  must  be  struck  at  the  Tsar  himself !  The  first  attempt  was 
made  by  a  young  man  called  Solovyoff,  who  fired  several  shots  at 
Alexander  II.  as  he  was  walking  near  the  Winter  Palace,  but  none 
of  them  took  effect. 

This  policy  of  aggressive  terrorism  did  not  meet  with  universal 
approval  among  the  revolutionists,  and  it  was  determined  to  discuss 
the  matter  at  a  Congress  of  delegates  from  various  local  circles. 
The  meetings  were  held  in  June,  1879,  two  months  after  Solo\7-off"s 
unsuccessful  attempt,  at  two  provincial  towns,  Lipetsk  and  Voro- 
nezh. It  was  there  agreed  in  principle  to  confirm  the  decision  of 
the  Terrorist  NarodovoHsi.  As  the  Liberals  were  not  in  a  position  to 
create  liberal  institutions  or  to  give  guarantees  for  political  rights, 
which  are  the  essential  conditions  of  any  Socialist  agitation,  there 
remained  for  the  revolutionary  party  no  other  course  than  to  destroy 
the  despotic  autocracy.  Thereupon  a  programme  of  action 
was  prepared,  and  an  Executive  Committee  elected.  From  that 
moment,  though  there  were  still  many  who  preferred  milder 
methods,  the  Terrorists  had  the  upper  hand,  and  they  at  once  pro- 
ceeded to  centralise  the  organisation  and  to  introduce  stricter  disci- 
pline, with  greater  precautions  to  ensure  secrecy. 

The  Executive  Committee  imagined  that  by  assassinating  the 
Tsar  autocracy  might  be  destroyed,  and  several  carefully  planned 
attempts  were  made.  The  first  plan  was  to  wreck  the  train  when 
the  Imperial  family  were  returning  to  St.  Petersburg  from  the 


SOCIALIST    PEOPAGANDA    AXD    TEREOPISM    569 

Crimea.  Mines  were  accordingly  laid  at  three  separate  points,  but 
they  all  failed.  At  the  last  of  the  three  points  (near  Moscow)  a 
train  was  blown  up,  but  it  was  not  the  one  in  which  the  Imperial 
family  was  travelling. 

Not  at  all  discouraged  by  this  failure,  nor  by  the  discovery  of 
its  secret  printing-press  by  the  police,  the  Executive  Committee  next 
tried  to  attain  its  object  by  an  explosion  of  dynamite  in  the  Winter 
Palace  when  the  Imperial  family  were  assembled  at  dinner. 
The  execution  was  entrusted  to  a  certain  Halturin,  one  of 
the  few  revolutionists  of  peasant  origin.  As  an  exceptionally  clever 
carpenter  and  polisher,  he  easily  found  regular  employment  in  the 
palace,  and  he  contrived  to  make  a  rough  plan  of  the  building.  This 
plan,  on  which  the  dining-hall  was  marked  with  an  ominous  red 
cross,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  police,  and  they  made  what  they 
considered  a  careful  investigation;  but  they  failed  to  unravel  the 
plot  and  did  not  discover  the  dynamite  concealed  in  the  carpenters' 
sleeping  quarters.  Halturin  showed  wonderful  coolness  while  the 
search  was  going  on,  and  continued  to  sleep  every  night  on  the 
explosive,  though  it  caused  him  excruciating  headaches.  When  he 
was  assured  by  the  chemist  of  the  Executive  Committee  that  the 
quantity  collected  was  sufficient,  he  exploded  the  mine  at  the  usual 
dinner  hour,  and  contrived  to  escape  uninjured.*  In  the  guardroom 
immediately  above  the  spot  where  the  dynamite  was  exploded  ten 
soldiers  were  killed  and  53  wounded,  and  in  the  dining-hall  the 
floor  was  wrecked,  but  the  Imperial  family  escaped  in  consequence 
of  not  sitting  down  to  dinner  at  the  usual  hour. 

For  this  barbarous  act  the  Executive  Committee  publicly 
accepted  full  responsibility.  In  a  proclamation  placarded  in  the 
streets  of  St.  Petersburg  it  declared  that,  while  regretting  the  death 
of  the  soldiers,  it  was  resolved  to  carry  on  the  struggle  with  the 
Autocratic  Power  until  the  social  reforms  should  be  entrusted  to  a 
Constituent  Assembly,  composed  of  members  freely  elected  and 
furnished  with  instructions  from  their  constituents. 

Finding  police-repression  so  ineffectual,  Alexander  II.  determined 
to  try  the  effect  of  conciliation,  and  for  this  purpose  he  placed  Loris 
Melikof  at  the  head  of  the  Government,  with  semi-dictatorial  powers 
(February,  1880).  The  experiment  did  not  succeed.  By  the  Ter- 
rorists it  was  regarded  as  "  a  hypocritical  Liberalism  outwardly  and 
a  veiled  brutality  within,"  while  in  the  official  world  it  was  con- 

*  After  living  some  time  in  Roumania  he  returned  to  Russia  under 
the  name  of  Stepanof.  and  in  1882  he  was  tried  and  executed  for  com- 
plicity in  the  assassination  of  General  Strebnekof. 


670  EUSSIA 

demned  as  an  act  of  culpable  weakness  on  the  part  of  the  autocracy. 
One  consequence  of  it  was  that  the  Executive  Committee  was  encour- 
aged to  continue  its  efforts,  and,  as  the  police  became  much  less 
active,  it  was  enabled  to  improve  the  revolutionary  organisation. 
In  a  circular  sent  to  the  affiliated  provincial  associations  it  explained 
that  the  only  source  of  legislation  must  be  the  national  will,*  and 
as  the  Government  would  never  accept  such  a  principle,  its  hand 
must  be  forced  by  a  great  popular  insurrection,  for  which  all  avail- 
able forces  should  be  organised.  The  peasantry,  as  experience  had 
shown,  could  not  yet  be  relied  on,  but  efforts  should  be  made  to  enrol 
the  workmen  of  the  towns.  Great  importance  was  attached  to  prop- 
aganda in  the  army;  but  as  few  conversions  had  been  made  among 
the  rank  and  file,  attention  was  to  be  directed  chiefly  to  the  officers, 
who  would  be  able  to  carry  their  subordinates  with  them  at  the 
critical  moment. 

While  thus  recommending  the  scheme  of  destroying  autocracy 
by  means  of  a  popular  insurrection  in  the  distant  future,  the  Com- 
mittee had  not  abandoned  more  expeditious  methods,  and  it  was  at 
that  moment  hatching  a  plot  for  the  assassination  of  the  Tsar.  Dur- 
ing the  winter  months  his  Majesty  was  in  the  habit  of  holding  on 
Sundays  a  small  parade  in  the  riding-school  near  the  Michael  Square 
in  St.  Petersburg.  On  Sunday,  March  3d,  1881,  the  streets  by  which 
he  usually  returned  to  the  Palace  had  been  undermined  at  two 
places,  and  on  an  alternative  route  several  conspirators  were  posted 
with  hand-grenades  concealed  under  their  great  coats.  The  Em- 
peror chose  the  alternative  route.  Here,  at  a  signal  given  by  Sophia 
Perovski,  the  first  grenade  was  thrown  by  a  student  called  Eyssak- 
off,  but  it  merely  wounded  some  members  of  the  escort.  The  Em- 
peror stopped  and  got  out  of  his  sledge,  and  as  he  was  making 
inquiries  about  the  wounded  soldiers  a  second  grenade  was  thrown 
by  a  youth  called  Grinevitski,  with  fatal  effect.  Alexander  II. 
was  conveyed  hurriedly  to  the  Winter  Palace,  and  died  almost 
immediately. 

By  this  act  the  members  of  the  Executive  Committee  proved  their 
energy  and  their  talent  as  conspirators,  but  they  at  the  same  time 
showed  their  shortsightedness  and  their  political  incapacity ;  for  they 
had  made  no  preparations  for  immediately  seizing  the  power  which 
they  so  ardently  coveted — with  the  intention  of  using  it,  of  course, 
entirely  for  the  public  good.  If  the  facts  were  not  so  well  authenti- 
cated, we  might  dismiss  the  whole  story  as  incredible.    A  group  of 

*  Hence  the  designation  Narodovoltsi  (which,  as  we  have  seen,  means 
literally  National-will-ists)  adopted  by  this  section. 


SOCIALIST    PROPAGANDA   AND    TERRORISM     571 

young  people,  certainly  not  more  than  thirty  or  forty  in  number, 
without  any  organised  material  force  behind  them,  without  any 
influential  accomplices  in  the  army  or  the  official  world,  without  any 
prospect  of  support  from  the  masses,  and  with  no  plan  for  immediate 
action  after  the  assassination,  deliberately  provoked  the  crisis  for 
which  they  were  so  hopelessly  unprepared.  It  has  been  suggested 
that  they  expected  the  Liberals  to  seize  the  Supreme  Power,  but 
this  explanation  is  evidently  an  afterthought,  because  they  knew 
that  the  Liberals  were  as  unprepared  as  themselves  and  they 
regarded  them  at  that  time  as  dangerous  rivals.  Besides  this,  the 
explanation  is  quite  irreconcilable  with  the  proclamation  issued  by 
the  Executive  Committee  immediately  afterwards.  The  most  chari- 
table way  of  explaining  the  conduct  of  the  conspirators  is  to  sup- 
pose that  they  were  actuated  more  by  blind  hatred  of  the  autocracy 
and  its  agents  than  by  political  calculations  of  a  practical  kind — that 
they  acted  simply  like  a  wounded  bull  in  the  arena,  which  shuts  its 
eyes  and  recklessly  charges  its  tormentors. 

The  murder  of  the  Emperor  had  not  at  all  the  effect  which  the 
NarodovoUsi  anticipated.  On  the  contrary,  it  destroyed  their  hopes 
of  success.  Many  people  of  liberal  convictions  who  sympathised 
vaguely  with  the  revolutionary  movement  without  taking  part  in  it, 
and  who  did  not  condemn  very  severely  the  attacks  on  police  officials, 
were  horrified  when  they  found  that  the  would-be  reformers  did  not 
spare  even  the  sacred  person  of  the  Tsar.  At  the  same  time,  the 
police  officials,  who  had  become  lax  and  inefficient  under  the  con- 
ciliatory regime  of  Loris  Melikof,  recovered  their  old  zeal,  and  dis- 
played such  inordinate  activity  that  the  revolutionary  organisation 
was  paralysed  and  in  great  measure  destroyed.  Six  of  the  regicides 
were  condemned  to  death,  and  five  of  them  publicly  executed, 
amongst  the  latter  Sophia  Perovski,  one  of  the  most  active  and  per- 
sonally sympathetic  personages  among  the  revolutionists.  Scores  of 
those  who  had  taken  an  active  part  in  the  movement  were  in  prison 
or  in  exile.  For  a  short  time  the  propaganda  was  continued  among 
military  and  naval  officers,  and  various  attempts  at  reorganisation, 
especially  in  the  southern  provinces,  were  made,  but  they  all  failed. 
A  certain  Degaief,  who  had  taken  part  in  the  formation  of  military 
circles,  turned  informer,  and  aided  the  police.  By  his  treachery 
not  only  a  considerable  number  of  officers,  but  also  Vera  Filipof, 
a  young  lady  of  remarkable  ability  and  courage,  who  was  the 
leading  spirit  in  the  attempts  at  reorganisation,  were  arrested. 
There  were  still  a  number  of  leaders  living  abroad,  and  from  time 
to  time  they  sent  emissaries  to  revive  the  propaganda,  but  these 


513  RUSSIA 

efforts  were  all  fruitless.  One  of  the  active  members  of  the 
revolutionary  party,  Leo  Deutsch,  who  has  since  published  his 
Memoirs,  relates  how  the  tide  of  revolution  ebbed  rapidly  at  this 
time.  "  Both  in  Eussia  and  abroad,"  he  says,  "  I  had  seen  how  the 
earlier  enthusiasm  had  given  way  to  scepticism;  men  had  lost 
faith,  though  many  of  them  would  not  allow  that  it  was  so.  It  was 
clear  to  me  that  a  reaction  had  set  in  for  many  years."  Of  the 
attempts  to  resuscitate  the  movement  he  says :  "  The  untried  and 
unskilfully  managed  societies  were  run  to  death  before  they  could 
undertake  anything  definite,  and  the  unity  and  interdependence 
which  characterised  the  original  band  of  members  had  disappeared." 
With  regard  to  the  want  of  unity,  another  prominent  revolu- 
tionist (Maslof)  wrote  to  a  friend  (Dragomanof)  at  Geneva 
in  1882  in  terms  of  bitter  complaint.  He  accused  the  Executive 
Committee  of  trying  to  play  the  part  of  chief  of  the  whole  revolu- 
tionary party,  and  declared  that  its  centralising  tendencies  were 
more  despotic  than  those  of  the  Government.  Distributing  orders 
among  its  adherents  without  initiating  them  into  its  plans,  it 
insisted  on  unquestioning  obedience.  The  Socialist  youth,  ardent 
adherents  of  Federalism,  were  indignant  at  this  treatment,  and 
began  to  understand  that  the  Committee  used  them  simply  as  cJiair 
a.  canon.  The  writer  described  in  vivid  colours  the  mutual  hostility 
which  reigned  among  various  fractions  of  the  party,  and  which 
manifested  itself  in  accusations  and  even  in  denunciations;  and  he 
predicted  that  the  Narodnaya  Volya,  which  had  organised  the 
various  acts  of  terrorism  culminating  in  the  assassination  of  the 
Emperor,  would  never  develop  into  a  powerful  revolutionary  party. 
It  had  sunk  into  the  slough  of  untruth,  and  it  could  only  continue 
to  deceive  the  Government  and  the  public. 

In  the  mutual  recriminations  several  interesting  admissions  were 
made.  It  was  recognised  that  neither  the  educated  classes  nor  the 
common  people  were  capable  of  bringing  about  a  revolution:  the 
former  were  not  numerous  enough,  and  the  latter  were  devoted  to 
the  Tsar  and  did  not  s^nnpathise  with  the  revolutionary  movement, 
though  they  might  perhaps  be  induced  to  rise  at  a  moment  of 
crisis.  It  was  considered  doubtful  whether  such  a  rising  was 
desirable,  because  the  masses,  being  insufficiently  prepared,  might 
turn  against  the  educated  minority.  In  no  case  could  a  popular 
insurrection  attain  the  object  which  the  Socialists  had  in  view, 
because  the  power  would  either  remain  in  the  hands  of  the  Tsar — 
thanks  to  the  devotion  of  the  common  people — or  it  would  fall  into 
the  hands  of  the  Liberals,  who  would  oppress  the  masses  worse  than 


SOCIALIST    PROPAGANDA    AND    TERRORISM     573 

the  autocratic  Government  had  done.  Further,  it  was  recognised 
that  acts  of  terrorism  were  worse  than  useless,  because  they  were 
misunderstood  by  the  ignorant,  and  tended  to  inflame  the  masses 
against  the  leaders.  It  seemed  necessary,  therefore,  to  return  to 
a  pacific  propaganda.  Tikhomirof,  who  was  nominally  directing 
the  movement  from  abroad,  became  utterly  discouraged,  and  wrote 
in  1884  to  one  of  his  emissaries  in  Russia  (Lopatin)  :  "■'  You  now  see 
Russia,  and  can  convince  yourself  that  it  does  not  possess  the 

material  for  a  vast  work  of  reorganisation I  advise  you 

seriously  not  to  make  superhuman  efforts  and  not  to  make   a 

scandal  in  attempting  the  impossible If  you  do  not  want 

to  satisfy  yourself  with  trifles,  come  away  and  await  better  times. 

In  examining  the  material  relating  to  this  period  one  sees  clearly 
that  the  revolutionary  movement  had  got  into  a  vicious  circle.  As 
pacific  propaganda  had  become  impossible,  in  consequence  of  the 
opposition  of  the  authorities  and  the  vigilance  of  the  police,  the 
Government  could  be  overturned  only  by  a  general  insurrection ;  but 
the  general  insurrection  could  not  be  prepared  without  pacific  prop- 
aganda. As  for  terrorism,  it  had  become  discredited.  Tikhomirof 
himself  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  terrorist  idea  was  altogether 
a  mistake,  not  only  morally,  but  also  from  the  point  of  view  of 
political  expediency.  A  party,  he  explained,  has  either  the  force 
to  overthrow  the  Government,  or  it  has  not;  in  the  former  case  it 
has  no  need  of  political  assassination,  and  in  the  latter  the  assas- 
sinations have  no  effect,  because  Governments  are  not  so  stupid  as 
to  let  themselves  be  frightened  by  those  who  cannot  overthrow  them. 
Plainly  there  was  nothing  to  be  done  but  to  wait  for  better  times, 
as  he  had  suggested,  and  the  better  times  did  not  seem  to  be 
within  measurable  distance.  He  himself,  after  publishing  a 
brochure  entitled  "Why  I  Ceased  to  Be  a  Revolutionist,"  made 
his  peace  with  the  Government,  and  others  followed  his  example.* 
In  one  prison  nine  made  formal  recantations,  among  them 
Emilianof,  who  held  a  reserve  bomb  ready  when  Alexander  II. 
was  assassinated.  Occasional  acts  of  terrorism  showed  that  there 
was  still  fire  under  the  smouldering  embers,  but  they  were  few  and 
far  between.  The  last  serious  incident  of  the  kind  during  this 
period  was  the  regicide  conspiracy  of  Sheviryoff  in  ^Farch,  1887. 
The  conspirators,  carrying  the  bombs,  were  arrested  in  the  principal 
street  of  St.  Petersburg,  and  five  of  them  were  hanged.  The  rail- 
way accident  of  Borki,  which  happened  in  the  following  year,  and 

*  Tikhomirof  subsequently  worlied  agaiust  the  Social  Democrats  in 
Moscow  in  the  interests  of  the  Government. 


574  RUSSIA 

in  which  the  Imperial  family  had  a  very  narrow  escape,  ought 
perhaps  to  be  added  to  the  list,  because  there  is  reason  to  believe 
that  it  was  the  work  of  revolutionists. 

By  this  time  all  the  cooler  heads  among  the  revolutionists,  espe- 
cially those  who  were  living  abroad  in  personal  safety,  had  come  to 
understand  that  the  Socialist  ideal  could  not  be  attained  by  popular 
insurrection,  terrorism,  or  conspiracies,  and  consequently  that 
further  activity  on  the  old  lines  was  absurd.  Those  of  them  who 
did  not  abandon  the  enterprise  in  despair  reverted  to  the  idea  that 
Autocratic  Power,  impregnable  against  frontal  attacks,  might  be 
destroyed  by  prolonged  siege  operations.  This  change  of  tactics 
is  reflected  in  the  revolutionary  literature.  In  1889,  for  example, 
the  editor  of  the  Svohodnaya  Rossia  declared  that  the  aim  of  the 
movement  now  was  political  freedom — not  only  as  a  stepping-stone 
to  social  reorganisation,  but  as  a  good  in  itself.  This  is,  he  explains, 
the  only  possible  revolution  at  present  in  Eussia.  "  For  the  moment 
there  can  be  no  other  immediate  practical  aim.  Ulterior  aims  are 
not  abandoned,  but  they  are  not  at  present  within  reach.  .  .  The 
revolutionists  of  the  seventies  and  the  eighties  did  not  succeed 
in  creating  among  the  peasantry  or  the  town  workmen  an}i:hing 
which  had  even  the  appearance  of  a  force  capable  of  struggling  with 
the  Government;  and  the  revolutionists  of  the  future  will  have  no 
greater  success  until  they  have  obtained  such  political  rights  as 
personal  inviolability.  Our  immediate  aim,  therefore,  is  a  National 
Assembly  controlled  by  local  self-government,  and  this  can  be 
brought  about  only  by  a  union  of  all  the  revolutionary  forces." 

There  were  still  indications,  it  is  true,  that  the  old  spirit  of  ter- 
rorism was  not  yet  quite  extinct :  Captain  Zolotykhin,  for  example, 
an  officer  of  the  Moscow  secret  police,  was  assassinated  by  a  female 
revolutionist  in  1890.  But  such  incidents  were  merely  the  last 
fitful  sputterings  of  a  lamp  that  was  going  out  for  want  of  oil.  In 
1892  Stepniak  declared  it  evident  to  all  that  the  professional  revolu- 
tonists  could  not  alone  overthrow  autocracy,  however  great  their 
energy  and  heroism;  and  he  arrived  at  the  same  conclusion  as  the 
wTiter  just  quoted.  Of  course,  immediate  success  was  not  to  be 
expected.  "  It  is  only  from  the  evolutionist's  point  of  view  that  the 
struggle  with  autocracy  has  a  meaning.  From  any  other  stand- 
point it  must  seem  a  sanguinary  farce — a  mere  exercise  in  the  art 
of  self-sacrifice ! "  Such  are  the  conclusions  arrived  at  in  1892  by 
a  man  who  had  been  in  1878  one  of  the  leading  terrorists,  and 
who  had  with  his  own  hand  assassinated  General  Mezentsef,  Chief 
of  the  Political  Police. 


SOCIALIST    PROPAGANDA    AXD    TERROIUSM     575 

Thus  the  revolutionary  movement,  after  passing  through  four 
stages,  which  I  may  call  the  academic,  the  propagandist,  the  insur- 
rectionary, and  the  terrorist,  had  failed  to  accomplish  its  object. 
One  of  those  who  had  taken  an  active  part  in  it,  and  who,  after 
spending  two  years  in  Siberia  as  a  political  exile,  escaped  and  set- 
tled in  Western  Europe,  could  write  thus :  "  Our  revolutionary 
movement  is  dead,  and  we  who  are  still  alive  stand  by  the  grave 
of  our  beautiful  departed  and  discuss  what  is  wanting  to  her. 
One  of  us  thinks  that  her  nose  should  l)e  improved;  another  sug- 
gests a  change  in  her  chin  or  her  hair.  "We  do  not  notice  the 
essential  that  what  our  beautiful  departed  wants  is  life;  that  it 
is  not  a  matter  of  hair  or  eyebrows,  but  of  a  living  soul,  which 
formerly  concealed  all  defects,  and  made  her  beautiful,  and  which 
now  has  flown  away.  However  we  may  invent  changes  and  improve- 
ments, all  these  things  are  utterly  insignificant  in  comparison  with 
what  is  really  wanting,  and  what  we  cannot  give;  for  who  can 
breathe  a  living  soul  into  a  corpse  ?  " 

In  truth,  the  movement  which  I  have  endeavoured  to  describe 
was  at  an  end;  but  another  movement,  having  the  same  ultimate 
object,  was  coming  into  existence,  and  it  constitutes  one  of  the 
essential  factors  of  the  present  situation.  Some  of  the  exiles  in 
Switzerland  and  Paris  had  become  acquainted  with  the  social- 
democratic  and  labour  movements  in  Western  Europe,  and  they 
believed  that  the  strategy  and  tactics  employed  in  these  movements 
might  be  adopted  in  Russia.  How  far  they  have  succeeded  in 
carrying  out  this  policy  I  shall  relate  presently;  but  before  enter- 
ing on  this  subject,  I  must  explain  how  the  application  of  such  a 
policy  had  been  rendered  possible  by  changes  in  the  economic  con- 
ditions. Russia  had  begun  to  create  rapidly  a  great  manufacturing 
industry  and  an  industrial  proletariat.  This  will  form  the  subject 
of  the  next  chapter. 


CHAPTER   XXXVI 

INDUSTRIAL  PROGRESS  AND  THE  PROLETARIAT 

Russia  till  Lately  a  Peasant  Empire — Early  Efforts  to  Introduce  Arta 
and  Crafts — Peter  the  Great  and  His  Successors — Manufacturing 
Industry  Long  Remains  an  Exotic — The  Cotton  Industry — The  Re- 
forms of  Alexander  II. — Protectionists  and  Free  Trade — Progress 
under  High  Tariffs— M.  Witte's  Policy— How  Capital  Was  Ob- 
tained— Increase  of  Exports — Foreign  Firms  Cross  the  Customs 
Frontier — Rapid  Development  of  Iron  Industry — A  Commercial 
Crisis — M.  Witte's  Position  Undermined  by  Agrarians  and  Doc- 
trinaires— M.  Plehve  a  Formidable  Opponent — His  Apprehensions 
of  Revolution — Fall  of  M.  Witte — The  Industrial  Proletariat 

FIFTY  years  ago  Russia  was  still  essentially  a  peasant  empire, 
living  by  agriculture  of  a  primitive  type,  and  supplying  her 
other  wants  chiefly  by  home  industries,  as  was  the  custom  in 
Western  Europe  during  the  Middle  Ages. 

For  many  generations  her  rulers  had  been  trying  to  transplant 
into  their  wide  dominions  the  art  and  crafts  of  the  West,  but  they 
had  formidable  difficulties  to  contend  with,  and  their  success  was  not 
nearly  as  great  as  they  desired.  We  know  that  as  far  back  as  the 
fourteenth  century  there  were  cloth-workers  in  Moscow,  for  we  read 
in  the  chronicles  that  the  workshops  of  these  artisans  were  sacked 
when  the  town  was  stormed  by  the  Tartars.  Workers  in  metal  had 
also  appeared  in  some  of  the  larger  towns  by  that  time,  but  they  do 
not  seem  to  have  risen  much  above  the  level  of  ordinary  blacksmiths. 
They  were  destined,  however,  to  make  more  rapid  progress  than 
other  classes  of  artisans,  because  the  old  Tsars  of  Muscovy,  like  other 
semi-barbarous  potentates,  admired  and  envied  the  industries  of 
more  civilised  countries  mainly  from  the  military  point  of  view. 
What  they  wanted  most  was  a  plentiful  supply  of  good  arms  where- 
with to  defend  themselves  and  attack  their  neighbours,  and  it  was 
to  this  object  that  their  most  strenuous  efforts  were  directed. 

As  early  as  1475  Ivan  III.,  the  grandfather  of  Ivan  the  Terrible, 
sent  a  delegate  to  Venice  to  seek  out  for  him  an  architect  who,  in 
addition  to  his  own  craft,  knew  how  to  make  guns;  and  in  due 
course  appeared  in  the  Kremlin  a  certain  Muroli,  called  Aristotle  by 
his  contemporaries  on  account  of  his  profound  learning.  He  under- 
took "  to  build  churches  and  palaces,  to  cast  big  bells  and  cannons,  to 

576 


INDUSTRIAL  PROGRESS  AND  THE  PROLETARIAT     577 

fire  off  the  said  cunnons,  and  to  make  every  sort  of  castings  very  cun- 
ningly " ;  and  for  the  exercise  of  these  various  arts  it  was  solemnly 
stipulated  in  a  formal  document  that  he  should  receive  the  modest 
salary  of  ten  roubles  monthly.  With  regard  to  the  military 
products,  at  least,  the  Venetian  faithfully  fulfilled  his  contract, 
and  in  a  short  time  the  Tsar  had  the  satisfaction  of  possessing  a 
''  cannon-house,"  subsequently  dignified  with  the  name  of  "  ar- 
senal." Some  of  the  natives  learned  the  foreign  art,  and  exactly  a 
century  later  (1856)  a  Russian,  or  at  least  a  Slav,  called  Tchekhof, 
produced  a  famous  "Tsar-cannon,"  weighing  as  much  as  96,000  lbs. 
'J'he  connection  thus  established  with  the  mechanical  arts  of  the 
West  was  always  afterwards  maintained,  and  we  find  frequent 
notices  of  the  fact  in  contemporary  writers.  In  the  reign  of  the 
grandfather  of  Peter  the  Great,  for  example,  two  paper-works  were 
established  by  an  Italian;  and  velvet  for  the  Tsar  and  his  Boijars, 
gold  brocades  for  ecclesiastical  vestments,  and  rude  kinds  of  glass 
for  ordinary  purposes  were  manufactured  under  the  august  patron- 
age of  the  enlightened  ruler.  His  son  Alexis  went  a  good  many 
steps  further,  and  scandalised  his  God-fearing  orthodox  subjects 
by  his  love  of  foreign  heretical  inventions.  It  was  in  his  German 
suburb  of  Moscow  that  young  Peter,  who  was  to  be  crowned  "  the 
Great,"  made  his  first  acquaintance  with  the  useful  arts  of  the  West. 
When  the  great  reformer  came  to  the  throne  he  found  in  his 
Tsardom,  besides  many  workshops,  some  ten  foundries,  all  of  which 
were  under  orders  "  to  cast  cannons,  bombs,  and  bullets,  and  to 
make  arms  for  the  service  of  the  State."  This  seemed  to  him  only 
a  beginning,  especially  for  the  mining  and  iron  industry,  in  which 
he  was  particularly  interested.  By  importing  foreign  artificers 
and  placing  at  their  disposal  big  estates,  with  numerous  serfs,  in 
the  districts  where  minerals  were  plentiful,  and  by  carefully  stipu- 
lating that  these  foreigners  should  teach  his  subjects  well,  and  con- 
ceal from  them  none  of  the  secrets  of  the  craft,  he  created  in  the 
Ural  a  great  iron  industry,  which  still  exists  at  the  present  day. 
Finding  by  experience  that  State  mines  and  State  ironworks  were 
a  heavy  drain  on  his  insufficiently  replenished  treasury,  he  trans- 
ferred some  of  them  to  private  persons,  and  this  policy  was  followed 
occasionally  by  his  successors.  Hence  the  gigantic  fortunes  of  the 
Demidofs  and  other  families.  The  Shuvalovs,  for  example,  in 
1760  possessed,  for  the  purpose  of  working  their  mines  and  iron- 
works, no  less  than  33,000  serfs  and  a  corresponding  amount  of 
land.  Unfortunately  the  concessions  were  generally  given  not  to 
enterprising  business-men,  but  to  influential  court-dignitaries,  who 


578  RUSSIA 

confined  their  attention  to  squandering  the  revenues,  and  not  a  few 
of  the  mines  and  works  reverted  to  the  Government. 

The  army  required  not  only  arms  and  ammunition,  but  also  uni- 
forms and  blankets.  Great  attention,  therefore,  was  paid  to  the 
woollen  industry  from  the  reign  of  Peter  downwards.  In  the  time 
of  Catherine  there  were  already  120  cloth  factories,  but  they  were 
on  a  very  small  scale,  according  to  modern  conceptions.  Ten  fac- 
tories in  ]\Ioscow,  for  example,  had  amongst  them  only  104  looms, 
130  workers,  and  a  yearly  output  for  200,000  roubles. 

While  thus  largely  influenced  in  its  economic  policy  by  military 
considerations,  the  Government  did  not  entirely  neglect  other 
branches  of  manufacturing  industry.  Ever  since  Eussia  had  pre- 
tensions to  being  a  civilised  power  its  rulers  have  always  been 
inclined  to  pay  more  attention  to  the  ornamental  than  the  useful 
— to  the  varnish  rather  than  the  framework  of  civilisation — and  we 
need  not  therefore  be  surprised  to  find  that  long  before  the  native 
industry  could  supply  the  materials  required  for  the  ordinary  wants 
of  humble  life,  attempts  were  made  to  produce  such  things  as 
Gobelin  tapestries.  I  mention  this  merely  as  an  illustration  of  a 
characteristic  trait  of  the  national  character,  the  influence  of  which 
may  be  found  in  many  other  spheres  of  official  activity. 

If  Eussia  did  not  attain  the  industrial  level  of  Western  Europe, 
it  was  not  from  want  of  ambition  and  effort  on  the  part  of  the 
rulers.  They  worked  hard,  if  not  always  wisely,  for  this  end. 
Manufacturers  were  exempted  from  rates  and  taxes,  and  even  from 
military  service,  and  some  of  them,  as  I  have  said,  received  large 
estates  from  the  Crown  on  the  understanding  that  the  serfs  should 
be  employed  as  workmen.  At  the  same  time  they  were  protected 
from  foreign  competition  by  prohibitive  tariffs.  In  a  word,  the 
manufacturing  industry  was  nursed  and  fostered  in  a  way  to 
satisfy  the  most  thorough-going  protectionist,  especially  those 
branches  which  worked  up  native  raw  material  such  as  ores,  flax, 
hemp,  wool,  and  tallow.  Occasionally  the  official  interference  and 
anxiety  to  protect  public  interests  went  further  than  the  manu- 
facturers desired.  On  more  than  one  occasion  the  authorities  fixed 
the  price  of  certain  kinds  of  manufactured  goods,  and  in  1754  the 
Senate,  being  anxious  to  protect  the  population  from  fires,  ordered 
all  glass  and  iron  works  within  a  radius  of  200  versts  around  Mos- 
cow to  be  destroyed !  In  spite  of  such  obstacles,  the  manufacturing 
industry  as  a  whole  made  considerable  progress.  Between  1729 
and  1762  the  number  of  establishments  officially  recognised  as  fac- 
tories rose  from  26  to  335. 


INDUSTRIAL  PROGRESS  AND  THE  PROLETARIAT    579 

These  results  did  not  satisfy  Catherine  II.,  who  ascended  the 
throne  in  17G2,  Under  the  influence  of  her  friends,  the  French 
Encyclopedistes,  she  imagined  for  a  time  that  the  official  control 
might  be  relaxed,  and  that  the  system  of  employing  serfs  in  the 
factories  and  foundries  might  be  replaced  by  free  labour,  as  in 
"Western  Europe;  monopolies  might  be  abolished,  and  all  liege 
subjects,  including  tlie  peasants,  miglit  be  allowed  to  embark 
in  industrial  undertakings  as  they  pleased,  "  for  the  benefit  of 
the  State  and  the  nation."  All  this  looked  very  well  on  paper, 
but  Catherine  never  allowed  her  sentimental  liberalism  to  injure 
seriously  the  interests  of  her  Empire,  and  she  accordingly  refrained 
from  putting  the  laissez-faire  principle  largely  into  practice. 
Though  a  good  deal  has  been  written  about  her  economic  policy,  it 
is  hardly  distinguishable  from  that  of  her  predecessors.  Like 
them,  she  maintained  high  tariffs,  accorded  large  subsidies,  and 
even  prevented  the  export  of  raw  material,  in  the  hope  that  it  might 
be  worked  up  at  home;  and  when  the  prices  in  the  woollen  market 
rose  very  high,  she  compelled  the  manufacturers  to  supply  the 
army  with  cloth  at  a  price  fixed  by  the  authorities.  In  short,  the  old 
system  remained  practically  unimpaired,  and  notwithstanding  the 
steady  progress  made  during  the  reign  of  Nicholas  I.  (1825-55), 
when  the  number  of  factory  hands  rose  from  210,000  to  380,000, 
the  manufacturing  industry  as  a  whole  continued  to  be,  until  the 
serfs  were  emancipated  in  1861,  a  hothouse  plant  which  could 
flourish  only  in  an  officially  heated  atmosphere. 

There  was  one  branch  of  it,  however,  to  which  this  remark  does 
not  apply.  The  art  of  cotton-spinning  and  cotton-weaving  struck 
deep  root  in  Russian  soil.  After  remaining  for  generations  in  the 
condition  of  a  cottage  industry — the  yarn  being  distributed  among 
the  peasants  and  worked  up  by  them  in  their  own  homes — it  began, 
about  1825,  to  be  modernised.  Though  it  still  required  to  be  pro- 
tected against  foreign  competition,  it  rapidly  outgrew  the  necessity 
for  direct  official  support.  Big  factories  driven  by  steam-power 
were  constructed,  the  number  of  hands  emploj'ed  rose  to  110,000, 
and  the  foundations  of  great  fortunes  were  laid.  Strange  to  saj^^y^ 
many  of  the  future  millionaires  were  uneducated  serfs.  Sava 
Morozof,  for  example,  who  was  to  become  one  of  the  industrial 
magnates  of  Moscow,  was  a  serf  belonging  to  a  proprietor  called 
Ryumin;  most  of  the  others  were  serfs  of  Count  Sheremetyef — the 
owner  of  a  large  estate  on  which  the  industrial  to^Ti  of  Ivanovo 
had  sprung  up — who  was  proud  of  having  millionaires  among  his 
serfs,  and  who  never  abused  his  authority  over  them.     The  great 


580  RUSSIA 

movement,  however,  was  not  effected  without  the  assistance  of 
foreigners.  Foreign  foremen  were  largely  employed,  and  in  the  work 
of  organisation  a  leading  part  was  played  by  a  German  called  Lud- 
wig  Knoop,  Beginning  life  as  a  commercial  traveller  for  an  English 
firm,  he  soon  became  a  large  cotton  importer,  and  when  in  1840  a 
feverish  activity  was  produced  in  the  Russian  manufacturing  world 
by  the  Government's  permission  to  import  English  machines,  his 
firm  supplied  these  machines  to  the  factories  on  condition  of  obtain- 
ing a  share  in  the  business.  It  has  been  calculated  that  it  obtained 
in  this  way  a  share  in  no  less  than  123  factories,  and  hence  arose 
among  the  peasantry  a  popular  saying : 


"  Where  there  is  a  church,  there  you  find  a  pope, 
And  where  there  is  a  factory,  there  you  find  a  Knoop." 


The  biggest  creation  of  the  firm  was  a  factory  built  at  Narva  in 
1856,  with  nearly  half  a  million  spindles  driven  by  water-power. 

In  the  second  half  of  last  century  a  revolution  was  brought  about 
in  the  manufacturing  industry  generally  by  the  emancipation  of  the 
serfs,  the  rapid  extension  of  railways,  the  facilities  for  creating 
limited  liability  companies,  and  by  certain  innovations  in  the 
financial  policy  of  the  Government.  The  emancipation  put  on 
the  market  an  unlimited  supply  of  cheap  labour;  the  construc- 
tion of  railways  in  all  directions  increased  a  hundredfold  the 
means  of  communication;  and  the  new  banks  and  other  credit 
institutions,  aided  by  an  overwhelming  influx  of  foreign  capital, 
encouraged  the  foundation  and  extension  of  industrial  and  com- 
mercial enterprise  of  every  description.  For  a  time  there  was  great 
excitement.  It  was  commonly  supposed  that  in  all  matters  relat- 
ing to  trade  and  industry  Russia  had  suddenly  jumped  up  to  the 
level  of  Western  Europe,  and  many  people  in  St.  Petersburg, 
carried  away  by  the  prevailing  enthusiasm  for  liberalism  in  general 
and  the  doctrines  of  Free  Trade  in  particular,  were  in  favour  of 
abolishing  protectionism  as  an  antiquated  restriction  on  liberty 
and  an  obstacle  to  economic  progress. 

At  one  moment  the  Government  was  disposed  to  yield  to  the  cur- 
rent, but  it  was  restrained  by  an  influential  group  of  conservative 
Political  Economists,  who  appealed  to  patriotic  sentiment,  and  by 
the  Moscow  manufacturers,  who  declared  that  Free  Trade  would 
ruin  the  country.     After  a  little  hesitation  it  proceeded  to  raise, 

*  Gdye  tserkov — tarn  pop  ; 
A  gdye  fabrika — tarn  Knop. 


INDUSTRIAL  TROGEESS  AXD  THE  TROLETAKIAT     581 

instead  of  lowering,  the  protectionist  tariff.  In  18G9-T6  the  ad 
valorem  duties  were,  on  an  average,  under  thirteen  per  cent.,  but 
from  that  time  onwards  they  rose  steadily,  until  the  last  five  years 
of  the  century,  when  they  averaged  thirty-three  per  cent.,  and  were 
for  some  articles  very  much  higher.  In  this  way  the  Moscow  indus-v 
trial  magnates  were  protected  against  the  influx  of  cheap  foreign 
goods,  but  they  were  not  saved  from  foreign  competition,  for  many 
foreign  manufacturers,  in  order  to  enjoy  the  benefit  of  the  high 
duties,  founded  factories  in  Russia.  Even  the  firmly  established 
cotton  industry  suffered  from  these  intruders.  Industrial  suburbs 
containing  not  a  few  cotton  factories  sprang  up  around  St.  Peters- 
burg ;  and  a  small  Polish  village  called  Lodz,  near  the  German  fron- 
tier, grew  rapidly  into  a  prosperous  town  of  300,000  inhabitants, 
and  became  a  serious  rival  to  the  ancient  Muscovite  capital.  So 
severely  was  the  competition  of  this  young  upstart  felt,  that  the 
Moscow  merchants  petitioned  the  Emperor  to  protect  them  by 
drawing  a  customs  frontier  round  the  Polish  provinces,  but  their 
petition  was  not  granted. 

Under  the  shelter  of  the  high  tariffs  the  manufacturing  industry 
as  a  whole  has  made  rapid  progress,  and  the  cotton  trade  has  kept 
well  to  the  front.  In  that  branch,  between  1861  and  1897,  the 
number  of  hands  employed  rose  from  120,000  to  325,000,  and  the 
estimated  value  of  the  products  from  72  to  478  millions  of  roubles. 
In  1899  the  number  of  spindles  was  considerably  over  six  millions, 
and  the  number  of  automatic  weaving  machines  1-45,000. 

The  iron  industry  has  likewise  progressed  rapidly,  though  it  has 
not  yet  outgrown  the  necessity  for  Government  support,  and  it  is 
not  yet  able  to  provide  for  all  home  wants.  About  forty  years  ago 
it  received  a  powerful  impulse  from  the  discovery  that  in  the 
provinces  to  the  north  of  the  Crimea  and  the  Sea  of  Azof  there  were 
enormous  quantities  of  iron  ore  and  beds  of  good  coal  in  close 
proximity  to  each  other.  Thanks  to  this  discovery  and  to  other 
facts  of  which  I  shall  have  occasion  to  speak  presently,  this  dis- 
trict, which  had  previously  been  agricultural  and  pastoral,  has  out- 
stripped the  famous  Ural  region,  and  has  become  the  Black  Country 
of  Russia.  The  vast  lonely  steppe,  where  formerly  one  saw  merely 
the  peasant-farmer,  the  shepherd,  and  the  Tchumak,*  driving  along 
somnolently  with  his  big,  long-horned,  white  bullocks,  is  now  dotted 

*  The  Tchumak,  a  familiar  figure  in  the  songs  and  legends  of  Little 
Russia,  was  the  carrier  who  before  the  construction  of  railways  trans- 
ported the  grain  to  the  great  markets,  and  brought  back  merchandise  to 
the  interior.     He  is  gradually  disappearing. 


682  EUSSIA 

over  with  busy  industrial  settlements  of  mushroom  growth,  and 
great  ironworks — some  of  them  unfinished;  while  at  night  the 
landscape  is  lit  up  with  the  lurid  flames  of  gigantic  blast-furnaces. 
In  this  wonderful  transformation,  as  in  the  history  of  Eussian 
industrial  progress  generally,  a  great  part  was  played  by  foreigners. 
The  pioneer  who  did  most  in  this  district  was  an  Englishman, 
John  Hughes,  who  began  life  as  the  son  and  pupil  of  a  Welsh  black- 
smith, and  whose  sons  are  now  directors  of  the  biggest  of  the  South 
Eussian  ironworks. 

Much  as  the  South  has  progressed  industrially  in  recent  years,  it 
still  remains  far  behind  those  industrial  portions  of  the  country 
which  were  thickly  settled  at  an  earlier  date.  From  this  point  of 
view  the  most  important  region  is  the  group  of  provinces  cluster- 
ing round  Moscow;  next  comes  the  St.  Petersburg  region,  includ- 
ing Livonia;  and  thirdly  Poland.  As  for  the  various  kinds  of 
industry,  the  most  important  category  is  that  of  textile  fabrics,  the 
second  that  of  articles  of  nutrition,  and  the  third  that  of  ores  and 
metals.  The  total  production,  if  we  may  believe  certain  statistical 
authorities,  places  Eussia  now  among  the  industrial  nations  of  the 
world  in  the  fifth  place,  immediately  after  the  United  States,  Eng- 
land, Germany,  and  France,  and  a  little  before  Austria. 

The  man  who  has  in  recent  times  carried  out  most  energetically 
the  policy  of  protecting  and  fostering  native  industries  is  M.  Witte^ 
a  name  now  familiar  to  Western  Europe.  An  avowed  disciple  'of 
the  great  German  economist,  Friedrich  List,  about  whose  works  he 
published  a  brochure  in  1888,  he  held  firmly,  from  his  youth 
upwards,  the  doctrine  that  "each  nation  should  above  all  things 
develop  harmoniously  its  natural  resources  to  the  highest  possible 
degree  of  independence,  protecting  its  own  industries  and  prefer- 
ring the  national  aim  to  the  pecuniary  advantage  of  individuals." 
As  a  corollary  to  this  principle  he  declared  that  purely  agricultural 
countries  are  economically  backward  and  intellectually  stagnant, 
being  condemned  to  pay  tribute  to  the  nations  who  have  learned 
to  work  up  their  raw  products  into  more  valuable  commodities. 
The  good  old  English  doctrine  that  certain  countries  were  intended 
by  Providence  to  be  eternally  agricultural,  and  that  their  function 
in  the  economy  of  the  universe  is  to  supply  raw  material  for  the 
industrial  nations,  was  always  in  his  eyes  an  abomination — an 
ingenious,  nefarious  invention  of  the  Manchester  school,  astutely 
invented  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  the  younger  nations  per- 
manently in  a  state  of  economic  bondage  for  the  benefit  of  English 
manufacturers.     To   emancipate   Eussia   from   this   thraldom   by 


INDUSTRIAL  PROGRESS  AXD  THE  PROLETARIAT     583 

enabling  her  to  create  a  great  native  industry,  sufficient  to  supply- 
all  her  own  wants,  was  the  aim  of  his  policy  and  the  constant  object 
of  his  untiring  efforts.  Those  who  have  had  the  good  fortune  to 
know  him  personally  must  have  often  heard  him  discourse  eloquently 
on  this  theme,  supporting  his  views  by  quotations  from  the  econo- 
mists of  his  own  school,  and  by  illustrations  drawn  from  the  history 
of  his  own  and  other  countries. 

A  necessary  condition  of  realising  this  aim  was  that  there  should 
be  high  tariffs.  These  already  existed,  and  they  might  be  raised 
still  higher,  but  in  themselves  they  were  not  enough.  For  the  rapid 
development  of  the  native  industry  an  enormous  capital  was  re- 
quired, and  the  first  problem  to  be  solved  was  how  this  capital  could 
be  obtained.  At  one  moment  the  energetic  minister  conceived  the 
project  of  creating  a  fictitious  capital  by  inflating  the  paper  cur- 
rency; but  this  idea  proved  unpopular.  TThen  broached  in  the 
Council  of  State  it  encountered  determined  opposition.  Some  of 
the  members  of  that  body,  especially  M.  Bunge,  who  had  been  him- 
self Minister  of  Finance,  and  who  remembered  the  evil  effects  of 
the  inordinate  inflation  of  the  currency  on  foreign  exchanges  during 
the  Turkish  War,  advocated  strongly  the  directly  opposite  course — 
a  return  to  gold  monometallism,  for  which  M.  Yishnegradski,  M. 
Witte's  immediate  predecessor,  had  made  considerable  preparations. 
Being  a  practical  man  without  inveterate  prejudices,  M.  Witte  gave 
up  the  scheme  which  he  could  not  carry  through,  and  adopted  the 
views  of  his  opponents.  He  would  introduce  the  gold  currency  as 
recommended;  but  how  was  the  requisite  capital  to  be  obtained? 
It  must  be  procured  from  abroad,  somehow,  and  the  simplest  way 
seemed  to  be  to  stimulate  the  export  of  native  products.  For  this 
purpose  the  railways  were  extended,*  the  traffic  rates  manipulated, 
and  the  means  of  transport  improved  generally. 

A  certain  influx  of  gold  was  thus  secured,  but  not  nearly  enough 
for  the  object  in  view.f  Some  more  potent  means,  therefore,  had 
to  be  employed,  and  the  inventive  minister  evolved  a  new  scheme. 
If  he  could  only  induce  foreign  capitalists  to  undertake  manufac- 
turing industries  in  Russia,  they  would,  at  one  and  the  same  time, " 

*  In  1892,  when  M.  Witte  undertook  the  financial  administration,  tliere 
were  30,020  versts  of  railway,  and  at  the  end  of  1900  there  were  51,288 
versts. 

t  In  1891  the  total  value  of  the  exports  was  roughly  £70,000,000.  It 
then  fell,  in  consequence  of  bad  harvests,  to  45  millions,  and  did  not 
recover  the  previous  maximum  until  1897.  when  it  stood  at  73  millions. 
Thereafter  there  was  a  steady  rise  till  1901,  when  the  total  was  estimated 
at  76  millions. 


584  RUSSIA 

bring  into  the  country  the  capital  required,  and  they  would  co- 
operate powerfully  in  that  development  of  the  national  industry 
which  he  so  ardently  wished.  No  sooner  had  he  roughly  sketched 
out  his  plan — for  he  was  not  a  man  to  let  the  grass  grow  under  his 
feet — than  he  set  himself  to  put  it  into  execution  by  letting  it  be 
known  in  the  financial  world  that  the  Government  was  ready  to 
open  a  great  field  for  lucrative  investments,  in  the  form  of  profit- 
able enterprises  under  the  control  of  those  who  subscribed  the 
capital. 

Foreign  capitalists  responded  warmly  to  the  call.  Crowds  of 
concession-hunters,  projectors,  company  promoters,  et  hoc  genus 
omne,  collected  in  St.  Petersburg,  offering  their  services  on  the  most 
tempting  terms;  and  all  of  them  who  could  make  out  a  plausible 
case  were  well  received  at  the  Ministry  of  Finance.  It  was  there 
explained  to  them  that  in  many  branches  of  industry,  such  as  the 
manufacture  of  textile  fabrics,  there  was  little  or  no  room  for 
newcomers,  but  that  in  others  the  prospects  were  most  brilliant. 
Take,  for  example,  the  iron  industries  of  Southern  Eussia.  The 
boundless  mineral  wealth  of  that  region  was  still  almost  intact,  and 
the  few  works  which  had  been  there  established  were  paying  very 
large  dividends.  The  works  founded  by  John  Hughes,  for  example, 
had  repeatedly  divided  considerably  over  twenty  per  cent.,  and  there 
was  little  fear  for  the  future,  because  the  Government  had  em- 
barked on  a  great  scheme  of  railway  extension,  requiring  an  un- 
limited amount  of  rails  and  rolling-stock.  "What  better  opening 
could  be  desired?  Certainly  the  opening  seemed  most  attractive, 
and  into  it  rushed  the  crowd  of  company  promoters,  followed  by 
stock-jobbers  and  brokers,  playing  lively  pieces  of  what  the  Ger- 
mans call  Zukunftsmusih,  An  unwary  and  confiding  public,  es- 
pecially in  Belgium  and  France,  listened  to  the  enchanting  strains 
of  the  financial  syrens,  and  invested  largely.  Quickly  the  number 
of  completed  ironworks  in  that  region  rose  from  nine  to  seventeen, 
/  and  in  the  short  space  of  three  years  the  output  of  pig-iron  was 
nearly  doubled.  In  1900  there  were  44  blast  furnaces  in  working 
order,  and  ten  more  were  in  course  of  construction.  And  all  this 
time  the  Imperial  revenue  increased  by  leaps  and  bounds,  so  that 
the  introduction  of  the  gold  currency  was  effected  without  difficulty. 
M.  Witte  was  declared  to  be  the  greatest  minister  of  his  time — a 
Eussian  Colbert  or  Turgot,  or  perhaps  the  two  rolled  into  one. 

Then  came  a  change.  Competition  and  over-production  led 
naturally  to  a  fall  in  prices,  and  at  the  same  time  the  demand 
decreased,  because  the  railway-building  activity  of  the  Government 


INDUSTRIAL  TEOGRESS  AXD  THE  PROLETARIAT    585 

slackened.  Alarmed  at  this  state  of  things,  the  banks  which  had 
helped  to  start  and  foster  the  huge  and  costly  enterprises  contracted 
their  credits.  By  the  end  of  1899  the  disenchantment  was  general 
and  widespread.  Some  of  the  companies  were  so  weighted  hy  the 
preliminary  financial  obligations,  and  had  conducted  their  affairs 
in  such  careless,  reckless  fashion,  that  they  had  soon  to  shut  down 
tlieir  mines  and  close  their  works.  Even  solid  undertakings  suf- 
fered. The  shares  of  the  Briansk  works,  for  example,  which  had 
given  dividends  as  high  as  30  per  cent.,  fell  from  500  to  230.  The 
Mamontof  companies — supposed  to  be  one  of  the  strongest  financial 
groups  in  the  country — had  to  suspend  payment,  and  numerous 
other  failures  occurred.  Nearly  all  the  commercial  banks,  having 
directly  participated  in  the  industrial  concerns,  were  rudely  shaken. 
M.  Witte,  who  had  been  for  a  time  the  idol  of  a  certain  section  of 
the  financial  world,  became  very  unpopular,  and  was  accused  of 
misleading  the  investing  pul)lic.  Among  the  accusations  brought 
against  him  some  at  least  could  easily  be  refuted.  He  may  have 
made  mistakes  in  his  policy,  and  may  have  been  himself  over- 
sanguine,  but  surely,  as  he  subsequently  replied  to  his  accusers,  it 
was  no  part  of  his  duty  to  warn  company  promoters  and  directors 
that  they  should  refrain  from  over-production,  and  that  their 
enterprises  might  not  be  as  remunerative  as  they  expected.  As  to 
whether  there  is  any  truth  in  the  assertion  that  he  held  out  prospects 
of  larger  Government  orders  than  he  actually  gave,  I  cannot  say. 
That  he  cut  down  prices,  and  showed  himself  a  hard  man  to  deal 
with,  there  seems  no  doubt. 

The  reader  may  naturally  be  inclined  to  jump  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  commercial  crisis  just  referred  to  was  the  cause  of  M. 
Witte's  fall.  Such  a  conclusion  would  be  entirely  erroneous.  The 
crisis  happened  in  the  winter  of  1899-1900,  and  M.  Witte  remained 
Finance  Minister  until  the  autumn  of  1903.  His  fall  was  the 
result  of  causes  of  a  totally  different  kind,  and  these  I  propose  now 
to  explain,  because  the  explanation  will  throw  light  on  certain  very 
curious  and  characteristic  conceptions  at  present  current  in  the 
Russian  educated  classes. 

Of  course  there  were  certain  causes  of  a  purely  personal  kind, 
but  I  shall  dismiss  them  in  a  ver}'  few  words.  I  remember  once 
asking  a  well-informed  friend  of  ]\I.  "Witte's  what  he  thought  of  him 
as  an  administrator  and  a  statesman.  The  friend  replied :  "  Ima- 
gine a  negro  of  the  Gold  Coast  let  loose  in  modern  European  civili- 
sation ! "  This  reply,  like  most  epigrammatic  remarks,  is  a  piece 
of  gross  exaggeration,  but  it  has  a  modicum  of  truth  in  it.     In  the 


586  RUSSIA 

eyes  of  well-trained  Eussian  officials  M.  Witte  was  a  titanic,  reckless 
character,  capable  at  any  moment  of  playing  the  part  of  the  bull  in 
the  china-shop.  As  a  masterful  person,  brusque  in  manner  and 
incapable  of  brooking  contradiction,  he  had  made  for  himself  many 
enemies;  and  his  restless,  irrepressible  energy  had  led  him  to  en- 
croach on  the  provinces  of  all  his  colleagues.  Possessing  as  he  did 
the  control  of  the  purse,  his  interference  could  not  easily  be  resisted. 
The  Ministers  of  Interior,  War,  Agriculture,  Public  Works,  Public 
Instruction,  and  Foreign  Affairs  had  all  occasion  to  complain  of  his 
incursions  into  their  departments.  In  contrast  to  his  colleagues,  he 
was  not  only  extremely  energetic,  but  he  was  ever  ready  to  assume 
an  astounding  amount  of  responsibility;  and  as  he  was  something 
of  an  opportunist,  he  was  perhaps  not  always  quixotically  scrupu- 
lous in  the  choice  of  expedients  for  attaining  his  ends. 

Altogether  M.  Witte  was  an  inconvenient  personage  in  an  ad- 
ministration in  which  strong  personality  is  regarded  as  entirely 
out  of  place,  and  in  which  personal  initiative  is  supposed  to  reside 
exclusively  in  the  Tsar.  In  addition  to  all  this  he  was  a  man  who 
felt  keenly,  and  when  he  was  irritated  he  did  not  always  keep  the 
unruly  member  under  strict  control.  If  I  am  correctly  informed, 
it  was  some  imprudent  and  not  very  respectful  remarks,  repeated 
by  a  subordinate  and  transmitted  by  a  Grand  Duke  to  the  Tsar, 
which  were  the  immediate  cause  of  his  transfer  from  the  influential 
post  of  Minister  of  Finance  to  the  ornamental  position  of  President 
of  the  Council  of  Ministers ;  but  that  was  merely  the  proverbial  last 
straw  that  broke  the  camel's  back.  His  position  was  already 
undermined,  and  it  is  the  undermining  process  which  I  wish  to 
describe. 

The  first  to  work  for  his  overthrow  were  the  Agrarian  Conserva- 
tives. They  could  not  deny  that,  from  the  purely  fiscal  point  of 
view,  his  administration  was  a  marvellous  success;  for  he  was 
rapidly  doubling  the  revenue,  and  he  had  succeeded  in  replacing  the 
fluctuating  depreciated  paper  currency  by  a  gold  coinage ;  but  they 
maintained  that  he  was  killing  the  goose  that  laid  the  golden  eggs. 
Evidently  the  tax-paying  power  of  the  rural  classes  was  being 
overstrained,  for  they  were  falling  more  and  more  into  arrears  in 
the  payment  of  their  taxes,  and  their  impoverishment  was  yearly 
increasing.  All  their  reserves  had  been  exhausted,  as  was  shown 
by  the  famines  of  1891-93,  when  the  Government  had  to  spend 
hundreds  of  millions  to  feed  them.  Whilst  the  land  was  losing  its 
fertility,  those  who  had  to  live  by  it  were  increasing  in  numbers  at 
an  alarming  rate.     Already  in  some  districts  one-flf  th  of  the  peasant 


INDUSTRIAL  PEOGRESS  AND  THE  PROLETARIAT    587 

households  had  no  longer  any  land  of  their  own,  and  of  those  who 
still  possessed  land  a  large  proportion  had  no  longer  the  cattle  and 
horses  necessary  to  till  and  manure  their  allotments.  No  doubt 
M.  Witte  was  beginning  to  perceive  his  mistake,  and  had  done  some- 
thing to  palliate  the  evils  by  improving  the  system  of  collecting  the 
taxes  and  abolishing  the  duty  on  passports,  but  such  merely  pallia- 
tive remedies  could  have  little  effect.  While  a  few  capitalists  were 
amassing  gigantic  fortunes,  the  masses  were  slowly  and  surely 
advancing  to  the  brink  of  starvation.  The  welfare  of  the  agricul- 
turists, who  constitute  nine-tenths  of  the  whole  population,  was 
being  ruthlessly  sacrificed,  and  for  what?  For  the  creation  of  a 
manufacturing  industry  which  rested  on  an  artificial,  precarious 
basis,  and  which  had  already  begun  to  decline. 

So  far  the  Agrarians,  who  champion  the  interests  of  the  agricul- 
tural classes.  Their  views  were  confirmed  and  their  arguments 
strengthened  by  an  influential  group  of  men  whom  I  may  call,  for 
want  of  a  better  name,  the  philosophers  or  doctrinaire  interpreters 
of  history,  who  have,  strange  to  say,  more  influence  in  Russia  than 
in  any  other  country. 

The  Russian  educated  classes  desire  that  the  nation  should  be 
wealthy  and  self-supporting,  and  they  recognise  that  for  this  pur- 
pose a  large  manufacturing  industry  is  required;  but  they  are 
reluctant  to  make  the  sacrifices  necessary  to  attain  the  object  in 
view,  and  they  imagine  that,  somehow  or  other,  these  sacrifices  may 
be  avoided.  Sympathising  with  this  frame  of  mind,  the  doc- 
trinaires explain  that  the  rich  and  prosperous  countries  of  Europe 
and  America  obtained  their  wealth  and  prosperity  by  so-called 
"  Capitalism  " — that  is  to  say,  by  a  peculiar  social  organisation 
in  which  the  two  main  factors  are  a  small  body  of  rich  capitalists 
and  manufacturers  and  an  enormous  pauper  proletariat  living 
from  hand  to  mouth,  at  the  mercy  of  the  heartless  employers  of 
labour.  Russia  has  lately  followed  in  the  footsteps  of  those  wealthy 
countries,  and  if  she  continues  to  do  so  she  will  inevitably  be 
saddled  with  the  same  disastrous  results — plutocracy,  pauperism, 
unrestrained  competition  in  all  spheres  of  activity,  and  a  greatly 
intensified  struggle  for  life,  in  which  the  weaker  will  necessarily 
go  to  the  wall.* 

Happily  there  is,  according  to  these  theorists,  a  more  excellent 

*  Free  competition  in  all  spheres  of  activity,  leading  to  social  in- 
equality, plutocracy,  and  pauperism,  is  the  favourite  bugbear  of  Russian 
theorists;  and  who  is  not  a  theorist  in  Russia?  The  fact  indicates  the 
prevalence  of  Socialist  ideas  in  the  educated  classes. 


538  EUSSIA 

way,  and  Paissia  can  adopt  it  if  she  only  remains  true  to  certain 
mysterious  principles  of  her  past  historic  development.  Without 
attempting  to  expound  those  mysterious  principles,  to  which  I  have 
repeatedly  referred  in  previous  chapters,  I  may  mention  briefly 
that  the  traditional  patriarchal  institutions  on  which  the  theorists 
found  their  hopes  of  a  happy  social  future  for  their  country  are 
the  rural  Commune,  the  native  home-industries,  and  the  peculiar 
co-operative  institutions  called  Artels.  How  these  remnants  of  a 
semi-patriarchal  state  of  society  are  to  be  practically  developed  in 
such  a  way  as  to  withstand  the  competition  of  manufacturing 
industry  organised  on  modern  "  capitalist "  lines,  no  one  has  hith- 
erto been  able  to  explain  satisfactorily,  but  many  people  indulge  in 
ingenious  speculations  on  the  subject,  like  children  plaiming  the 
means  of  diverting  with  their  little  toy  spades  a  formidable  inunda- 
tion. In  my  humble  opinion,  the  whole  theory  is  a  delusion;  but 
it  is  held  firmly — I  might  almost  say  fanatically — by  those  who, 
in  opposition  to  the  indiscriminate  admirers  of  West-European  and 
American  civilisation,  consider  themselves  genuine  Eussians  and 
exceptionally  good  patriots.  M.  Witte  has  never  belonged  to  that 
class.  He  believes  that  there  is  only  one  road  to  national  pros- 
perity— ^the  road  by  which  Western  Europe  has  travelled — and 
along  this  road  he  tried  to  drive  his  country  as  rapidly  as  possible. 
He  threw  himself,  therefore,  heart  and  soul  into  what  his  opponents 
call  "  Capitalism,"  by  raising  State  loans,  organising  banks  and 
other  credit  institutions,  encouraging  the  creation  and  extension 
of  big  factories,  which  must  inevitably  destroy  the  home  industry, 
and  even — horrihih  dictu! — undermining  the  rural  Commune,  and 
thereby  adding  to  the  ranks  of  the  landless  proletariat,  in  order  to 
increase  the  amount  of  cheap  labour  for  the  benefit  of  the  capi- 
talists. 

With  the  arguments  thus  supplied  by  Agrarians  and  doctrinaires, 
quite  honest  and  well-meaning,  according  to  their  lights,  it  was 
easy  to  sap  M.  Witte's  position.  Among  his  opponents,  the  most 
formidable  was  the  late  M.  Plehve,  Minister  of  Interior — a  man 
of  a  totally  different  stamp.  A  few  months  before  his  tragic  end 
I  had  a  long  and  interesting  conversation  with  him,  and  I  came 
away  deeply  impressed.  Having  repeatedly  had  conversations  of 
a  similar  kind  with  M.  Witte,  I  could  compare,  or  rather  contrast, 
the  two  men.  Both  of  them  evidently  possessed  an  exceptional 
amount  of  mental  power  and  energy,  but  in  the  one  it  was  vol- 
canic, and  in  the  other  it  was  concentrated  and  thoroughly  under 
control.    In  discussion,  the  one  reminded  me  of  the  self-taught, 


IXDUSTRIAL  PROGRESS  AXD  THE  PROLETARIAT    589 

slashing  swordsman;  the  other  of  the  dexterous  fencer,  carefully 
trained  in  the  use  of  the  foils,  who  never  launches  out  Ijeyond  the 
point  at  which  he  can  quickly  recover  himself.  As  to  whether  ]\I. 
Plehve  was  anything  more  than  a  bold,  energetic,  clever  official 
there  may  be  differences  of  opinion,  but  he  certainly  could  assume 
the  airs  of  a  profound  and  polished  statesman,  capable  of  looking 
at  things  from  a  much  higher  point  of  view  than  the  ordinary 
tcliinovnik,  and  he  had  the  talent  of  tacitly  suggesting  that  a 
great  deal  of  genuine,  enlightened  statesmanship  lay  hidden  under 
the  smooth  surface  of  his  cautious  reserve.  Once  or  twice  I  could 
perceive  that  when  criticising  the  present  state  of  things  he  had 
his  volcanic  colleague  in  his  mind's  eye;  but  the  covert  allusions 
were  so  vague  and  so  carefully  worded  that  the  said  colleague,  if 
he  had  been  present,  would  hardly  have  been  justified  in  entering 
a  personal  protest.  A  statesman  of  the  higher  type,  I  was  made  to 
feel,  should  deal  not  with  personalities,  but  with  things,  and  it 
would  be  altogether  unbecoming  to  complain  of  a  colleague  in 
presence  of  an  outsider.  Thus  his  attitude  towards  his  opponent 
was  most  correct,  but  it  was  not  difficult  to  infer  that  he  had  little 
sympathy  with  the  policy  of  the  ^Ministry  of  Finance. 

From  other  sources  I  learned  the  cause  of  this  want  of  sympathy. 
Being  Minister  of  Interior,  and  having  served  long  in  the  Police 
Department,  M.  Plehve  considered  that  his  first  duty  was  the  main- 
tenance of  pu])lic  order  and  the  protection  of  the  person  and 
autocracy  of  his  august  master.  He  was  therefore  the  determined 
enemy  of  revolutionary  tendencies,  in  whatever  garb  or  disguise 
they  might  appear ;  and  as  a  statesman  he  had  to  direct  his  attention 
to  everything  likely  to  increase  those  tendencies  in  the  future. 
Now  it  seemed  that  in  the  financial  policy  which  had  been  followed 
for  some  years  there  were  germs  of  future  revolutionary  fermenta- 
tion. The  peasantry  were  becoming  impoverished,  and  were  there- 
fore more  likely  to  listen  to  the  insidious  suggestions  of  Socialist 
agitators;  and  already  agrarian  disturbances  had  occurred  in  the 
provinces  of  Kharkof  and  Poltava.  The  industrial  proletariat 
which  was  being  rapidly  created  was  being  secretly  organised  by 
the  revolutionary  Social  Democrats,  and  already  there  had  been 
serious  labour  troubles  in  some  of  the  large  towms.  For  any  future 
revolutionary  movement  the  proletariat  would  naturally  supply 
recruits.  Then,  at  the  other  end  of  the  social  scale,  a  class  of  rich 
capitalists  was  being  created,  and  everybody  who  has  read  a  little 
history  knows  that  a  rich  and  powerful  tiers  Hat  cannot  l)e  per- 
manently conciliated  with  autocracy.     Though  himself  neither  an 


t 


590  RUSSIA 

agrarian  nor  a  Slavophil  doctrinaire,  M.  Plehve  could  not  but  have 
a  certain  sympathy  with  those  who  were  forging  thunderbolts  for 
the  official  annihilation  of  M.  Witte.  He  was  too  practical  a  man 
to  imagine  that  the  hands  on  the  dial  of  economic  progress  could 
be  set  back  and  a  return  made  to  moribund  patriarchal  institu- 
tions; but  he  thought  that  at  least  the  pace  might  be  moderated. 
The  Minister  of  Finance  need  not  be  in  such  a  desperate,  reckless 
hurry,  and  it  was  desirable  to  create  conservative  forces  which 
might  counteract  the  revolutionary  forces  which  his  impulsive 
colleague  was  inadvertently  calling  into  existence. 

Some  of  the  forgers  of  thunderbolts  went  a  great  deal  further, 
and  asserted  or  insinuated  that  M.  Witte  was  himself  consciously 
a  revolutionist,  with  secret,  malevolent  intentions.  In  support  of 
their  insinuations  they  cited  certain  cases  in  which  well-known 
Socialists  had  been  appointed  professors  in  academies  under  the 
control  of  the  Ministry  of  Finance,  and  they  pointed  to  the  Peasant 
Bank,  which  enjoyed  M.  Witte's  special  protection.  At  first  it 
had  been  supposed  that  the  bank  would  have  an  anti-revolutionary 
influence  by  preventing  the  formation  of  a  landless  proletariat  and 
increasing  the  number  of  small  land-owners,  who  are  always  and 
everywhere  conservative  so  far  as  the  rights  of  private  property  are 
concerned. 

Unfortunately  its  success  roused  the  fears  of  the  more  con- 
servative section  of  the  landed  proprietors.  These  gentlemen,  as 
I  have  already  mentioned,  pointed  out  that  the  estates  of  the 
nobles  were  rapidly  passing  into  the  hands  of  the  peasantry,  and 
that  if  this  process  were  allowed  to  continue  the  hereditary 
/  Noblesse,  which  had  always  been  the  civilising  element  in  the  rural 
population,  and  the  surest  support  of  the  throne,  would  drift  into 
the  towns  and  there  sink  into  poverty  or  amalgamate  with  the  com- 
mercial plutocracy,  and  help  to  form  a  tiers  Hat  which  would  be 
hostile  to  the  Autocratic  Power. 

In  these  circumstances  it  was  evident  that  the  headstrong  Min- 
ister of  Finance  could  maintain  his  position  only  so  long  as  he 
enjoyed  the  energetic  support  of  the  Emperor,  and  this  support, 
for  reasons  which  I  have  indicated  above,  failed  him  at  the  critical 
moment.  When  his  work  was  still  unfinished  he  was  suddenly  com- 
pelled, by  the  Emperor's  command,  to  relinquish  his  post  and  accept 
a  position  in  which,  it  was  supposed,  he  would  cease  to  have  any 
influence  in  the  administration. 

Thus  fell  the  Russian  Colbert-Turgot,  or  whatever  else  he  may 
be  called.     Whether  financial  difficulties  in  the  future  will  lead  to 


INDUSTRIAL  PROGRESS  AXD  THE  PROLETARIAT    591 

his  reinstatement  as  Minister  of  Finance  remains  to  be  seen ;  but  in 
any  case  his  work  cannot  be  undone.  He  has  increased  manu- 
facturing industry  to  an  unprecedented  extent,  and,  as  M.  Plehve 
perceived,  the  industrial  proletariat  which  manufacturing  industry 
on  capitalist  lines  always  creates  has  provided  a  new  field  of 
activity  for  the  revolutionists.  I  return,  therefore,  to  the  evolu- 
tion of  the  revolutionary  movement  in  order  to  describe  its  present 
phase,  the  first-fruits  of  which  have  been  revealed  in  the  labour 
disturbances  in  St.  Petersburg  and  other  industrial  centres. 


CHAPTER   XXXVII 

THE    REVOLUTIONARY    MOVEMENT    IN    ITS    LATEST    PHASE 

Influence  of  Capitalism  and  Proletariat  on  the  Revolutionary  Move- 
ment— Wliat  is  to  be  Done? — Reply  of  Plekhanof — A  New  Departure 
— Karl  Marx's  Theories  Applied  to  Russia — Beginnings  of  a  Social 
Democratic  Movement — The  Labour  Troubles  of  1894-96  In  St. 
Petersburg — The  Social  Democrats'  Plan  of  Campaign — Schism  in 
the  Party — Trade-unionism  and  Political  Agitation — The  Labour 
Troubles  of  1902 — How  the  Revolutionary  Groups  are  Differentiated 
from  Each  Other — Social  Democracy  and  Constitutionalism — Ter- 
rorism— The  Socialist  Revolutionaries — The  Militant  Organisation — 
Attitude  of  the  Government — Factory  Legislation — 'Government's 
Scheme  for  Undermining  Social  Democracy — Father  Gapon  and  His 
Labour  Association — The  Great  Strike  in  St,  Petersburg — Father 
Gapon  goes  over  to  the  Revolutionaries. 

T^HE  development  of  manufacturing  industry  on  capitalist  lines, 
■*  and  the  consequent  formation  of  a  large  industrial  proletariat,  ) 
produced  great  disappointment  in  all  the  theorising  sections  of  the 
educated  classes.  The  thousands  of  men  and  women  who  had, 
since  the  accession  of  the  Tsar-Emancipator  in  1855,  taken  a  keen, 
enthusiastic  interest  in  the  progress  of  their  native  country,  all  had 
believed  firmly  that  in  some  way  or  other  Eussia  would  escape 
"  the  festering  sores  of  "Western  civilisation.''  Xow  experience  had 
proved  that  the  belief  was  an  illusion,  and  those  who  had  tried  to 
check  the  natural  course  of  industrial  progress  were  constrained  to 
confess  that  their  efforts  had  been  futile.  Big  factories  were  increas- 
ing in  size  and  numbers,  while  cottage  industries  were  disappearing 
or  falling  under  the  power  of  middlemen,  and  the  Artels  had  not 
advanced  a  step  in  their  expected  development.  The  factory 
workers,  though  all  of  peasant  origin,  were  losing  their  connection 
with  their  native  villages  and  abandoning  their  allotments  of  the 
Communal  land.  They  were  becoming,  in  short,  a  hereditary 
caste  in  the  town  population,  and  the  pleasant  Slavophil  dream  of 
every  factory  worker  having  a  house  in  the  country  was  being 
rudely  dispelled.  Xor  was  there  any  prospect  of  a  change  for  the 
better  in  the  future.  With  the  increase  of  competition  among  the 
manufacturers,  the  uprooting  of  the  muzhik  from  the  soil  must  go 
on  more  and  more  rapidly,  because  employers  must  insist  more  and 

592 


LATEST  PHASE  OF  KEVOLUTIONARY  MOVEMENT  593 

more  on  having  thoroughly  trained  operatives  ready  to  work  steadily 
all  the  year  round. 

This  state  of  things  had  a  curious  effect  on  the  course  of  the 
revolutionary  movement. 

Let  me  recall  very  briefly  the  successive  stages  through  which  the 
movement  had  already  passed.  It  had  been  inaugurated,  as  we 
have  seen,  by  the  Nihilists,  the  ardent  young  representatives  of  a 
"  storm-and-stress  "  period,  in  which  the  venerable  traditions  and 
respected  principles  of  the  past  were  rejected  and  ridiculed,  and  the 
newest  ideas  of  Western  Europe  were  eagerly  adopted  and  dis- 
torted. Like  the  majority  of  their  educated  countrymen,  they 
believed  that  in  the  race  of  progress.  Eussia  was  about  to  overtake 
and  surpass  the  nations  of  the  West,  and  that  this  desirable  result 
was  to  be  attained  by  making  a  tabula  rasa  of  existing  institutions, 
and  reconstructing  society  according  to  the  plans  of  Proudhon, 
Fourier,  and  the  other  writers  of  the  early  Socialist  school. 

When  the  Nihilists  had  expended  their  energies  and  exhausted 
the  patience  of  the  public  in  theorising,  talking,  and  writing, 
a  party  of  action  came  upon  the  scene.  Like  the  Nihilists, 
they  desired  political,  social,  and  economic  reforms  of  the  most 
thorough-going  kind,  but  they  believed  that  such  things  could  not 
be  effected  by  the  educated  classes  alone,  and  they  determined  to 
call  in  the  co-operation  of  the  people.  For  this  purpose  they  tried 
to  convert  the  masses  to  the  gospel  of  Socialism.  Hundreds  of  them 
became  missionaries  and  "went  in  among  the  people."  But  the 
gospel  of  Socialism  proved  unintelligible  to  the  uneducated,  and 
the  more  ardent,  incautious  missionaries  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
police.  Those  of  them  who  escaped,  perceiving  the  error  of  their 
ways,  but  still  clinging  to  the  hope  of  bringing  about  a  political, 
social,  and  economic  revolution,  determined  to  change  their  tactics. 
The  emancipated  serf  had  shown  himself  incapable  of  "  prolonged 
revolutionary  activity,"  but  there  was  reason  to  believe  that  he  was, 
like  his  forefathers  in  the  time  of  Stenka  Ruzin  and  Pugatcheff, 
capable  of  rising  and  murdering  his  oppressors.  He  must  be  used, 
therefore,  for  the  destruction  of  the  Autocratic  Power  and  the 
bureaucracy,  and  then  it  would  be  easy  to  reorganise  society  on  a 
basis  of  universal  equality,  and  to  take  permanent  precautions 
against  capitalism  and  the  creation  of  a  proletariat. 

The  hopes  of  the  agitators  proved  as  delusive  as  those  of  the 
propagandists.  The  muzhik  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  their  instiga- 
tions, and  the  police  soon  prevented  their  further  activity.  Thus 
the    would-be    root-and-branch    reforms    found    themselves    in    a 


594  EUSSIA 

dilemma.  Either  they  must  abandon  their  schemes  for  the  moment 
or  they  must  strike  immediately  at  their  persecutors.  They  chose, 
as  we  have  seen,  the  latter  alternative,  and  after  vain  attempts  to 
frighten  the  Government  by  acts  of  terrorism  against  zealous 
officials,  they  assassinated  the  Tsar  himself;  but  before  they  had 
time  to  think  of  the  constructive  part  of  their  task,  their  organi- 
sation was  destroyed  by  the  Autocratic  Power  and  the  bureau- 
cracy, and  those  of  them  who  escaped  arrest  had  to  seek  safety  in 
emigration  to  Switzerland  and  Paris. 

Then  arose,  all  along  the  line  of  the  defeated,  decimated  revo- 
lutionists, the  cry,  "  What  is  to  be  done  ?  "  Some  replied  that  the 
shattered  organisation  should  be  reconstructed,  and  a  number  of 
secret  agents  were  sent  successively  from  Switzerland  for  this  pur- 
pose. But  their  efforts,  as  they  themselves  confessed,  were  fruit- 
less, and  despondency  seemed  to  be  settling  down  permanently  on 
all,  except  a  few  fanatics,  when  a  voice  was  heard  calling  on  the 
fugitives  to  rally  round  a  new  banner  and  carry  on  the  struggle 
by  entirely  new  methods.  The  voice  came  from  a  revolutionologist 
(if  I  may  use  such  a  term)  of  remarkable  talent,  called  M.  Plek- 
hanof,  who  had  settled  in  Geneva  with  a  little  circle  of  friends, 
calling  themselves  the  "  Labour  Emancipation  Group."  His  views 
were  expounded  in  a  series  of  interesting  publications,  the  first  of 
which  was  a  brochure  entitled  "  Socialism  and  the  Political  Strug- 
gle," published  in  1883. 

According  to  M.  Plekhanof  and  his  group  the  revolutionary 
movement  had  been  conducted  up  to  that  moment  on  altogether 
wrong  lines.  All  previous  revolutionary  groups  had  acted  on  the 
assumption  that  the  political  revolution  and  the  economic  reorgani- 
sation of  society  must  be  effected  simultaneously,  and  consequently 
they  had  rejected  contemptuously  all  proposals  for  reforms,  how- 
ever radical,  of  a  merely  political  kind.  These  had  been  considered, 
as  I  have  mentioned  in  a  previous  chapter,  not  only  as  worthless, 
but  as  positively  prejudicial  to  the  interests  of  the  working  classes, 
because  so-called  political  liberties  and  parliamentary  government 
would  be  sure  to  consolidate  the  domination  of  the  bourgeoisie. 
That  such  has  generally  been  the  immediate  effect  of  parliamentary 
institutions  is  undeniable,  but  it  did  not  follow  that  the  creation  of 
such  institutions  should  be  opposed.  On  the  contrary,  they  ought 
to  be  welcomed,  not  merely  because,  as  some  revolutionists  had 
already  pointed  out,  propaganda  and  agitation  could  be  more  easily 
carried  on  under  a  constitutional  regime,  but  because  constitution- 
alism is  certainly  the  most  convenient,  and  perhaps  the  only,  road 


LATEST  PHASE  OF  REVOLUTIONARY  MOVEMENT  595 

by  which  the  socialistic  ideal  can  ultimately  be  attained.  This  is 
a  dark  saying,  ])ut  it  will  become  clearer  when  I  have  explained, 
according  to  the  new  apostles,  a  second  error  into  which  their  pred- 
ecessors had  fallen. 

That  second  error  was  the  assumption  that  all  true  friends  of  the 
people,  whether  Conservatives,  Liberals,  or  revolutionaries,  ought 
to  oppose  to  the  utmost  the  development  of  capitalism.  In  the 
light  of  Karl  Marx's  discoveries  in  economic  science  every  one  must 
recognise  this  to  be  an  egregious  mistake.  That  great  authority, 
it  was  said,  had  proved  that  the  development  of  capitalism  was 
irresistible,  and  his  conclusions  had  been  confirmed  by  the  recent 
history  of  Russia,  for  all  the  economic  progress  made  during  the 
last  half  century  had  been  on  capitalist  lines. 

Even  if  it  were  possible  to  arrest  the  capitalist  movemiCnt,  it  is 
not  desirable  from  the  revolutionary  point  of  view.  In  support  of 
this  thesis  Karl  Marx  is  again  cited.  He  has  shown  that  capi- 
talism, though  an  evil  in  itself,  is  a  necessary  stage  of  economic  and 
social  progress.  At  first  it  is  prejudicial  to  the  interests  of  the  work- 
ing classes,  but  in  the  long  run  it  benefits  them,  because  the  ever- 
growing proletariat  must,  whether  it  desires  it  or  not,  become  a 
political  party,  and  as  a  political  party  it  must  one  day  break  the 
domination  of  the  bourgeoisie.  As  soon  as  it  has  obtained  the  pre- 
dominant political  power,  it  will  confiscate,  for  the  public  good,  the 
instruments  of  production — factories,  foundries,  machines,  etc. — 
by  expropriating  the  capitalist.  In  this  way  all  the  profits  which 
accrue  from  production  on  a  large  scale,  and  which  at  present  go 
into  the  pockets  of  the  capitalists,  will  be  distributed  equally 
among  the  workmen. 

Thus  began  a  new  phase  of  the  revolutionary  movement,  and, 
like  all  previous  phases,  it  remained  for  some  years  in  the  academic 
stage,  during  which  there  were  endless  discussions  on  theoretical 
and  practical  questions.  Lavroff,  the  prophet  of  the  old  propa- 
ganda, treated  the  new  ideas  "with  grandfatherly  se\erit}%"  and 
Tikhomirof,  the  leading  representative  of  the  moribund  Narodnaya 
Yolya,  which  had  prepared  the  acts  of  terrorism,  maintained  stoutly 
that  the  West  European  methods  recommended  by  Plckhanof  were 
inapplicable  to  Russia.  The  Plekhanof  group  replied  in  a  long 
series  of  publications,  partly  original  and  partly  translations  from 
Marx  and  Engels,  explaining  the  doctrines  and  aims  of  the  Social 
Democrats. 

Seven  years  were  spent  in  this  academic  literary  activity — a 
period  of  comparative  repose  for  the  Russian  secret  police — and 


596  EUSSIA 

about  1890  the  propagandists  of  the  new  school  began  to  work 
cautiously  in  St.  Petersburg.  At  first  they  confined  themselves  to 
forming  little  secret  circles  for  making  converts,  and  they  found 
that  the  ground  had  been  to  some  extent  prepared  for  the  seed 
which  they  had  to  sow.  The  workmen  were  discontented,  and 
some  of  the  more  intelligent  amongst  them  who  had  formerly  been 
in  touch  with  the  propagandists  of  the  older  generation  had  learned 
that  there  was  an  ingenious  and  effective  means  of  getting  their 
grievances  redressed.  How  was  that  possible?  By  combination 
and  strikes.  For  the  uneducated  workers  this  was  an  important 
discovery,  and  they  soon  began  to  put  the  suggested  remedy  to  a 
practical  test.  In  the  autumn  of  1894  labour  troubles  broke  out 
in  the  ISTevski  engineering  works  and  the  arsenal,  and  in  the  fol- 
lowing year  in  the  Thornton  factory  and  the  cigarette  works.  In 
all  these  strikes  the  Social  Democratic  agents  took  part  behind  the 
scenes.  Avoiding  the  main  errors  of  the  old  propagandists,  who 
had  offered  the  workmen  merely  abstract  Socialist  theories  which 
no  uneducated  person  could  reasonably  be  expected  to  understand, 
they  adopted  a  more  rational  method.  Though  impervious  to 
abstract  theories,  the  Eussian  workman  is  not  at  all  insensible  to 
the  prospect  of  bettering  his  material  condition  and  getting  his 
everyday  grievances  redressed.  Of  these  grievances  the  ones  he  felt 
most  keenly  were  the  long  hours,  the  low  wages,  the  fines  arbi- 
trarily imposed  by  the  managers,  and  the  brutual  severity  of  the 
foreman.  By  helping  him  to  have  these  grievances  removed  the 
Social  Democratic  agents  might  gain  his  confidence,  and  when  they 
had  come  to  be  regarded  by  him  as  his  real  friends  they  might 
widen  his  sympathies  and  teach  him  to  feel  that  his  personal 
interests  were  identical  with  the  interests  of  the  working  classes  as  a 
whole.  In  this  way  it  would  be  possible  to  awaken  in  the  industrial 
proletariat  generally  a  sort  of  esprit  de  corps,  which  is  the  first  con- 
dition of  political  organisation. 

On  these  lines  the  agents  set  to  work.  Having  formed  them- 
selves into  a  secret  association  called  the  "  Union  for  the  Emanci- 
pation of  the  Working  Classes,"  they  gradually  abandoned  the 
narrow  limits  of  coterie-propaganda,  and  prepared  the  way  for  agita- 
tion on  a  larger  scale.  Among  the  discontented  workmen  they  dis- 
tributed a  large  number  of  carefully  written  tracts,  in  which  the 
material  grievances  were  formulated,  and  the  whole  political  system, 
with  its  police,  gendarmes,  Cossacks,  and  tax-gathers,  was  criti- 
cised in  no  friendly  spirit,  but  without  violent  language.  In  intro- 
ducing into  the  programme  this  political  element,  great  caution  had 


LATEST  PHASE  OF  REVOLUTIONARY  MOVEMENT  597 

to  be  exercised,  because  the  workmen  did  not  yet  perceive  clearly 
any  close  connection  between  their  grivances  and  the  existing  politi- 
cal institutions,  and  those  of  them  who  belonged  to  the  older  genera- 
tion regarded  the  Tsar  as  the  incarnation  of  disinterested  benevo- 
lence. Bearing  this  in  mind,  the  Union  circulated  a  pamphlet  for 
the  enlightenment  of  the  labouring  population,  in  which  the  writer 
refrained  from  all  reference  to  the  Autocratic  Power,  and  described 
simply  the  condition  of  the  labouring  classes,  the  heavy  burdens 
they  had  to  bear,  the  abuses  of  which  they  were  the  victims,  and  the 
inconsiderate  way  in  which  they  were  treated  by  their  employers. 
This  pamphlet  was  eagerly  read,  and  from  that  moment  whenever 
labour  troubles  arose  the  men  applied  to  the  Social  Democratic 
agents  to  assist  them  in  formulating  their  grievances. 

Of  course,  the  assistance  had  to  be  given  secretly,  because  there 
were  always  police  spies  in  the  factories,  and  all  persons  suspected  of 
aiding  the  labour  movement  were  liable  to  be  arrested  and  exiled. 
In  spite  of  this  danger  the  work  was  carried  on  with  great  energy, 
and  in  the  summer  of  1896  the  field  of  operations  was  extended. 
During  the  coronation  ceremonies  of  that  year  the  factories  and 
workshops  in  St.  Petersburg  were  closed,  and  the  men  considered 
that  for  these  days  they  ought  to  receive  wages  as  usual.  When 
their  demand  was  refused,  40,000  of  them  went  out  on  strike.  Tlie 
Social  Democratic  Union  seized  the  opportunity  and  distributed 
tracts  in  large  quantities.  For  the  first  time  such  tracts  were  read 
aloud  at  workmen's  meetings  and  applauded  by  the  audience.  The 
Union  encouraged  the  workmen  in  their  resistance,  but  advised 
them  to  refrain  from  violence,  so  as  not  to  provoke  the  interven- 
tion of  the  police  and  the  military,  as  they  had  imprudently  done 
on  some  previous  occasions.  When  the  police  did  intervene  and 
expelled  some  of  the  strike-leaders  from  St.  Petersburg,  the  agita- 
tors had  an  excellent  opportunity  of  explaining  that  the  authorities 
were  the  protectors  of  the  employers  and  the  enemies  of  the  work- 
ing classes.  These  explanations  counteracted  the  effect  of  an  official 
proclamation  to  the  workmen,  in  which  M.  Witte  tried  to  convince 
them  that  the  Tsar  was  constantly  striving  to  improve  their  condi- 
tion. The  struggle  was  decided,  not  by  arguments  and  exhorta- 
tions, but  by  a  more  potent  force;  having  no  funds  for  continuing 
the  strike,  the  men  were  compelled  by  starvation  to  resume  work. 

This  is  the  point  at  which  the  labour  movement  began  to  be  con- 
ducted on  a  large  scale  and  by  more  systematic  methods.  In  the 
earlier  labour  troubles  the  strikers  had  not  understood  that  the  best 
means  of  bringing  pressure  on  employers  was  simply  to  refuse  to 


598  EUSSIA 

work,  and  they  had  often  proceeded  to  show  their  dissatisfaction  by 
ruthlessly  destroying  their  employers'  property.  This  had  brought 
the  police,  and  sometimes  the  military,  on  the  scene,  and  numerous 
arrests  had  followed.  Another  mistake  made  by  the  inexperienced 
strikers  was  that  they  had  neglected  to  create  a  reserve  fund  from 
which  they  could  draw  the  means  of  subsistence  when  they  no  longer 
received  wages  and  could  no  longer  obtain  credit  at  the  factory 
provision  store.  Efforts  were  now  made  to  correct  these  two  mis- 
takes, and  with  regard  to  the  former  they  were  fairly  successful, 
for  wanton  destruction  of  property  ceased  to  be  a  prominent  feature 
of  labour  troubles;  but  strong  reserve  funds  have  not  yet  been 
created,  so  that  the  strikes  have  never  been  of  long  duration. 

Though  the  strikes  had  led,  so  far,  to  no  great  practical,  tangible 
results,  the  new  ideas  and  aspirations  were  spreading  rapidly  in  the 
factories  and  workshops,  and  they  had  already  struck  such  deep 
root  that  some  of  the  genuine  workmen  wished  to  have  a  voice  in  the 
managing  committee  of  the  Union,  which  was  composed  exclusively 
of  educated  men.  When  a  request  to  that  effect  was  rejected  by  the 
committee  a  lengthy  discussion  took  place,  and  it  soon  became  evi- 
dent that  underneath  the  question  of  organisation  lay  a  most  impor- 
tant question  of  principle.  The  workmen  wished  to  concentrate  their 
efforts  on  the  improvement  of  their  material  condition,  and  to  pro- 
ceed on  what  we  should  call  trade-unionist  lines,  whereas  the  com- 
mittee wished  them  to  aim  also  at  the  acquisition  of  political  rights. 
Great  determination  was  shown  on  both  sides.  An  attempt  of  the 
workmen  to  maintain  a  secret  organ  of  their  own  with  the  view  of 
emancipating  themselves  from  the  "  Politicals  "  ended  in  failure ; 
but  they  received  sympathy  and  support  from  some  of  the  educated 
members  of  the  party,  and  in  this  way  a  schism  took  place  in  the 
Social  Democrat  camp.  After  repeated  ineffectual  attempts  to 
find  a  satisfactory  compromise,  the  question  was  submitted  to  a 
Congress  which  was  held  in  Switzerland  in  1900 ;  but  the  discus- 
sions merely  accentuated  the  differences  of  opinion,  and  the  two 
parties  constituted  themselves  into  separate  independent  groups. 
The  one  under  the  leadership  of  Plekhanof,  and  calling  itself  the 
Eevolutionary  Social  Democrats,  held  to  the  Marx  doctrines  in  all 
their  extent  and  purity,  and  maintained  the  necessity  of  constant 
agitation  in  the  political  sense.  The  other,  calling  itself  the  Union 
of  Foreign  Social  Democrats,  inclined  to  the  trade-unionism  pro- 
gramme, and  proclaimed  the  necessity  of  being  guided  by  political 
expediency  rather  than  inflexible  dogmas.  Between  the  two  a 
wordy  warfare  was  carried  on  for  some  time  in  pedantic,  technical 


LATEST  PHx\.SE  OF  REVOLUTIONARY  MOVEMENT  599 

language;  but  though  habitually  brandishing  their  weapons  and 
denouncing  their  antagonists  in  true  Homeric  style,  they  were  really 
allies,  struggling  towards  a  common  end — two  sections  of  the 
Social  Democratic  party  differing  from  each  other  on  questions  of 
tactics. 

The  two  divergent  tendencies  have  often  reappeared  in  the  sub- 
sequent history  of  the  movement.  During  ordinary  peaceful  times 
the  economic  or  trade-unionist  tendency  can  generally  hold  its 
own,  but  as  soon  as  disturbances  occur  and  the  authorities  have  to 
intervene,  the  political  current  quickly  gains  the  upper  hand.  This 
was  exemplified  in  the  labour  troubles  which  took  place  at  Rostoff- 
on-the-Don  in  1902.  During  the  first  two  days  of  the  strike  the 
economic  demands  alone  were  put  forward,  and  in  the  speeches 
which  were  delivered  at  the  meetings  of  workmen  no  reference  was 
made  to  political  grievances.  On  the  third  day  one  orator  ventured 
to  speak  disrespectfully  of  the  Autocratic  Power,  but  he  thereby 
provoked  signs  of  dissatisfaction  in  the  audiences.  On  the  fifth  and 
following  days,  however,  several  political  speeches  were  made,  end- 
ing with  the  cry  of  "  Down  with  Tsarism ! "  and  a  crowd  of  30,000 
workmen  agreed  with  the  speakers.  Thereafter  occurred  similar 
strikes  in  Odessa,  the  Caucasus,  Kief,  and  Central  Russia,  and  they 
had  all  a  political  rather  than  a  purely  economic  character. 

I  must  now  endeavour  to  explain  clearly  the  point  of  view  and 
plan  of  campaign  of  this  new  movement,  which  I  may  call  the 
revolutionary  Renaissance. 

The  ultimate  aim  of  the  new  reformers  was  the  same  as  that  of 
all  their  predecessors — the  thorough  reorganisation  of  Society  on 
Socialistic  principles.  According  to  their  doctrines.  Society  as  at 
present  constituted  consists  of  two  great  classes,  called  variously 
the  exploiters  and  the  exploited,  the  shearers  and  the  shorn,  the 
capitalists  and  the  workers,  the  employers  and  the  employed,  the 
tyrants  and  the  oppressed;  and  this  unsatisfactory  state  of  things 
must  go  on  so  long  as  the  so-called  hourgeois  or  capitalist  regime 
continues  to  exist.  In  the  new  heaven  and  the  new  earth  of  which 
the  Socialist  dreams  this  unjust  distinction  is  to  disappear;  all 
human  beings  are  to  be  equally  free  and  independent,  all  are  to  co- 
operate spontaneously  with  brains  and  hands  to  the  common  good, 
and  all  are  to  enjoy  in  equal  shares  the  natural  and  artificial  good 
things  of  this  life. 

So  far  there  has  never  been  any  difference  of  opinion  among  the 
various  groups  of  Russian  thorough-going  revolutionists.  All  of 
them,  from  the  antiquated  Nihilist  down  to  the  Social  Democrat  of 


600  EUSSIA 

the  latest  type,  have  held  these  views.  What  has  differentiated 
them  from  each  other  is  the  greater  or  less  degree  of  impatience  to 
realise  the  ideal. 

The  most  impatient  were  the  Anarchists,  who  grouped  themselves 
around  Bakunin.  They  wished  to  overthrow  immediately  by  a 
frontal  attack  all  existing  forms  of  government  and  social  organisa- 
tion, in  the  hope  that  chance,  or  evolution,  or  natural  instinct,  or 
sudden  inspiration  or  some  other  mysterious  force,  would  create 
something  better.  They  themselves  declined  to  aid  this  mysterious 
force  even  by  suggestions,  on  the  ground  that,  as  one  of  them  has 
said,  "  to  construct  is  not  the  business  of  the  generation  whose  duty 
is  to  destroy."  Notwithstanding  the  strong  impulsive  element  in 
the  national  character,  the  reckless,  ultra-impatient  doctrinaires 
never  became  numerous,  and  never  succeeded  in  forming  an  organ- 
ised group,  probably  because  the  young  generation  in  Eussia  were 
too  much  occupied  with  the  actual  and  future  condition  of  their 
own  country  to  embark  on  schemes  of  cosmopolitan  anarchism  such 
as  Bakunin  recommended. 

Next  in  the  scale  of  impatience  came  the  group  of  believers  in 
Socialist  agitation  among  the  masses,  with  a  view  to  overturning 
the  existing  Government  and  putting  themselves  in  its  place  as 
soon  as  the  masses  were  sufficiently  organised  to  play  the  part 
destined  for  them.  Between  them  and  the  Anarchists  the  essential 
points  of  difference  were  that  they  admitted  the  necessity  of  some 
years  of  preparation,  and  they  intended,  when  the  Government  was 
overturned,  not  to  preserve  indefinitely  the  state  of  anarchy,  but 
to  put  in  the  place  of  autocracy,  limited  monarchy,  or  the  republic, 
a  strong,  despotic  Government  thoroughly  imbued  with  Socialistic 
principles.  As  soon  as  it  had  laid  firmly  the  foundations  of  the  new 
order  of  things  it  was  to  call  a  National  Assembly,  from  which  it 
was  to  receive,  I  presume,  a  bill  of  indemnity  for  the  benevolent 
tyranny  which  it  had  temporarily  exercised. 

Impatience  a  few  degrees  less  intense  produced  the  next  group, 
the  partisans  of  pacific  Socialist  propaganda.  They  maintained 
that  there  was  no  necessity  for  overthrowing  the  old  order  of  things 
till  the  masses  had  been  intellectually  prepared  for  the  new,  and  they 
objected  to  the  foundation  of  the  new  regime  being  laid  by  despots, 
however  well-intentioned  in  the  Socialist  sense.  The  people  must 
be  made  happy  and  preserved  in  a  state  of  happiness  by  the  people 
themselves. 

In  the  last  place  came  the  least  impatient  of  all,  the  Social  Demo- 
crats, who  differ  widely  from  all  the  preceding  categories. 


LATEST  PHASE  OF  REVOLUTIOXARY  MOVEMENT  601 

All  previous  revolutionary  groups  had  systematically  rejected  the 
idea  of  a  gradual  transition  from  the  'bourgeois  to  the  Socialist 
regime.  They  would  not  listen  to  any  suggestion  about  a  con- 
stitutional monarchy  or  a  democratic  republic  even  as  a  mere  inter- 
mediate stage  of  social  development.  All  such  things,  as  part  and 
parcel  of  the  hourgeois  system,  were  anathematised.  There  must  be 
no  half-way  houses  between  present  misery  and  future  happiness; 
for  many  weary  travellers  might  be  tempted  to  settle  there  in  the 
desert,  and  fail  to  reach  the  promised  land.  "  Ever  onward  "  should 
be  the  watchword,  and  no  time  should  be  wasted  on  the  foolish 
struggles  of  political  parties  and  the  empty  vanities  of  political  life. 

Not  thus  thought  the  Social  Democrat.  He  was  much  wiser  in 
his  generation.  Having  seen  how  the  attempts  of  the  impatient 
groups  had  ended  in  disaster,  and  knowing  that,  if  they  had  suc- 
ceeded, the  old  effete  despotism  would  probably  have  been  replaced 
by  a  young,  vigorous  one  more  objectionable  than  its  predecessor, 
he  determined  to  try  a  more  circuitous  but  surer  road  to  the  goal 
which  the  impatient  people  had  in  view.  In  his  opinion  the  dis- 
tance from  the  present  Russian  regime  protected  by  autocracy  to  the 
future  Socialist  paradise  was  far  too  great  to  be  traversed  in  a  single 
stage,  and  he  knew  of  one  or  two  comfortable  rest-houses  on  the  way. 
First  there  was  the  rest-house  of  Constitutionalism,  with  parlia- 
mentary institutions.  For  some  years  the  bourgeoisie  would  doubt- 
less have  a  parliamentary  majority,  but  gradually,  by  persistent 
effort,  the  Fourth  Estate  would  gain  the  upper  hand,  and  then  the 
Socialist  millennium  might  be  proclaimed.  Meanwhile,  what  had 
to  be  done  was  to  gain  the  confidence  of  the  masses,  especially  of  the 
factory  workers,  who  were  more  intelligent  and  less  conservative 
than  the  peasantry,  and  to  create  powerful  labour  organisations  as 
material  for  a  future  political  party. 

This  programme  implied,  of  course,  a  certain  unity  of  action  with 
the  constitutionalists,  from  whom,  as  I  have  said,  the  revolutionists 
of  the  old  school  had  stood  sternly  aloof.  There  was  now  no  ques- 
tion of  a  formal  union,  and  certainly  no  idea  of  a  "  union  of  hearts," 
because  the  Socialists  knew  that  their  ultimate  aim  would  be  strenu- 
ously opposed  by  the  Liberals,  and  the  Liberals  knew  that  an  attempt 
was  being  made  to  use  them  as  a  cat's-paw ;  but  there  seemed  to  be 
no  reason  why  they  of  the  two  groups  should  not  observe  towards 
each  other  a  benevolent  neutrality,  and  march  side  by  side  as  far  as 
the  half-way  house,  where  they  could  consider  the  conditions  of 
the  further  advance. 

When  I  first  became  acquainted  with  the  Russian  Social  Demo- 


603  RUSSIA 

crats  I  imagined  that  their  plan  of  campaign  was  of  a  purely  pacific 
character;  and  that  they  were,  unlike  their  predecessors,  an  evolu- 
tionary, as  distinguished  from  a  revolutionary,  party.  Subsequently 
I  discovered  that  this  conception  was  not  quite  accurate.  In 
ordinary  quiet  times  they  use  merely  pacific  methods,  and  they 
feel  that  the  Proletariat  is  not  yet  sufficiently  prepared,  intellectually 
and  politically,  to  assume  the  great  responsibilities  which  are 
reserved  for  it  in  the  future.  Moreover,  when  the  moment  comes 
for  getting  rid  of  the  Autocratic  Power,  they  would  prefer  a 
gradual  process  of  liquidation  to  a  sudden  cataclysm.  So  far  they 
may  be  said  to  be  evolutionaries  rather  than  revolutionaries, 
but  their  plan  of  campaign  does  not  entirely  exclude  violence. 
They  would  not  consider  it  their  duty  to  oppose  the  use  of  vio- 
lence on  the  part  of  the  more  impatient  sections  of  the  revolu- 
tionists, and  they  would  have  no  scruples  about  utilising  disturb- 
ances for  the  attainment  of  their  own  end.  Public  agitation,  which 
is  always  likely  in  Eussia  to  provoke  violent  repression  by  the 
authorities,  they  regard  as  necessary  for  keeping  alive  and  strength- 
ening the  spirit  of  opposition ;  and  when  force  is  used  by  the  police 
they  approve  of  the  agitators  using  force  in  return.  To  acts  of 
terrorism,  however,  they  are  opposed  on  principle. 

Who,  then,  are  the  Terrorists,  who  have  assassinated  so  many 
great  personages,  including  the  Grand  Duke  Serge  ?  In  reply  to  this 
question  I  must  introduce  the  reader  to  another  group  of  the  revo- 
lutionists who  have  usually  been  in  hostile,  rather  than  friendly, 
relations  with  the  Social  Democrats,  and  who  call  themselves  the 
Socialist-Revolutionaries   (Sotsialisty-Revolutsionery) . 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  terrorist  group,  commonly  called 
Narodnaya  Volya,  or  NarodovoUsi,  which  succeeded  in  assassinating 
Alexander  II.,  were  very  soon  broken  up  by  the  police  and  most  of 
the  leading  members  were  arrested.  A  few  escaped,  of  whom  some 
remained  in  the  country  and  others  emigrated  to  Switzerland  or 
Paris,  and  efforts  at  reorganisation  were  made,  especially  in  the 
southern  and  western  provinces,  but  they  proved  ineffectual.  At 
last,  sobered  by  experience  and  despairing  of  further  success,  some 
of  the  prisoners  and  a  few  of  the  exiles — notably  Tikhomirof,  who 
was  regarded  as  the  leader — made  their  peace  with  the  Government, 
and  for  some  years  terrorism  seemed  to  be  a  thing  of  the  past. 
Passing  through  Russia  on  my  way  home  from  India  and  Central 
Asia  at  that  time,  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  young  genera- 
tion had  recovered  from  its  prolonged  attack  of  brain-fever,  and  had 
entered  on  a  more  normal,  tranquil,  and  healthy  period  of  existence. 


LATEST  PHASE  OF  REVOLUTIONARY  MOVEMENT  603 

My  expectations  proved  too  optimistic.  About  1894  the  Narodnaya 
Volya  came  to  life  again,  with  all  its  terrorist  traditions  intact ;  and 
shortly  afterwards  appeared  the  new  group  which  I  have  just  men- 
tioned, the  Socialist-Revolutionaries,  with  somewhat  similar  prin- 
ciples and  a  better  organisation.  For  some  seven  or  eight  years 
the  two  groups  existed  side  by  side,  and  then  the  Narodnaya  Volya 
disappeared,  absorbed  probably  by  its  more  powerful  rival. 

During  the  first  years  of  their  existence  neither  group  was  strong 
enough  to  cause  the  Government  serious  inconvenience,  and  it  was 
not  till  1897-98  that  they  found  means  of  issuing  manifestos  and 
programmes.  In  these  the  NarodovoUsi  declared  that  their  immedi- 
ate aims  were  the  annihilation  of  Autocracy,  the  convocation  of  a 
National  Assembly  and  the  reorganisation  of  the  Empire  on  the 
principles  of  federation  and  local  self-government,  and  that  for  the 
attainment  of  these  objects  the  means  to  be  employed  should  include 
popular  insurrections,  military  conspiracies,  bombs  and  dynamite. 

Very  similar,  though  ostensibly  a  little  more  eclectic,  was  the 
programme  of  the  Socialist-Revolutionaries.  Their  ultimate  aim 
was  declared  to  be  the  transfer  of  political  authority  from  the 
Autocratic  Power  to  the  people,  the  abolition  of  private  property 
in  the  means  of  production,  and  in  general  the  reorganisation  of 
national  life  on  Socialist  principles.  On  certain  points  they  were 
at  one  with  the  Social  Democrats.  They  recognised,  for  example, 
that  the  social  reorganisation  must  be  preceded  by  a  political  revo- 
lution, that  much  preparatory  work  was  necessary,  and  that  atten- 
tion should  be  directed  first  to  the  industrial  proletariat  as  the 
most  intelligent  section  of  the  masses.  On  the  other  hand  they 
maintained  that  it  was  a  mistake  to  confine  the  revolutionary 
activity  to  the  working  classes  of  the  towns,  who  were  not  strong 
enough  to  overturn  the  Autocratic  Power.  The  agitation  ought, 
therefore,  to  be  extended  to  the  peasantry,  who  were  quite  "  de- 
veloped "  enough  to  understand  at  least  the  idea  of  land-nationalisa- 
tion; and  for  the  carrying  out  of  this  part  of  the  programme  a 
special  organisation  was  created. 

With  so  many  opinions  in  common,  it  seemed  at  one  moment  as 
if  the  Social  Democrats  and  the  Socialist-Revolutionaries  might 
unite  their  forces  for  a  combined  attack  on  the  Government;  but 
apart  from  the  mutual  jealousy  and  hatred  which  so  often  char- 
acterise revolutionary  as  well  as  religious  sects,  they  were  pre- 
vented from  coalescing,  or  even  cordially  co-operating,  by  profound 
differences  both  in  doctrine  and  in  method. 

The  Social  Democrats  are  essentially  doctrinaires.     Thorough- 


604  RUSSIA 

going  disciples  of  Karl  Marx,  they  believed  in  what  they  con- 
sider the  immutable  laws  of  social  progress,  according  to  which 
the  Socialistic  ideal  can  be  reached  only  through  capitalism;  and 
the  intermediate  political  revolution,  which  is  to  substitute  the  will 
of  the  people  for  the  Autocratic  Power,  must  be  effected  by  the 
conversion  and  organisation  of  the  industrial  proletariat.  With 
the  spiritual  pride  of  men  who  feel  themselves  to  be  the  incar- 
nations or  avatars  of  immutable  law,  they  are  inclined  to  look 
down  with  something  very  like  contempt  on  mere  empirics  who 
are  ignorant  of  scientific  principles  and  are  guided  by  considera- 
tions of  practical  expediency.  The  Social-Eevolutionaries  seem 
to  them  to  be  empirics  of  this  kind  because  they  reject  the 
tenets,  or  at  least  deny  the  infallibility,  of  the  Marx  school,  cling 
to  the  idea  of  partially  resisting  the  overwhelming  influence  of 
capitalism  in  Eussia,  hope  that  the  peasantry  will  play  at  least  a 
secondary  part  in  bringing  about  the  political  revolution,  and  are 
profoundly  convinced  that  the  advent  of  political  liberty  may  be 
greatly  accelerated  by  the  use  of  terrorism.  On  this  last  point 
they  stated  their  views  very  frankly  in  a  pamphlet  which  they 
published  in  1902  under  the  title  of  "  Our  Task  "  {Nasha  Zador 
tcha).    It  is  there  said: 

"  One  of  the  powerful  means  of  struggle,  dictated  by  our  revolutionary 
past  and  present,  is  political  terrorism,  consisting  of  the  annihilation  of 
the  most  injurious  and  influential  personages  of  Russian  autocracy  in 
given  conditions.  Systematic  terrorism,  in  conjunction  with  other  forms 
of  open  mass-struggle  (industrial  riots  and  agrarian  risings,  demon- 
strations, etc.),  which  receive  from  terrorism  an  enormous,  decisive 
significance,  will  lead  to  the  disorganisation  of  the  enemy.  Terrorist 
activity  will  cease  only  with  the  victory  over  autocracy  and  the  complete 
attainment  of  political  liberty.  Besides  its  chief  significance  as  a 
means  of  disorganising,  terrorist  activity  will  serve  at  the  same  time  as 
a  means  of  propaganda  and  agitation,  a  form  of  open  struggle  taking 
place  before  the  eyes  of  the  whole  people,  undermining  the  prestige  of 
Government  authority,  and  calling  into  life  new  revolutionary  forces, 
while  the  oral  and  literary  propaganda  is  being  continued  without  in- 
terruption. Lastly,  the  terrorist  activity  serves  for  the  whole  secret 
revolutionary  party  as  a  means  of  self-defence  and  of  protecting  the 
organisation  against  the  injurious  elements  of  spies  and  treachery." 

In  accordance  with  this  theory  a  "militant  organisation" 
(Boevaga  Organisatsia)  was  formed  and  soon  set  to  work  with 
revolvers  and  bombs.  First  an  attempt  was  made  on  the  life  of 
Pobedonostsef ;  then  the  Minister  of  the  Interior,  Sipiagin,  was 
assassinated;  next  attempts  were  made  on  the  lives  of  the  Gov- 


LATEST  PHASE  OF  REVOLUTIONARY  MOVEMENT  605 

ernors  of  Vilna  and  Kharkof,  and  the  Kharkof  chief  of  police; 
and  since  that  time  the  Governor  of  Ufa,  the  Vice-Governor  of 
Elizabetpol,  the  Minister  of  the  Interior,  M.  Plehve,  and  the  Grand 
Duke  Serge  have  fallen  victims  to  the  terrorist  policy.* 

Though  the  Social  Democrats  have  no  sentimental  squeamish- 
ness  about  bloodshed,  they  objected  to  this  policy  on  the  ground 
that  acts  of  terrorism  were  unnecessary  and  were  apt  to  prove 
injurious  rather  than  beneficial  to  the  revolutionist  cause.  One 
of  the  main  objects  of  every  intelligent  revolutionary  party  should 
be  to  awaken  all  classes  from  their  habitual  apathy  and  induce 
them  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  political  movement ;  but  terrorism 
must  have  a  contrary  effect  by  suggesting  that  political  freedom  is 
to  be  attained,  not  by  the  steady  pressure  and  persevering  co- 
operation of  the  people,  but  by  startling,  sensational  acts  of  indi- 
vidual heroism. 

The  efforts  of  these  two  revolutionary  parties,  as  well  as  of  minor 
groups,  to  get  hold  of  the  industrial  proletariat  did  not  escape 
the  notice  of  the  authorities;  and  during  the  labour  troubles  of 
1896,  on  the  suggestion  of  M.  Witte,  the  Government  had  con- 
sidered the  question  as  to  what  should  be  done  to  counteract  the 
influence  of  the  agitators.  On  that  question  it  had  no  difficulty 
in  coming  to  a  decision;  the  condition  of  the  working  classes 
must  be  improved.  An  expert  official  was  accordingly  instructed 
to  write  a  report  on  what  had  already  been  done  in  that  direction. 
In  his  report  it  was  shown  that  the  Government  had  long  been 
thinking  about  the  subject.  Not  to  speak  of  a  still-born  law 
about  a  ten-hour  day  for  artisans,  dating  from  the  time  of  Cathe- 
rine II.,  an  Imperial  commission  had  been  appointed  as  early  as 
1859,  but  nothing  practical  came  of  its  deliberations  until  1882, 
when  legislative  measures  were  taken  for  the  protection  of  women 
and  children  in  factories.  A  little  later  (1886)  other  grievances 
were  dealt  with  and  partly  removed  by  regulating  contracts  of 
hire,  providing  that  the  money  derived  from  deductions  and  fines 
should  not  be  appropriated  by  the  employers,  and  creating  a  staff 
of  factory  inspectors  who  should  take  care  that  the  benevolent 
intentions  of  the  Government  were  duly  carried  out.  Having 
reviewed  all  these  official  efforts  in  1896,  the  Government  passed 
in  the  following  year  a  law  prohibiting  night  work  and  limiting 
the  working  day  to  eleven  and  a  half  hours. 

*  In  this  list  I  have  not  mentioned  the  assassination  of  M.  Bogolyepof, 
Minister  of  Public  Instruction,  in  1001,  because  I  do  not  know  whether 
it  should  be  attributed  to  the  Socialist-Revolutionaries  or  to  the  Narod- 
ovoltsi,  who  had  not  yet  amalgamated  with  them. 


606  EUSSIA 

This  did  not  satisfy  the  workmen.  Their  wages  were  still  low, 
and  it  was  difficult  to  get  them  increased  because  strikes  and  all 
forms  of  association  were  still,  as  they  had  always  been,  criminal 
offences.  On  this  point  the  Government  remained  firm  so  far  as 
the  law  was  concerned,  but  it  gradually  made  practical  concessions 
by  allowing  the  workmen  to  combine  for  certain  purposes.  In 
1898,  for  example,  in  Kharkof,  the  Engineers'  Mutual  Aid  Society 
was  sanctioned,  and  gradually  it  became  customary  to  allow  the 
workmen  to  elect  delegates  for  the  discussion  of  their  grievances 
with  the  employers  and  inspectors. 

Finding  that  these  concessions  did  not  check  the  growing  influ- 
ence of  the  Social  Democratic  agitators  among  the  operatives,  the 
Government  resolved  to  go  a  step  further;  it  would  organise  the 
workers  on  purely  trade-unionist  lines,  and  would  thereby  combat 
the  Social  Democrats,  who  always  advised  the  strikers  to  mix  up 
political  demands  with  their  material  grievances.  The  project 
seemed  to  have  a  good  prospect  of  success,  because  there  were  many 
workmen,  especially  of  the  older  generation,  who  did  not  at  all 
like  the  mixing  up  of  politics,  which  so  often  led  to  arrest,  impris- 
onment and  exile,  with  the  practical  concerns  of  every  day  life. 

The  first  attempt  of  the  kind  was  made  in  Moscow  under  the 
direction  of  a  certain  Zubatof,  chief  of  the  secret  police,  who  had 
been  himself  a  revolutionary  in  his  youth,  and  afterwards  an  agent 
provocateur.  Aided  by  Tikhomirof,  the  repentant  terrorist  whom 
I  have  already  mentioned,  Zubatof  organised  a  large  workmen's 
association,  with  reading-rooms,  lectures,  discussions  and  other 
attractions,  and  sought  to  convince  the  members  that  they  should 
turn  a  deaf  ear  to  the  Social  Democratic  agents,  and  look  only  to 
the  Government  for  the  improvement  of  their  condition.  In  order 
to  gain  their  sympathy  and  confidence,  he  instructed  his  subordi- 
nates to  take  the  side  of  the  workmen  in  all  labour  disputes,  while 
he  himself  brought  official  pressure  to  bear  on  the  employers. 
By  this  means  he  made  a  considerable  number  of  converts,  and  for 
a  time  the  association  seemed  to  prosper,  but  he  did  not  possess 
the  extraordinary  ability  and  tact  required  to  play  the  compli- 
cated game  successfully,  and  he  committed  the  fatal  mistake  of 
using  the  office-bearers  of  the  association  as  detectives  for  the 
discovery  of  the  "  evil-intentioned."  This  tactical  error  had  its 
natural  consequences.  As  soon  as  the  workmen  perceived  that 
their  professed  benefactors  were  police  spies,  who  did  not  obtain 
for  them  any  real  improvement  of  their  condition,  the  popularity 
of  the  association  rapidly  declined.     At  the  same  time,  the  factory 


LATEST  PHASE  OF  EEVOLUTIONARY  MOVEMENT  607 

owners  complained  to  the  Minister  of  Finance  that  the  police,  who 
ought  to  be  guardians  of  public  order,  and  who  had  accused  the 
factory  inspectors  of  stirring  up  discontent  in  the  labouring  popu- 
lation, were  themselves  creating  troubles  by  inciting  the  work- 
men to  make  inordinate  demands.  The  ^linister  of  Finance  at 
the  moment  was  M.  Witte,  and  the  IVIinister  of  Interior,  responsi- 
ble for  the  acts  of  the  police,  was  M.  Plehve,  and  between  these 
two  official  dignitaries,  who  were  already  in  very  strained  relations, 
Zubatof's  activity  formed  a  new  base  of  contention.  In  these  cir- 
cumstances it  is  not  surprising  that  the  very  risky  experiment 
came  to  an  untimely  end. 

In  St.  Petersburg  a  similar  experiment  was  made,  and  it  ended 
much  more  tragically.  There  the  chief  role  was  played  by  a 
mysterious  personage  called  Father  Gapon,  who  acquired  great 
momentary  notoriety.  Though  a  genuine  priest,  he  did  not  belong 
by  birth,  as  most  Kussian  priests  do,  to  the  ecclesiastical  caste. 
The  son  of  a  peasant  in  Little  Eussia,  where  the  ranks  of  the  clergy 
are  not  hermetically  sealed  against  the  other  social  classes,  he 
aspired  to  take  orders,  and  after  being  rusticated  from  a  seminary 
for  supposed  sympathy  with  revolutionary  ideas,  he  contrived  to 
finish  his  studies  and  obtain  ordination.  During  a  residence  in 
Moscow  he  took  part  in  the  Zubatof  experiment,  and  when  that  badly 
conducted  scheme  collapsed  he  was  transferred  to  St.  Petersburg 
and  appointed  chaplain  to  a  large  convict  prison.  His  new  pro- 
fessional duties  did  not  prevent  him  from  continuing  to  take  a 
keen  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  working  classes,  and  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1904  he  became,  with  the  approval  of  the  police  authorities, 
president  of  a  large  labour  union  called  the  Society  of  Eussian 
Workmen,  which  had  eleven  sections  in  the  various  industrial 
suburbs  of  the  capital.  Under  his  guidance  the  experiment  pro- 
ceeded for  some  months  very  successfully.  He  gained  the  sympa- 
thy and  confidence  of  the  workmen,  and  so  long  as  no  serious 
questions  arose  he  kept  his  hold  on  them ;  but  a  storm  was  brew- 
ing and  he  proved  unequal  to  the  occasion. 

In  the  first  days  of  1905,  when  the  economic  consequences  of 
the  war  had  come  to  be  keenly  felt,  a  spirit  of  discontent  appeared 
among  the  labouring  population  of  St,  Petersburg,  and  on  Sunday, 
January  15th — exactly  a  week  before  the  famous  Sunday  when 
the  troops  were  called  into  play — a  strike  began  in  the  Putilof 
ironworks  and  spread  like  wildfire  to  the  other  big  works  in  the 
neighbourhood.  The  immediate  cause  of  the  disturbance  was  the 
dismissal  of  some  workmen  and  a  demand  on  the  part  of  the  labour 


608  EUSSIA 

union  that  they  should  be  reinstated,  A  deputation,  composed 
partly  of  genuine  workmen  and  partly  of  Social  Democratic  agi- 
tators, and  led  by  Gapon,  negotiated  with  the  managers  of  the 
Putilof  works,  and  failed  to  effect  an  arrangement.  At  this 
moment  Gapon  tried  hard  to  confine  the  negotiations  to  the  points 
in  dispute,  whereas  the  agitators  put  forward  demands  of  a  wider 
kind,  such  as  the  eight-hour  working  day,  and  they  gradually 
obtained  his  concurrence  on  condition  that  no  political  demands 
should  be  introduced  into  the  programme.  In  defending  this  con- 
dition he  was  supported  by  the  workmen,  so  that  when  agitators 
tried  to  make  political  speeches  at  the  meetings  they  were  uncere- 
moniously expelled. 

A  similar  struggle  between  the  "  Economists  "  and  the  "  Politi- 
cals "  was  going  on  in  the  other  industrial  suburbs,  notably  in  the 
Nevski  quarter,  where  45,000  operatives  had  struck  work,  and 
the  Social  Democrats  were  particularly  active.  In  this  section  of  the 
Labour  Union  the  most  influential  member  was  a  young  workman 
called  Petroff,  who  was  a  staunch  Gaponist  in  the  sense  that  he 
wished  the  workers  to  confine  themselves  to  their  own  grievances 
and  to  resist  the  introduction  of  political  demands.  At  first  he 
succeeded  in  preventing  the  agitators  from  speaking  at  the  meet- 
ings, but  they  soon  proved  too  much  for  him.  At  one  of  the  meet- 
ings on  Tuesday,  when  he  happened  to  be  absent,  a  Social  Demo- 
crat contrived  to  get  himself  elected  chairman,  and  from  that 
moment  the  political  agitators  had  a  free  hand.  They  had  a 
regular  organisation  composed  of  an  organiser,  three  "  oratorical 
agitators,"  and  several  assistant-organisers  who  attended  the  small 
meetings  in  the  operatives'  sleeping-quarters.  Besides  these  there 
were  a  certain  number  of  workmen  already  converted  to  Social 
Democratic  principles  who  had  learned  the  art  of  making  political 
speeches. 

The  reports  of  the  agitators  to  the  central  organisation,  written 
hurriedly  during  this  eventful  week,  are  extremely  graphic  and 
interesting.  They  declared  that  there  is  a  frightful  amount  of 
work  to  be  done  and  very  few  to  do  it.  Their  stock  of  Social 
Democratic  pamphlets  is  exhausted  and  they  are  hoarse  from 
speech-making.  In  spite  of  their  superhuman  efforts  the  masses 
remain  frightfully  "  undeveloped."  The  men  willingly  collect  to 
hear  the  orators,  listen  to  them  attentively,  express  approval  or 
dissent,  and  even  put  questions;  but  with  all  this  they  remain 
obstinately  on  the  ground  of  their  own  immediate  wants,  such 
as  the  increase  of  wages  and  protection  against  brutal  foremen, 


LATEST  PHASE  OF  REVOLUTIOXARY  MOVEMEXT  GOO 

and  they  only  hint  vaguely  at  more  serious  demands.  The 
agitators,  however,  are  e(|ually  obstinate,  and  they  make  a  few 
converts.  To  illustrate  how  conversions  are  made,  the  follow- 
ing incident  is  related.  At  one  meeting  the  cry  of  "  Stop  the 
war!"  is  raised  by  an  orator  without  sufficient  preparation,  and 
at  once  a  voice  is  heard  in  the  audience  saying:  "No,  no!  The 
little  Japs  (Yaposhki)  must  be  beaten!"  Thereupon  a  more 
experienced  orator  comes  forward  and  a  characteristic  conversation 
takes  place: 

"  Have  we  much  land  of  our  own,  my  friends  ?  "  asks  the  orator. 

"  Much  !  "  replies  the  crowd. 

"  Do  we  require  Manchuria  ?  " 

"  No ! " 

"  Who  pays  for  the  war  ?  " 

"  We  do !  " 

"  Are  our  brothers  dying,  and  do  your  wives  and  children  remain 
without  a  bit  of  bread  ?  " 

"  So  it  is !  "  say  many,  with  a  significant  shake  of  the  head. 

Having  succeeded  so  far,  the  orator  tries  to  turn  the  popular 
indignation  against  the  Tsar  by  explaining  that  he  is  to  blame  for 
all  this  misery  and  suffering,  but  Petroff  suddenly  appears  on  the 
scene  and  maintains  that  for  the  misery  and  suffering  the  Tsar  is  not 
at  all  to  blame,  for  he  knows  nothing  about  it.  It  is  all  the  fault 
of  his  servants,  the  tcliinovniks. 

By  this  device  Petroff  suppresses  the  seditious  cry  of  "  Down 
with  autocracy ! "  which  the  Social  Democrats  were  anxious  to 
make  the  watchword  of  the  movement,  but  he  has  thereby  been 
drawn  from  his  strong  position  of  "  No  politics,"  and  he  is  stand- 
ing, as  we  shall  see  presently,  on  a  slippery  incline. 

On  Thursday  and  Friday  the  activity  of  the  leaders  and  the 
excitement  of  the  masses  increase.  While  the  Gaponists  speak 
merely  of  local  grievances  and  material  wants,  the  Social  Demo- 
crats incite  their  hearers  to  a  political  struggle,  advising  them  to 
demand  a  Constituent  Assembly,  and  explaining  the  necessity  for  all 
workmen  to  draw  together  and  form  a  powerful  political  party. 
The  haranguing  goes  on  from  morning  to  night,  and  agitators  drive 
about  from  one  factory  to  another  to  keep  the  excitement  at  fever- 
heat.  The  police,  usually  so  active  on  such  occasions,  do  not  put 
in  an  appearance.  Prince  Sviatopolk  Mirski,  the  honest,  well-inten- 
tioned, liberal  Minister  of  the  Interior,  cannot  make  up  his  mind  to 
act  with  energy,  and  lets  things  drift.  The  agitators  themselves 
are  astonished  at  this  extraordinary  inactivity.     One  of  them,  \,T\t- 


610  EUSSIA 

ing  a  few  days  afterwards,  says :  "  The  police  was  paralysed.  It 
would  have  been  easy  to  arrest  Gapon,  and  discover  the  orators. 
On  Friday  the  clubs  might  have  been  surrounded  and  the  orators 
arrested.  .  .  .  In  a  word,  decided  measures  might  have  been 
taken,  but  they  were  not." 

It  is  not  only  Petroff  that  has  abandoned  his  strong  position  of 
"  No  politics  " ;  Gapon  is  doing  likewise.  The  movement  has  spread 
far  beyond  what  he  expected,  and  he  is  being  carried  away  by  the 
prevailing  excitement.  With  all  his  benevolent  intentions,  he  is 
of  a  nervous,  excitable  nature,  and  his  besetting  sin  is  vanity.  He 
perceives  that  by  resisting  the  Social  Democrats  he  is  losing  his 
hold  on  the  masses.  Early  in  the  week,  as  we  have  seen,  he  began 
to  widen  his  programme  in  the  Social  Democratic  sense,  and  every 
day  he  makes  new  concessions.  Before  the  week  is  finished  a 
Social  Democratic  orator  can  write  triumphantly :  "  In  three  days 
we  have  transformed  the  Gaponist  assemblies  into  political  meet- 
ings ! "  Like  Petroff,  Gapon  seeks  to  defend  the  Tsar,  and  he 
falls  into  Petroff's  strategical  mistake  of  pretending  that  the  Tsar 
knows  nothing  of  the  sufferings  of  his  people.  From  that  admis- 
sion to  the  resolution  that  the  Tsar  must  somehow  be  informed 
personally  and  directly,  by  some  means  outside  of  the  regular 
official  channel,  there  is  but  one  step,  and  that  step  is  quickly  taken. 
On  Friday  morning  Gapon  has  determined  to  present  with  his 
own  hands  a  petition  to  his  Majesty,  and  the  petition  is  already 
drafted,  containing  demands  which  go  far  beyond  workmen's 
grievances.  After  resisting  the  Social  Democratic  agitators  so 
stoutly,  he  is  now  going  over,  bag  and  baggage,  to  the  Social 
Democratic  camp. 

This  wonderful  change  was  consummated  on  Friday  even- 
ing at  a  conference  which  he  held  with  some  delegates  of  the  Social 
Democrats.  From  an  account  written  by  one  of  these  delegates 
immediately  after  the  meeting  we  get  an  insight  into  the  worthy 
priest's  character  and  motives.  In  the  morning  he  had  written 
to  them :  "  I  have  100,000  workmen,  and  I  am  going  with  them 
to  the  Palace  to  present  a  petition.  If  it  is  not  granted,  we  shall 
make  a  revolution.  Do  you  agree?"  They  did  not  like  the  idea, 
because  the  Social  Democratic  policy  is  to  extort  concessions,  not 
to  ask  favours,  and  to  refrain  from  anything  that  might  increase 
the  prestige  of  the  Autocratic  Power.  In  their  reply,  therefore, 
they  consented  simply  to  discuss  the  matter.  I  proceed  now  to 
quote  from  the  delegate's  account  of  what  took  place  at  the  con- 
ference : 


LATEST  PHASE  OF  EEVOLUTIONARY  MOVEMENT  611 

"  The  company  consisted  of  Gapon,  with  two  adherents,  and  five  Social 
Democrats.  All  sat  round  a  table,  and  the  conversation  began.  Gapon 
is  a  good-looking  man,  with  dark  complexion  and  thoughtful,  sympa- 
thetic face.  He  is  evidently  very  tired,  and,  like  the  other  orators,  he 
is  hoarse.  To  the  questions  addressed  to  him,  he  replies :  '  The  mai^ses 
are  at  present  so  electrified  that  you  may  lead  them  wherever  you  like. 
We  shall  go  on  Sunday  to  the  Palace,  and  present  a  petition.  If  we  are 
allowed  to  pass  without  hindrance,  we  shall  march  to  the  Palace  Square, 
and  summon  the  Tsar  from  TsSrskoe  Selo.  We  shall  wait  for  him  till 
the  evening.  When  he  arrives,  I  shall  go  to  him  with  a  deputation,  and 
in  presenting  to  him  the  petition,  I  shall  say :  "  Your  Majesty !  Things 
cannot  go  on  like  this;  it  is  time  to  give  the  people  liberty."  {Tak 
ncJzyd!  Pard  daV  narddu  svoMdu.)  If  he  consents,  we  shall  insist  that 
he  take  an  oath  before  the  people.  Only  then  we  shall  come  away, 
and  when  we  begin  to  work,  it  will  only  be  for  eight  hours  a  day.  If, 
on  the  other  hand,  we  are  prevented  from  entering  the  city,  we  shall 
request  and  beg,  and  if  they  do  not  let  us  pass,  we  shall  force  our  way. 
In  the  Palace  Square  we  shall  find  troops,  and  we  shall  entreat  them  to 
come  over  to  our  side.  If  they  beat  us,  we  shall  strike  back.  There  will 
be  sacrifices,  but  part  of  the  troops  will  come  over  to  us,  and  then,  being 
ourselves  strong  in  numbers,  we  shall  make  a  revolution.  We  shall 
construct  barricades,  pillage  the  armourers'  shops,  break  open  the  prisons, 
and  seize  the  telephones  and  telegraphs.  The  Socialist-Revolutionaries 
have  promised  us  bombs,  and  the  Democrats  money :  and  we  shall  be 
victorious ! '  * 

"  Such,  in  a  few  words,  were  the  ideas  which  Gapon  expounded.  The 
impression  he  made  on  us  was  that  he  did  not  clearly  realise  where  he 
was  going.  Acting  with  sincerity,  he  was  ready  to  die,  but  he  was  con- 
vinced that  the  troops  would  not  fire,  and  that  the  deputation  would  be 
received  by  the  Emperor.  He  did  not  distinguish  between  different 
methods.  Though  not  at  all  a  partisan  of  violent  means,  he  had  become 
infuriated  against  autocracy  and  the  Tsar,  as  was  shown  by  his  lan- 
guage when  he  said :  '  If  that  blockhead  of  a  Tsar  comes  out '  {YesU  etot 
durdk  Tsar  vnidet)  .  .  .  Burning  with  the  desire  to  attain  his  object, 
he  looked  on  revolution  like  a  child,  as  if  it  could  be  accomplished  in  a 
day  with  empty  hands !  " 

Knowing  that  no  previous  preparations  had  been  made  for  a 
revolution  such  as  Gapon  talked  of,  the  Social  Democratic  agents 
tried  to  dissuade  him  from  carrying  out  his  idea  on  Sunday,  but 
he  stood  firm.  He  had  already  committed  himself  publicly  to 
the  project.  At  a  workmen's  meeting  in  another  quarter  (Vas- 
siliostrof)  earlier  in  the  day  he  had  explained  the  petition,  and 
said :  "  Let  us  go  to  the  Winter  Palace  and  summon  the  Emperor, 
and  let  us  tell  him  our  wants ;  if  he  does  not  listen  to  us  we  do  not 

*  This  confirms  the  information  which  comes  to  me  from  other  quar- 
ters that  Gapon  was  already  in  friendly  relations  with  other  i-evolu- 
tionary  gx'oups. 


612  RUSSIA 

require  him  any  longer."  To  a  Social  Democrat  who  shook  him 
warmly  by  the  hand  and  expressed  his  astonishment  that  there 
should  be  such  a  man  among  the  clergy,  he  replied :  "  I  am  no 
longer  a  priest;  I  am  a  fighter  for  liberty!  They  want  to  exile 
me,  and  for  some  nights  I  have  not  slept  at  home."  When  offered 
assistance  to  escape  arrest,  he  answered  laconically :  "  Thanks ;  I 
have  already  a  place  of  refuge."  After  his  departure  from  the 
meeting  one  of  his  friends,  to  whom  he  had  confided  a  copy  of  the 
petition,  rose  and  said :  "  Now  has  arrived  the  great  historical 
moment!  Now  we  can  and  must  demand  rights  and  liberty!" 
After  hearing  the  petition  read  the  meeting  decided  that  if  the 
Tsar  did  not  come  out  at  the  demand  of  the  people  strong  measures 
should  be  taken,  and  one  orator  indicated  pretty  plainly  what  they 
should  be:  "We  don't  require  a  Tsar  who  is  deaf  to  the  woes 
of  the  people;  we  shall  perish  ourselves,  but  we  shall  kill  him. 
Swear  that  you  will  all  come  to  the  Palace  on  Sunday  at  twelve 
o'clock!"    The  audience  raised  their  hands  in  token  of  assent. 

Finding  it  impossible  to  dissuade  Gapon  from  his  purpose,  the 
Social  Democrats  told  him  that  they  would  take  advantage  of  the 
circumstances  independently,  and  that  if  he  was  allowed  to  enter 
the  city  with  his  deputation  they  would  organise  monster  meetings 
in  the  Palace  Square. 

The  imperious  tone  used  by  Gapon  at  the  public  meetings  and 
private  consultations  was  adopted  by  him  also  in  his  letters  to  the 
Minister  of  the  Interior  and  to  the  Emperor.  To  the  former  he 
wrote: 


"The  workmen  and  inhabitants  of  St.  Petersburg  of  various  classes 
desire  to  see  the  Tsar  at  two  o'clock  on  Sunday  in  the  Winter  Palace 
Square,  in  order  to  lay  before  him  personally  their  needs  and  those  of 
the  whole  Russian  people.  .  .  .  Tell  the  Tsar  that  I  and  the  work- 
men, many  thousands  in  number,  have  peacefully,  with  confidence  in 
him,  but  irrevocably,  resolved  to  proceed  to  the  Winter  Palace.  Let 
him  show  his  confidence  by  deeds,  and  not  by  manifestos." 

To  the  Tsar  himself  his  language  was  not  more  respectful : 

"  Sovereign, — I  fear  the  Ministers  have  not  told  you  the  truth  about 
the  situation.  The  whole  people,  trusting  in  you,  has  resolved  to  appear 
at  the  Winter  Palace  at  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  in  order  to  inform 
you  of  its  needs.  If  you  hesitate,  and  do  not  appear  before  the  people, 
then  you  tear  the  moral  bonds  between  you  and  them.  Trust  in  you 
will  disappear,  because  innocent  blood  will  flow.    Appear  to-morrow 


LATEST  PHASE  OF  EEVOLUTIONAEY  MOVEMENT  613 

before  your  people  and  receive  our  address  of  devotion  in  a  courageous 
spirit !  I  and  the  labour  representatives,  my  brave  comrades,  guarantee 
the  inviolability  of  your  person," 

Gapon  was  no  longer  merely  the  president  of  the  Workmen's 
Union:  inebriated  with  the  excitement  he  had  done  so  much  to 
create,  he  now  imagined  himself  the  representative  of  the  oppressed 
Eussian  people,  and  the  heroic  leader  of  a  great  political  revolu- 
tion. In  the  petition  which  he  had  prepared  he  said  little  about 
the  grievances  of  the  St.  Petersburg  workmen  whose  interests  he 
had  a  right  to  advocate,  and  preferred  to  soar  into  much  higher 
regions : 

*'  The  bureaucracy  has  brought  the  country  to  the  verge  of  ruin,  and, 
by  a  shameful  war,  is  bringing  it  to  its  downfall.  We  have  no  voice  in 
the  heavy  burdens  imposed  on  us ;  we  do  not  even  know  for  whom  or 
why  this  money  is  wrung  from  the  impoverished  people,  and  we  do  not 
know  how  it  is  expended.  This  state  of  things  is  contrary  to  the  Divine 
laws,  and  renders  life  unbearable.  Assembled  before  your  palace,  we 
plead  for  our  salvation.  Refuse  not  your  aid ;  raise  your  people  from 
the  tomb,  and  give  them  the  means  of  working  out  their  own  destiny. 
Rescue  them  from  the  intolerable  yoke  of  officialdom ;  throw  down  the 
wall  that  separates  you  from  them,  in  order  that  they  may  rule  with 
you  the  country  that  was  created  for  their  happiness — a  happiness  which 
is  being  wrenched  from  us,  leaving  nothing  but  sorrow  and  humiliation." 

With  an  innate  sentiment  of  autocratic  dignity  the  Emperor 
declined  to  obey  the  imperious  summons,  and  he  thereby  avoided  an 
unseemly  altercation  with  the  excited  priest,  as  well  as  the  boisterous 
public  meetings  which  the  Social  Democrats  were  preparing  to  hold 
in  the  Palace  Square.  Orders  were  given  to  the  police  and  the  troops 
to  prevent  the  crowds  of  workmen  from  penetrating  into  the  centre 
of  the  city  from  the  industrial  suburbs.  The  rest  need  not  be 
described  in  detail.  On  Sunday  the  crowds  tried  to  force  their 
way,  the  troops  fired,  and  many  of  the  demonstrators  were  killed 
or  wounded.  How  many  it  is  impossible  to  say;  between  the 
various  estimates  there  is  an  enormous  discrepancy.  At  one  of  the 
first  volleys  Father  Gapon  fell,  but  he  turned  out  to  be  quite  unhurt, 
and  was  spirited  away  to  his  place  of  refuge,  whence  he  escaped 
across  the  frontier. 

As  soon  as  he  had  an  opportunity  of  giving  public  expression  to 
his  feelings,  he  indulged  in  very  strong  language.  In  his  letters  and 
proclamations  the  Tsar  is  called  a  miscreant  and  an  assassin,  and 
is  described  as  traitorous,  bloodthirsty,  and  bestial.  To  the  min- 
isters he  is  equally  uncomplimentary.     They  appear  to  him  an 


614  EUSSIA 

accursed  band  of  brigands,  Mamelukes,  jackals,  monsters.  Against 
the  Tsar,  "with  his  reptilian  brood,"  and  the  ministers  alike,  he 
vows  vengeance — "  death  to  them  all !"  As  for  the  means  for 
realising  his  sacred  mission,  he  recommends  bombs,  dynamite, 
individual  and  wholesale  terrorism,  popular  insurrection,  and  para- 
lysing the  life  of  the  cities  by  destroying  the  water-mains,  the 
gas-pipes,  the  telegraph  and  telephone  wires,  the  railways  and  tram- 
ways, the  Government  buildings  and  the  prisons.  At  some  moments 
he  seems  to  imagine  himself  invested  with  papal  powers,  for  he 
anathematises  the  soldiers  who  did  their  duty  on  the  eventful  day, 
whilst  he  blesses  and  absolves  from  their  oath  of  allegiance  those 
who  help  the  nation  to  win  liberty. 

So  far  I  have  spoken  merely  of  the  main  currents  in  the  revo- 
lutionary movement.  Of  the  minor  currents — particularly  those 
in  the  outlying  provinces,  where  the  Socialist  tendencies  were 
mingled  with  nationalist  feeling — ■!  shall  have  occasion  to  speak 
when  I  come  to  deal  with  the  present  political  situation  as  a  whole. 
Meanwhile,  I  wish  to  sketch  in  outline  the  foreign  policy  which 
has  powerfully  contributed  to  bring  about  the  present  crisis. 


CHAPTER    XXXVIII 

TERRITORIAL    EXPANSION    AND    FOREIGN    POLICY 

Rapid  Growth  of  Russia — Expansive  Tendency  of  Agricultural  Peoples — 
The  Russo-Slavouians  —  The  Northern  Forest  and  the  Steppe  — 
Colonisation — The  Part  of  the  Government  in  the  Process  of  Ex- 
pansion— Expansion  towards  the  West — Growth  of  the  Empire 
Represented  in  a  Tabular  Form — Commercial  Motive  for  Expansion 
— The  Expansive  Force  in  the  Future — Possibilities  of  Expansion  in 
Europe — Persia,  Afghanistan,  and  India — Trans-Siberian  Railway 
and  WeltpoUtik — A  Grandiose  Scheme — Determined  Opposition  of 
Japan — Negotiations  and  War — Russia's  Imprudence  Explained — 
Conclusion. 

THE  rapid  growth  of  Russia  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  facts 
of  modern  history.  An  insignificant  tribe,  or  collection  of  tribes, 
which,  a  thousand  years  ago,  occupied  a  small  district  near  the 
sources  of  the  Dnieper  and  Western  Dvina,  has  grown  into  a  great 
nation  with  a  territory  stretching  from  the  Baltic  to  the  Northern 
Pacific,  and  from,  the  Polar  Ocean  to  the  frontiers  of  Turkey, 
Persia,  Afghanistan,  and  China.  "We  have  here  a  fact  well  deserv- 
ing of  investigation,  and  as  the  process  is  still  going  on  and  is 
commonly  supposed  to  threaten  our  national  interests,  the  inves- 
tigation ought  to  have  for  us  more  than  a  mere  scientific  interest. 
What  is  the  secret  of  this  expansive  power  ?  Is  it  a  mere  barbarous 
lust  of  territorial  aggrandisement,  or  is  it  some  more  reasonable 
motive?  And  what  is  the  nature  of  the  process?  Is  annexa- 
tion followed  by  assimilation,  or  do  the  new  acquisitions  retain 
their  old  character?  Is  the  Empire  in  its  present  extent  a  homo- 
geneous whole,  or  merely  a  conglomeration  of  heterogenous  units 
held  together  by  the  outward  bond  of  centralised  administration? 
If  we  could  find  satisfactory  answers  to  these  questions,  we  might 
determine  how  far  Russia  is  strengthened  or  weakened  by  her  an- 
nexations of  territory,  and  might  form  some  plausible  conjectures 
as  to  how,  when,  and  where  the  process  of  expansion  is  to  stop. 

By  glancing  at  her  history  from  the  economic  point  of  view  we 
may  easily  detect  one  prominent  cause  of  expansion. 

An  agricultural  people,  employing  merely  the  primitive  methods 
of  agricidture,  has  always  a  strong  tendency  to  widen  its  borders. 

G15 


616  EUSSIA 

The  natural  increase  of  population  demands  a  constantly  increas- 
ing production  of  grain,  whilst  the  primitive  methods  of  cultiva- 
tion exhaust  the  soil  and  steadily  diminish  its  productivity.  With 
regard  to  this  stage  of  economic  development,  the  modest  asser- 
tion of  Malthus,  that  the  supply  of  food  does  not  increase  so 
rapidly  as  the  population,  often  falls  far  short  of  the  truth.  As 
the  population  increases,  the  supply  of  food  may  decrease  not  only 
relatively,  but  absolutely.  When  a  people  finds  itself  in  this  critical 
position,  it  must  adopt  one  of  two  alternatives:  either  it  must 
prevent  the  increase  of  population,  or  it  must  increase  the  produc- 
tion of  food.  In  the  former  case  it  may  legalise  the  custom  of 
"  exposing "  infants,  as  was  done  in  ancient  Greece ;  or  it  may 
regularly  sell  a  large  portion  of  the  young  women  and  children, 
as  was  done  until  recently  in  Circassia;  or  the  surplus  population 
may  emigrate  to  foreign  lands,  as  the  Scandinavians  did  in  the 
ninth  century,  and  as  we  ourselves  are  doing  in  a  more  peaceable 
fashion  at  the  present  day.  The  other  alternative  may  be  effected 
either  by  extending  the  area  of  cultivation  or  by  improving  the 
system  of  agriculture. 

The  Eusso-Slavonians,  being  an  agricultural  people,  experienced 
this  diflBculty,  but  for  them  it  was  not  serious.  A  convenient  way 
of  escape  was  plainly  indicated  by  their  peculiar  geographical  posi- 
tion. They  were  not  hemmed  in  by  lofty  mountains  or  stormy 
seas.  To  the  south  and  east — at  their  very  doors,  as  it  were — lay 
a  boundless  expanse  of  thinly  populated  virgin  soil,  awaiting  the 
labour  of  the  husbandman,  and  ready  to  repay  it  most  liberally. 
The  peasantry  therefore,  instead  of  exposing  their  infants,  selling 
their  daughters,  or  sweeping  the  seas  as  Vikings,  simply  spread  out 
towards  the  east  and  south.  This  was  at  once  the  most  natural  and 
the  wisest  course,  for  of  all  the  expedients  for  preserving  the  equi- 
librium between  population  and  food-production,  increasing  the 
area  of  cultivation  is,  under  the  circumstances  just  described,  the 
easiest  and  most  effective.  Theoretically  the  same  result  might 
have  been  obtained  by  improving  the  method  of  agriculture,  but 
practically  this  was  impossible.  Intensive  culture  is  not  likely  to 
be  adopted  so  long  as  expansion  is  easy.  High  farming  is  a  thing 
to  be  proud  of  when  there  is  a  scarcity  of  land,  but  it  would  be 
absurd  to  attempt  it  where  there  is  abundance  of  virgin  soil  in  the 
vicinity. 

The  process  of  expansion,  thus  produced  by  purely  economic 
causes,  was  accelerated  by  influences  of  another  kind,  especially 
during  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries.     The  increase  in 


TEREITORIAL  EXPANSION  AND  FOREIGN  POLICY     617 

the  number  of  officials,  the  augmentation  of  the  taxes,  the  merciless 
exactions  of  the  Yoyevods  and  their  subordinates,  the  transforma- 
tion of  the  peasants  and  "  free  wandering  people  "  into  serfs,  the 
ecclesiastical  reforms  and  consequent  persecution  of  the  schismatics, 
the  frequent  conscriptions  and  violent  reforms  of  Peter  the  Great — 
these  and  other  kinds  of  oppression  made  thousands  flee  from  their 
homes  and  seek  a  refuge  in  the  free  territory,  where  there  were  no 
officials,  no  tax-gatherers,  and  no  proprietors.  But  the  State, 
with  its  army  of  tax-gatherers  and  officials,  followed  close  on  the 
heels  of  the  fugitives,  and  those  who  wished  to  preserve  their  liberty 
had  to  advance  still  further.  Notwithstanding  the  efforts  of  the 
authorities  to  retain  the  population  in  the  localities  actually  occu- 
pied, the  wave  of  colonisation  moved  steadily  onwards. 

The  vast  territory  which  lay  open  to  the  colonists  consisted  of 
two  contiguous  regions,  separated  from  each  other  by  no  mountains 
or  rivers,  but  widely  differing  from  each  other  in  many  respects. 
The  one,  comprising  all  the  northern  part  of  Eastern  Europe  and 
of  Asia,  even  unto  Kamchatka,  may  be  roughly  described  as  a 
land  of  forests,  intersected  by  many  rivers,  and  containing  numerous 
lakes  and  marshes;  the  other,  stretching  southwards  to  the  Black 
Sea,  and  eastwards  far  away  into  Central  Asia,  is  for  the  most  part 
what  Russians  call  "  the  Steppe,"  and  Americans  would  call  the 
prairies. 

Each  of  these  two  regions  presented  peculiar  inducements  and 
peculiar  obstacles  to  colonisation.  So  far  as  the  facility  of  raising 
grain  was  concerned,  the  southern  region  was  decidedly  preferable. 
In  the  north  the  soil  had  little  natural  fertility,  and  was  covered 
with  dense  forests,  so  that  much  time  and  labour  had  to  be  ex- 
pended in  making  a  clearing  before  the  seed  could  be  sown.*  In 
the  south,  on  the  contrary,  the  squatter  had  no  trees  to  fell,  and  no 
clearing  to  make.  Nature  had  cleared  the  land  for  him,  and 
supplied  him  with  a  rich  black  soil  of  marvellous  fertility,  which 
has  not  yet  been  exhausted  by  centuries  of  cultivation.  Why, 
then,  did  the  peasant  often  prefer  the  northern  forests  to  the  fertile 
Steppe  where  the  land  was  already  prepared  for  him  ? 

For  this  apparent  inconsistency  there  was  a  good  and  valid  reason. 
The  muzhik  had  not,  even  in  those  good  old  times,  any  passionate 
love  of  labour  for  its  own  sake,  nor  was  he  by  any  means  insensible 
to  the  facilities  for  agriculture  afforded  by  the  Steppe.  But  he 
could  not  regard  the  subject  exclusively  from  the  agricultural  point 

*  The  modus  operandi  has  been  already  described ;  vide  supra,  pp.  104 
et  seq. 


618  RUSSIA 

of  view.  He  had  to  take  into  consideration  the  fauna  as  well  as 
the  flora  of  the  two  regions.  At  the  head  of  the  fauna  in  the 
northern  forests  stood  the  peace-loving,  laborious  Finnish  tribes, 
little  disposed  to  molest  settlers  who  did  not  make  themselves 
obnoxiously  aggressive;  on  the  Steppe  lived  the  predatory,  nomadic 
hordes,  ever  ready  to  attack,  plunder,  and  carry  off  as  slaves  the 
peaceful  agricultural  population.  These  facts,  as  well  as  the  agri- 
cultural conditions,  were  known  to  intending  colonists,  and  in- 
fluenced them  in  their  choice  of  a  new  home.  Though  generally 
fearless  and  fatalistic  in  a  higher  degree,  they  could  not  entirely 
overlook  the  dangers  of  the  Steppe,  and  many  of  them  preferred  to 
encounter  the  hard  work  of  the  forest  region. 

These  differences  in  the  character  and  population  of  the  two 
regions  determined  the  character  of  the  colonisation.  Though  the 
colonisation  of  the  northern  regions  was  not  effected  entirely  with- 
out bloodshed,  it  was,  on  the  whole,  of  a  peaceful  kind,  and  conse- 
quently received  little  attention  from  the  contemporary  chroniclers. 
The  colonisation  of  the  Steppe,  on  the  contrary,  required  the  help 
of  the  Cossacks,  and  forms,  as  I  have  already  shown,  one  of  the 
bloodiest  pages  of  European  history. 

Thus,  we  see,  the  process  of  expansion  towards  the  north,  east,  and 
south  may  be  described  as  a  spontaneous  movement  of  the  agricul- 
tural population.  It  must,  however,  be  admitted  that  this  is  an 
imperfect  and  one-sided  representation  of  the  phenomenon.  Though 
the  initiative  unquestionably  came  from  the  people,  the  Government 
played  an  important  part  in  the  movement. 

In  early  times  when  Eussia  was  merely  a  conglomeration  of 
independent  principalities,  the  Princes  were  under  the  moral  and 
political  obligation  of  protecting  their  subjects,  and  this  obligation 
coincided  admirably  with  their  natural  desire  to  extend  their  do- 
minions. When  the  Grand  Princes  of  Muscovy,  in  the  fifteenth 
century,  united  the  numerous  principalities  and  proclaimed  them- 
selves Tsars,  they  accepted  this  obligation  for  the  whole  country, 
and  conceived  much  grander  schemes  of  territorial  aggrandisement. 
Towards  the  north  and  northeast  no  strenuous  efforts  were  required. 
The  Eepublic  of  Novgorod  easily  gained  possession  of  Northern 
Eussia  as  far  as  the  Ural  Mountains,  and  Siberia  was  conquered 
by  a  small  band  of  Cossacks  without  the  authorisation  of  Muscovy, 
so  that  the  Tsars  had  merely  to  annex  the  already  conquered  ter- 
ritory. In  the  southern  region  the  part  played  by  the  Government 
was  very  different.  The  agricultural  population  had  to  be  con- 
stantly protected  along  a  frontier  of  enormous  length,  lying  open 


TEERITOEIAL  EXPANSION  AND  FOREIGN  POLICY     G19 

at  all  points  to  the  incursions  of  nomadic  tribes.  To  prevent  raids 
it  was  necessary  to  keep  up  a  military  cordon,  and  this  means  did 
not  always  ensure  protection  to  those  living  near  the  frontier.  The 
nomads  often  came  in  formidable  hordes,  which  could  be  success- 
fully resisted  only  by  large  armies,  and  sometimes  the  armies  were 
not  large  enough  to  cope  with  them.  Again  and  again  during  the 
thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries  Tartar  hordes  swept  over  the 
country — burning  the  villages  and  to^vns,  and  spreading  devasta- 
tion wherever  they  appeared — and  during  more  than  two  centuries 
Russia  had  to  pay  a  heavy  tribute  to  the  Khans. 

Gradually  the  Tsars  threw  off  this  galling  yoke.  Ivan  the  Ter- 
rible annexed  the  three  Khanates  of  the  Lower  Volga — Kazan,  Kipt- 
tchak,  and  Astrakhan — and  in  that  way  removed  the  danger  of  a 
foreign  domination.  But  permanent  protection  was  not  thereby 
secured  to  the  outlying  provinces.  The  nomadic  tribes  living  near 
the  frontier  continued  their  raids,  and  in  the  slave  markets  of  the 
Crimea  the  living  merchandise  was  supplied  by  Russia  and  Poland. 

To  protect  an  open  frontier  against  the  incursions  of  nomadic 
tribes  three  methods  are  possible:  the  construction  of  a  great  wall, 
the  establishment  of  a  strong  military  cordon,  and  the  permanent 
subjugation  of  the  marauders.  The  first  of  these  expedients, 
adopted  by  the  Romans  in  Britain  and  by  the  Chinese  on  their 
northwestern  frontier,  is  enormously  expensive,  and  was  utterly 
impossible  in  a  country  like  Southern  Russia,  where  there  is  no 
stone  for  building  purposes;  the  second  was  constantly  tried,  and 
constantly  found  wanting;  the  third  alone  proved  practicable  and 
eflScient.  Though  the  Government  has  long  since  recognised  that 
the  acquisition  of  barren,  thinly  populated  steppes  is  a  burden 
rather  than  an  advantage,  it  has  been  induced  to  go  on  making 
annexations  for  the  purpose  of  self-defence,  as  well  as  for  other 
reasons. 

In  consequence  of  this  active  part  which  the  Government  took  in 
the  extension  of  the  territory,  the  process  of  political  expansion 
sometimes  got  greatly  ahead  of  the  colonisation.  After  the  Turkish 
wars  and  consequent  annexations  in  the  time  of  Catherine  II.,  for 
example,  a  great  part  of  Southern  Russia  was  almost  uninhabited, 
and  the  deficiency  had  to  be  corrected,  as  we  have  seen,  by  organised 
emigration.  At  the  present  day,  in  the  Asiatic  provinces,  there  are 
still  immense  tracts  of  unoccupied  land,  some  of  which  are  being 
gradually  colonised. 

If  we  turn  now  from  the  East  to  the  West  we  shall  find  that  the 
expansion  in  this  direction  was  of  an  entirely  different  kind.     The 


630  RUSSIA 

country  lying  to  the  westward  of  the  early  Eusso-Slavonian  settle- 
ments had  a  poor  soil  and  a  comparatively  dense  population,  and 
consequently  held  out  little  inducement  to  emigration.  Besides 
this,  it  was  inhabited  by  warlike  agricultural  races,  who  were  not 
only  capable  of  defending  their  own  territory,  but  even  strongly 
disposed  to  make  encroachments  on  their  eastern  neighbours.  Rus- 
sian expansion  to  the  westward  was,  therefore,  not  a  spontaneous 
movement  of  the  agricultural  population,  but  the  work  of  the 
Government,  acting  slowly  and  laboriously  by  means  of  diplomacy 
and  military  force ;  it  had,  however,  a  certain  historical  justification. 

No  sooner  had  Russia  freed  herself,  in  the  fifteenth  century,  from 
the  Tartar  domination,  than  her  political  independence,  and  even 
her  national  existence,  were  threatened  from  the  West.  Her  western 
neighbours,  were  like  herself,  animated  with  that  tendency  to 
national  expansion  which  I  have  above  described;  and  for  a  time  it 
seemed  doubtful  who  should  ultimately  possess  the  vast  plains  of 
Eastern  Europe.  The  chief  competitors  were  the  Tsars  of  Moscow 
and  the  Kings  of  Poland,  and  the  latter  appeared  to  have  the  better 
chance.  In  close  connection  with  Western  Europe,  they  had  been 
able  to  adopt  many  of  the  improvements  which  had  recently  been 
made  in  the  art  of  war,  and  they  already  possessed  the  rich  valley  of 
the  Dnieper.  Once,  with  the  help  of  the  free  Cossacks,  they  suc- 
ceeded in  overruning  the  whole  of  Muscovy,  and  a  son  of  the  Polish 
king  was  elected  Tsar  in  Moscow.  By  attempting  to  accomplish 
their  purpose  in  a  too  hasty  and  reckless  fashion,  they  raised  a  storm 
of  religious  and  patriotic  fanaticism,  which  very  soon  drove  them  out 
of  their  newly  acquired  possessions.  The  country  remained,  how- 
ever, in  a  very  precarious  position,  and  its  more  intelligent  rulers 
perceived  plainly  that,  in  order  to  carry  on  the  struggle  successfully, 
they  must  import  something  of  that  Western  civilisation  which, 
gave  such  an  advantage  to  their  opponents. 

Some  steps  had  already  been  taken  in  that  direction.  In  the  year 
1553  an  English  navigator,  whilst  seeking  for  a  short  route  to 
China  and  India,  had  accidentally  discovered  the  port  of  Archangel 
on  the  White  Sea,  and  since  that  time  the  Tsars  had  kept  up  an 
intermittent  diplomatic  and  commercial  intercourse  with  England. 
But  this  route  was  at  all  times  tedious  and  dangerous,  and  during 
a  great  part  of  the  year  it  was  closed  by  the  ice.  In  view  of  these 
difficulties  the  Tsars  tried  to  import  "  cunning  foreign  artificers," 
by  way  of  the  Baltic;  but  their  efforts  were  hampered  by  the 
Livonian  Order,  who  at  that  time  held  the  east  coast,  and  who 
considered,  like  the  Europeans  on  the  coast  of  Africa  at  the  present 


TERRITORIAL  EXPANSION  AND  FOREIGN  POLICY    621 

day,  that  the  barharous  natives  of  the  interior  should  not  be  supplied 
with  arms  and  ammunition.  All  the  other  routes  to  the  West  trav- 
ersed likewise  the  territory  of  rivals,  who  might  at  any  time  be- 
come avowed  enemies.  Under  these  circumstances  the  Tsars  nat- 
urally desired  to  break  through  the  barrier  which  hemmed  them 
in,  and  the  acquisition  of  the  eastern  coast  of  the  Baltic  became 
one  of  the  chief  objects  of  Russia's  foreign  policy. 

After  Poland,  Russia's  most  formidable  rival  was  Sweden.  That 
power  early  acquired  a  large  amount  of  territory  to  the  east  of  the 
Baltic — including  the  mouths  of  the  Neva,  where  St.  Petersburg 
now  stands — and  long  harboured  ambitious  schemes  of  further  con- 
quest. In  the  troublous  times  when  the  Poles  overran  the  Tsardora 
of  Muscovy,  she  took  advantage  of  the  occasion  to  annex  a  consid- 
erable amount  of  territory,  and  her  expansion  in  this  direction  went 
on  in  intermittent  fashion  until  it  was  finally  stopped  by  Peter  the 
Great. 

In  comparison  with  these  two  rivals  Russia  was  weak  in  all  that 
regarded  the  art  of  war ;  but  she  had  two  immense  advantages :  she 
had  a  very  large  population,  and  a  strong,  stable  Government  that 
could  concentrate  the  national  forces  for  any  definite  purpose.  All 
that  she  required  for  success  in  the  competition  was  an  army  on  the 
European  model.  Peter  the  Great  created  such  an  army,  and  won 
the  prize.  After  this  the  political  disintegration  of  Poland  pro- 
ceeded rapidly,  and  when  that  unhappy  country  fell  to  pieces  Russia 
naturally  took  for  herself  the  lion's  share  of  the  spoil.  Sweden, 
too,  sank  to  political  insignificance,  and  gradually  lost  all  her  trans- 
Baltic  possessions.  The  last  of  them — the  Grand  Duchy  of  Fin- 
land, which  stretches  from  the  Gulf  of  Finland  to  the  Polar  Ocean 
— was  ceded  to  Russia  by  the  peace  of  Friederichshamm  in  1809. 

The  territorial  extent  of  all  these  acquisitions  will  be  best  shown 
in  a  tabular  form.  The  following  table  represents  the  process  of 
expansion  from  the  time  when  Ivan  III.  united  the  independent 
principalities  and  threw  off  the  Tartar  yoke,  down  to  the  accession 
of  Peter  the  Great  in  1682 : 


English 

Sq.Miles. 

In  1505  the  Tsardom  of  Muscovy  contained  about 

7.S4,(X)0 

"    1533 

900.000 

"    1584 

2,650,000 

"    1598 

3.328,000 

"    1676 

5,448,000 

"    1682 

5,618,000 

Of  these  5,618,000  English  square  miles  about  1,696,000  were  in 


623  EUSSIA 

Europe  and  about  3,922,000  in  Asia.  Peter  the  Great,  though 
famous  as  a  conqueror,  did  not  annex  nearly  so  much  territory  as 
many  of  his  predecessors  and  successors.  At  his  death,  in  1752,  the 
Empire  contained,  in  round  numbers,  1,738,000  square  miles  in 
Europe  and  4,092,000  in  Asia.  The  following  table  shows  the 
subsequent  expansion : 

In  Europe  and 
the  Caucasus.  In  Asia. 

Eng.  sq.  m.  Eng.  sq.  m. 

In  1725  the  Russian  Empire  contained  about  1,738,000  4,092,000 

"    1770  "  "  "  "       1,780,000 4,452,000 

"    1800  "  "  "  "       2,014,000 4,452,000 

"    1825  "  "  "  "       2,226,000 4,452,000 

"    1855  "  "  "  "       2,261,250 5,194.000 

"    1867  "  "  "  "       2,267,360 5.267,560 

"    1897  "  "  "  "      2,267,360 6,382,321 

In  this  table  is  not  included  the  territory  in  the  North-west  of  America 
— containing  about  513,250  English  square  miles — which  was  annexed  to 
Russia  in  1799  and  ceded  to  the  United  States  in  1867. 

When  once  Eussia  has  annexed  she  does  not  readily  relax  her 
grasp.  She  has,  however,  since  the  death  of  Peter  the  Great,  on 
four  occasions  ceded  territory  which  had  come  into  her  possession. 
To  Persia  she  ceded,  in  1729,  Mazanderan  and  Astrabad,  and  in 
1735  a  large  portion  of  the  Caucasus;  in  1856,  by  the  Treaty  of 
Paris,  she  gave  up  the  mouths  of  the  Danube  and  part  of  Bessara- 
bia; in  1867  she  sold  to  the  United  States  her  American  possessions; 
in  1881  she  retroceded  to  China  the  greater  part  of  Kuldja,  which 
she  had  occupied  for  ten  years;  and  now  she  is  releasing  her  hold 
on  Manchuria  under  the  pressure  of  Japan. 

The  increase  in  the  population — due  in  part  to  territorial  acqui- 
sitions— since  1722,  when  the  first  census  was  taken,  has  been  as 
follows : — 

In  1722  the  Empire  contained  about  14  million  inhabitants. 

"  1742  "  "  "  16 

"  1762  "  "  "  19 

"  1782  "  "  "  28 

"  1796  "  "  "  36 

"  1812  "  "  "  41 

"  1815  "  "  "  45 

"  1835  "  "  "  60 

"  1851  "  "  "  68 

"  1858  "  "  "  74 

"  1897  "  "  "  129 

So  much  for  the  past.  To  sum  up,  we  may  say  that,  if  we  have 
read  Eussian  history  aright,  the  chief  motives  of  expansion  have 


TEKEITORIAL  EXPANSION  AND  FOREIGN  POLICY    623 

been  spontaneous  colonisation,  self-defence  against  nomadic  tribes, 
and  high  political  aims,  such  as  the  desire  to  reach  the  sea-coast; 
and  that  the  process  has  been  greatly  facilitated  by  peculiar  geo- 
graphical conditions  and  the  autocratic  form  of  government.  Be- 
fore passing  to  the  future,  I  must  mention  another  cause  of  expan- 
sion which  has  recently  come  into  play,  and  which  has  already 
acquired  very  great  importance. 

Russia  is  rapidly  becoming,  as  I  have  explained  in  a  previous 
chapter,  a  great  industrial  and  commercial  nation,  and  is  anxious 
to  acquire  new  markets  for  her  manufactured  goods.  Though  her 
industries  cannot  yet  supply  her  own  wants,  she  likes  to  peg  out 
claims  for  the  future,  so  as  not  to  be  forestalled  by  more  advanced 
nations.  I  am  not  sure  that  she  ever  makes  a  conquest  exclusively 
for  this  purpose,  but  whenever  it  happens  that  she  has  other  reasons 
for  widening  her  borders,  the  idea  of  acquiring  commercial  ad- 
vantages acts  as  a  subsidiary  incentive,  and  as  soon  as  the  territory 
is  annexed  she  raises  round  it  a  line  of  commercial  fortifications  in 
the  shape  of  custom-houses,  through  which  foreign  goods  have  great 
difficulty  in  forcing  their  way. 

This  policy  is  quite  intelligible  from  the  patriotic  point  of  view, 
but  Russians  like  to  Justify  it,  and  condemn  English  competition, 
on  higher  ground.  England,  they  say,  is  like  a  successful  manu- 
facturer who  has  oustripped  his  rivals  and  who  seeks  to  prevent  any 
new  competitors  from  coming  into  the  field.  By  her  mercantile 
policy  she  has  become  the  great  blood-sucker  of  other  nations.  Hav- 
ing no  cause  to  fear  competition,  she  advocates  the  insidious  princi- 
ples of  Free  Trade,  and  deluges  foreign  countries  with  her  manu- 
factures to  such  an  extent  that  unprotected  native  industries  are 
inevitably  ruined.  Thus  all  nations  have  long  paid  tribute  to 
England,  but  the  era  of  emancipation  had  dawned.  The  fallacies 
of  Free  Trade  have  been  detected  and  exposed,  and  Russia,  like  other 
nations,  has  found  in  the  beneficent  power  of  protective  tariffs  a 
means  of  escape  from  British  economic  thraldom.  Henceforth, 
not  only  the  muzhiks  of  European  Russia,  but  also  the  populations 
of  Central  Asia,  will  be  saved  from  the  heartless  exploitation  of 
Manchester  and  Birmingham — and  be  handed  over,  I  presume, 
to  the  tender  mercies  of  the  manufacturers  of  Moscow  and  St. 
Petersburg,  who  sell  their  goods  much  dearer  than  their  English 
rivals. 

Having  thus  analysed  the  expansive  tendency,  let  us  endeavour 
to  determine  how  the  various  factors  of  which  it  is  composed  are 
acting  in  the  present  and  are  likely  to  act  in  the  future.     In  this 


634  EUSSIA 

investigation  it  will  be  well  to  begin  with  the  simpler,  and  proceed 
gradually  to  the  more  complex  parts  of  the  problem. 

Towards  the  north  and  the  west  the  history  of  Russian  expan- 
sion may  almost  be  regarded  as  closed.  Northwards  there  is  noth- 
ing to  be  annexed  but  the  Arctic  Ocean  and  the  Polar  regions; 
and,  westwards,  annexations  at  the  expense  of  Germany  are  not  to 
be  thought  of.  There  remain,  therefore,  only  Sweden  and  Norway. 
They  may  possibly,  at  some  future  time,  come  within  the  range 
of  Russia's  territorial  appetite,  but  at  present  the  only  part  of  the 
Scandinavian  Peninsula  on  which  she  is  supposed  to  cast  longing 
eyes  is  a  barren  district  in  the  extreme  north,  which  is  said  to 
contain  an  excellent  warm-water  port. 

Towards  the  south-west  there  are  possibilities  of  future  expan- 
sion, and  already  some  people  talk  of  Austrian  Galicia  being  geo- 
graphically and  ethnographically  a  part  of  Russia;  but  so  long  as 
the  Austro-Hungarian  Empire  holds  together  such  possibilities  do 
not  come  within  the  sphere  of  practical  politics. 

Farther  east,  towards  the  Balkan  Peninsula,  the  expansive 
tendency  is  much  more  complicated  and  of  very  ancient  date.  The 
Eusso-Slavs  who  held  the  valley  of  the  Dnieper  from  the  ninth 
to  the  thirteenth  century  belonged  to  those  numerous  frontier 
tribes  which  the  tottering  Byzantine  Empires  attempted  to  ward 
off  by  diplomacy  and  rich  gifts,  and  by  giving  to  the  troublesome 
chiefs,  on  condition  of  their  accepting  Christianity,  princesses  of 
the  Imperial  family  as  brides.  Vladimir,  Prince  of  Kief,  now 
recognised  as  a  Saint  by  the  Russian  Church,  accepted  Christianity 
in  this  way  (A.D.  988),  and  his  subjects  followed  his  example. 
Russia  thus  became  ecclesiastically  a  part  of  the  Patriarchate  of 
Constantinople,  and  the  people  learned  to  regard  Tsargrad — that 
is,  the  City  of  the  Tsar,  as  the  Byzantine  Emperor  was  then  called 
— with  peculiar  veneration. 

All  through  the  long  Tartar  domination,  when  the  nomadic 
hordes  held  the  valley  of  the  Dnieper  and  formed  a  barrier  between 
Russia  and  the  Balkan  Peninsula,  the  capital  of  the  Greek  Orthodox 
world  was  remembered  and  venerated  by  the  Russian  people,  and 
in  the  fifteenth  century  it  acquired  in  their  eyes  a  new  significance. 
At  that  time  the  relative  positions  of  Constantinople  and  Moscow 
were  changed.  Constantinople  fell  under  the  power  of  the  Maho- 
metan Turks,  whilst  Moscow  threw  off  the  yoke  of  the  Mahometan 
Tartars,  the  northern  representatives  of  the  Turkish  race.  The 
Grand  Prince  of  Moscow  thereby  became  the  Protector  of  the  Faith, 
and   in   some   sort   the   successor   of   the   Byzantine    Tsars.     To 


TERRITORIxVL  EXPANSION  xVXD  FOREIGN  POLICY    625 

strengthen  this  claim,  Ivan  III.  married  a  niece  of  the  last  Byzan- 
tine Emperor,  and  his  successors  went  further  in  the  same  direction 
])y  assuming  the  title  of  Tsar,  and  inventing  a  fable  about  their 
ancestor  Rurik  having  been  a  descendant  of  Caesar  Augustus. 

All  this  would  seem  to  a  lawyer,  or  even  to  a  diplomatist,  a  very 
shadowy  title,  and  none  of  the  Russian  monarchs — except  perhaps 
Catherine  II.,  who  conceived  the  project  of  resuscitating  the  Byzan- 
tine Empire,  and  caused  one  of  her  grandsons  to  learn  modern 
Greek,  in  view  of  possible  contingencies — 'ever  thought  seriously 
of  claiming  the  imaginary  heritage;  but  the  idea  that  the  Tsars 
ought  to  reign  in  Tsargrad,  and  that  St.  Sophia,  polluted  by  Moslem 
abominations,  should  be  restored  to  the  Orthodox  Christians,  struck 
deep  root  in  the  minds  of  the  Russian  people,  and  is  still  by  no 
means  extinct.  As  soon  as  serious  disturl)ances  break  out  in  the 
East  the  peasantry  begin  to  think  that  perhaps  the  time  has  come 
for  undertaking  a  crusade  for  the  recovery  of  the  Holy  City  on  the 
Bosphorus,  and  for  the  liberation  of  their  brethren  in  the  faith 
who  groan  under  Turkish  bondage. 

Essentially  different  from  this  religious  sentiment,  but  often 
blended  with  it,  is  a  vague  feeling  of  racial  affinity,  which  has  long 
existed  among  the  various  Slav  nationalities,  and  which  was  greatly 
developed  during  last  century  by  writers  of  the  Panslavist  school. 
When  Germans  and  Italians  were  striving  after  political  inde- 
pendence and  unity,  it  naturally  occurred  to  the  Slavs  that  they 
might  do  likewise.  The  idea  became  popular  among  the  subject 
Slav  nationalities  of  Austria  and  Turkey,  and  it  awoke  a  certain 
amount  of  enthusiasm  in  Moscow,  where  it  was  hoped  that  "all 
the  Slav  streams  would  unite  in  the  great  Russian  Sea."  It 
required  no  great  political  perspicacity  to  foresee  that  in  any  con- 
federation of  Slav  nationalities  the  hegemony  must  necessarily 
devolve  on  Russia,  the  only  Slav  State  which  has  succeeded  in 
becoming  a  Great  Power. 

Those  two  currents  of  national  feeling  ran  parallel  to,  and  inter- 
mingled with,  the  policy  of  the  Government.  Desirous  of  becom- 
ing a  great  naval  Power,  Russia  has  always  striven  to  reach  the 
sea-coast  and  o])tain  good  harl)Ours.  In  the  north  and  north-west 
she  succeeded  in  a  certain  degree,  but  neither  the  \Yliite  Sea  nor 
the  Baltic  satisfied  her  requirements,  and  she  naturally  turned  her 
eyes  to  the  Mediterranean.  With  difficulty  she  gained  possession 
of  the  northern  shores  of  the  Black  Sea,  but  her  designs  were 
tliereby  only  half  realised,  because  the  Turks  hold  the  only  outlet 
to  the  Mediterranean,  and  could  effectually  blockade,  so  far  as  the 


626  RUSSIA 

open  sea  is  concerned,  all  her  Black  Sea  ports,  without  employing 
a  single  ship  of  war.  Thus  the  possession  of  the  Straits,  involving 
necessarily  the  possession  of  Constantinople,  became  a  cardinal  point 
of  Russia's  foreign  policy.  Any  description  of  the  various  methods 
adopted  by  her  at  different  times  for  the  attainment  of  this  end 
does  not  enter  into  my  present  programme,  but  I  may  say  briefly 
that  the  action  of  the  three  factors  above  mentioned — the  religious 
feeling,  the  Panslavist  sentiment,  and  the  political  aims — has  never 
been  better  exemplified  than  in  the  last  struggle  with  Turkey,  cul- 
minating in  the  Treaty  of  San  Stefano  and  the  Congress  of  Berlin. 

For  all  classes  in  Russia  the  result  of  that  struggle  was  a  feeling 
of  profound  disappointment.  The  peasantry  bewailed  the  fact 
that  the  Crescent  on  St.  Sophia  had  not  been  replaced  by  the  Cross ; 
the  Slavophil  patriots  were  indignant  that  the  "  little  brothers " 
had  shown  themselves  unworthy  of  the  generous  efforts  and  sacrifices 
made  on  their  behalf,  and  that  a  portion  of  the  future  Slav  confed- 
eration had  passed  under  the  domination  of  Austria ;  and  the  Gov- 
ernment recognised  that  the  acquisition  of  the  Straits  must  be 
indefinitely  postponed.  Then  history  repeated  itself.  After  the 
Crimean  War,  in  accordance  with  Prince  Gortchakoff's  famous  epi- 
gram. La  Russie  ne  houde  pas  elle  se  recueille,  the  Government 
had  for  some  years  abandoned  an  active  policy  in  Europe,  and 
devoted  itself  to  the  work  of  internal  reorganisation;  whilst  the 
military  party  had  turned  their  attention  to  making  new  acquisi- 
tions of  territory  and  influence  in  Asia.  In  like  manner,  after 
the  Turkish  campaign  of  1877-78,  Alexander  III.,  turning  his 
back  on  the  Slav  brethren,  inaugurated  an  era  of  peace  in  Europe 
and  of  territorial  expansion  in  the  East.  In  this  direction  the 
expansive  force  was  not  affected  by  religious  feeling,  or  Panslavist 
sentiment,  and  was  controlled  and  guided  by  purely  political  con- 
siderations. It  is  consequently  much  easier  to  determine  in  this 
field  of  action  what  the  political  aims  really  are. 

In  Asia,  as  in  Europe,  the  dominant  factor  in  the  policy  of  the 
Government  has  been  the  desire  to  reach  the  sea-coast ;  and  in  both 
continents  the  ports  first  acquired  were  in  northern  latitudes  where 
the  coasts  are  free  from  ice  during  only  a  part  of  the  year.  In 
this  respect,  Nikolaefsk  and  Vladivostok  in  the  Far  East  correspond 
to  Archangel  and  St.  Petersburg  in  Europe.  Such  ports  could  not 
fulfil  all  the  requirements,  and  consequently  the  expansive  tendency 
turned  southwards — in  Europe  towards  the  Black  Sea  and  the 
Mediterranean,  and  in  Asia  towards  the  Persian  Gulf,  the  Indian 
Ocean  and  the  Gulf  of  Pechili. 


TERRITORIAL  EXPAXSIOX  AND  FOREIGX  POLICY    627 

In  Persia  the  Russian  Government  pursues  the  policy  of  pacific 
infiltration,  and  already  the  northern  half  of  the  Shah's  dominions 
is  pretty  well  permeated  with  Russian  influence,  commercial  and 
political.  In  the  southern  half  the  infiltration  is  to  some  extent 
checked  by  physical  obstacles  and  British  influence,  Ijut  it  is  steadily 
advancing,  and  the  idea  of  obtaining  a  port  on  the  Persian  Gulf 
is  coming  within  the  range  of  practical  politics. 

In  Afghanistan  also  the  pressure  is  felt,  and  here  too  the  expan- 
sive tendency  meets  with  opposition  from  England.  ]\Iore  than 
once  the  two  great  Powers  have  come  dangerously  near  to  war — 
notably  in  1885,  at  the  moment  of  the  Penjdeh  incident,  when 
the  British  Parliament  voted  £11,000,000  for  military  preparations. 
Fortunately  on  that  occasion  the  problem  was  solved  by  diplomacy. 
The  northern  frontier  of  Afghanistan  was  demarcated  by  a  joint 
commission,  and  an  agreement  was  come  to  by  which  this  line 
should  form  the  boundary  of  the  British  and  Russian  spheres  of 
influence.  For  some  years  Russia  scrupulously  respected  this 
agreement,  but  during  our  South  African  difiiculties  she  showed 
symptoms  of  departing  from  it,  and  at  one  moment  orders  were 
issued  from  St.  Petersburg  for  a  military  demonstration  on  the 
Afghan  frontier.  Strange  to  say,  the  military  authorities,  who 
are  usually  very  bellicose,  deprecated  such  a  movement,  on  the 
ground  that  a  military  demonstration  in  a  country  like  Afghanistan 
might  easily  develop  into  a  serious  campaign,  and  that  a  serious 
campaign  ought  not  to  be  undertaken  in  that  region  until 
after  the  completion  of  the  strategical  railways  from  Orenburg  to 
Tashkent. 

As  this  important  line  has  now  been  completed,  and  other 
strategic  lines  are  in  contemplation,  the  question  arises  whether 
Russia  meditates  an  attack  on  India.  It  is  a  question  which  is 
not  easily  answered.  Xo  doubt  there  are  many  Russians  who  think 
it  would  be  a  grand  thing  to  annex  our  Indian  Empire,  with  its 
teeming  millions  and  its  imaginary  fabulous  treasures,  and  not 
a  few  young  officers  imagine  that  it  would  be  an  easy  task.  Further, 
it  is  certain  that  the  problem  of  an  invasion  has  been  studied  by 
the  Headquarters  Staff  in  St.  Petersburg,  just  as  the  problem  of 
an  invasion  of  England  has  been  studied  by  the  Headquarters  Staff 
in  Berlin.  It  may  be  pretty  safely  asserted,  however,  that  the 
idea  of  a  conquest  of  India  has  never  been  seriously  entertained 
in  the  Russian  official  world.  AVhat  has  been  seriously  entertained, 
not  only  in  the  official  world,  but  by  the  Government  itself,  is  the 
idea — strongly  recommended  by  the  late  General  Skobelef — that 


G38  EUSSIA 

Eussia  should,  as  quickly  as  possible,  get  within  striking  distance 
of  our  Indian  possessions,  so  that  she  may  always  be  able  to  bring 
strong  diplomatic  pressure  on  the  British  Government,  and  in  the 
event  of  a  conflict  immobilise  a  large  part  of  the  British  army. 

The  expansive  tendency  in  the  direction  of  the  Persian  Gulf 
and  the  Indian  Ocean  was  considerably  weakened  by  the  completion 
of  the  Trans-Siberian  Eailway  and  the  rapid  development  of  an 
aggressive  policy  in  the  Far  East.  Never,  perhaps,  has  the  con- 
struction of  a  single  line  produced  such  deep  and  lasting  changes 
in  the  sphere  of  Weltpolitik. 

As  soon  as  the  Trans-Siberian  was  being  rapidly  constructed  a 
magnificent  prospect  opened  up  to  the  gaze  of  imaginative  poli- 
ticians in  St.  Petersburg.  The  foreground  was  Manchuria  a 
region  of  364,000  square  miles,  endowed  by  nature  with  enormous 
mineral  resources,  and  presenting  a  splendid  field  for  agricultural 
colonisation  and  commercial  enterprise.  Beyond  was  seen  Korea, 
geographically  an  appendix  of  Manchuria,  possessing  splendid 
harbours,  and  occupied  by  an  effete,  unwarlike  population,  wholly 
incapable  of  resisting  a  European  Power.  That  was  quite  enough 
to  inflame  the  imagination  of  patriotic  Eussians;  but  there  was 
something  more,  dimly  perceived  in  the  background.  Once  in 
possession  of  Manchuria,  supplied  with  a  network  of  railways, 
Eussia  would  dominate  Peking  and  the  whole  of  Northern  China, 
and  she  would  thus  be  able  to  play  a  decisive  part  in  the  approach- 
ing struggle  of  the  European  Powers  for  the  Far-Eastern  Sick 
Man's  inheritance. 

Of  course  there  were  obstacles  in  the  way  of  realising  this 
grandiose  scheme,  and  there  were  some  cool  heads  in  St.  Peters- 
burg who  were  not  slow  to  point  them  out.  In  the  first  place  the 
undertaking  must  be  extremely  costly,  and  the  economic  condition 
of  Eussia  proper  was  not  such  as  to  justify  the  expenditure  of  an 
enormous  capital  which  must  be  for  many  years  unproductive.  Any 
superfluous  capital  which  the  country  might  possess  was  much 
more  urgently  required  for  purposes  of  internal  development,  and 
the  impoverished  agricultural  population  ought  not  to  be  drained 
of  their  last  meagre  reserves  for  the  sake  of  gigantic  political 
schemes  which  did  not  directly  contribute  to  their  material  welfare. 
To  this  the  enthusiastic  advocates  of  the  forward  policy  replied 
that  the  national  finances  had  never  been  in  such  a  prosperous 
condition,  that  the  revenue  was  increasing  by  leaps  and  bounds, 
that  the  money  invested  in  the  proposed  enterprise  would  soon  be 
repaid  with  interest;  and  that  if  Eussia  did  not  at  once  seize  the 


TEERITORIAL  EXPANSION"  AND  FOREIGN  ROLICY     G29 

opportunity  she  would  find  herself  forestalled  l)y  energetic  rivals, 
Tliere  was  still,  however,  one  formidable  objection.  Such  an 
enormous  increase  of  Russia's  power  in  the  Far  East  would  inevita- 
bly arouse  the  jealousy  and  opposition  of  other  Powers,  especially 
of  Japan,  for  whom  the  future  of  Korea  and  Manchuria  was  a 
question  of  life  and  death.  Here  again  these  advocates  of  the  for- 
ward policy  had  their  answer  ready.  They  declared  that  the  danger 
was  more  apparent  than  real.  In  Far-Eastern  diplomacy  the 
European  Powers  could  not  compete  with  Russia,  and  they  might 
easily  be  bought  off  by  giving  them  a  very  modest  share  of  the 
spoil ;  as  for  Japan,  she  was  not  formidable,  for  she  was  just  emerg- 
ing from  Oriental  barbarism,  and  all  her  boasted  progress  was 
nothing  more  than  a  thin  veneer  of  European  civilisation.  As 
the  Moscow  patriots  on  the  eve  of  the  Crimean  "War  said  contemp- 
tuously of  the  Allies,  "  "We  have  only  to  throw  our  hats  at  them," 
so  now  the  believers  in  Russia's  historic  mission  in  the  Far  East 
spoke  of  their  future  opponents  as  "  monkeys  "  and  "  parrots." 

The  war  between  China  and  Japan  in  1894-5,  terminating  in 
the  Treaty  of  Shimonoseki,  which  ceded  to  Japan  the  Liaotung 
Peninsula,  showed  Russia  that  if  she  was  not  to  be  forestalled  she 
must  be  up  and  doing.  She  accordingly  formed  a  coalition  with 
France  and  Germany,  and  compelled  Japan  to  withdraw  from  the 
mainland,  on  the  pretext  that  the  integrity  of  China  must  be 
maintained.  In  this  way  China  recovered,  for  a  moment,  a  bit 
of  lost  territory,  and  further  benefits  were  conferred  on  her  by  a 
guarantee  for  a  foreign  loan,  and  by  the  creation  of  the  Russo- 
Chinese  Bank,  which  would  assist  her  in  her  financial  affairs.  For 
these  and  other  favours  she  was  expected  to  be  grateful,  and  it  was 
suggested  to  her  that  her  gratitude  might  take  the  form  of  facilitat- 
ing the  construction  of  the  Trans-Siberian  Railway.  If  constructed 
wholly  on  Russian  territory  the  line  would  have  to  make  an 
enormous  bend  to  the  northward,  whereas  if  it  went  straight  from 
Lake  Baikal  to  Vladivostok  it  would  be  very  much  shorter,  and 
would  confer  a  very  great  benefit  on  the  north-eastern  provinces 
of  the  Celestial  Empire.  This  benefit,  moreover,  might  be  greatly 
increased  by  making  a  branch  line  to  Talienwan  and  Port  Arthur, 
which  would  some  day  be  united  with  Peking.  Gradually  Li- 
Hung-Chang  and  other  influential  Chinese  officials  were  induced 
to  sympathise  with  the  scheme,  and  a  concession  was  granted  for 
the  direct  line  to  Vladivostok  through  Chinese  territory. 

The  retrocession  of  the  Liaotung  Peninsula  had  not  been  effected 
by  Russia  alone.     Germany  and  France  had  co-operated,  and  they 


630  EUSSIA 

also  expected  from  China  a  mark  of  gratitude  in  some  tangible 
form.  On  this  point  the  statesmen  of  Berlin  held  very  strong 
views,  and  they  thought  it  advisable  to  obtain  a  material  guarantee 
for  the  fulfilment  of  their  expectations  by  seizing  Kiaochau,  on 
the  ground  that  German  missionaries  had  been  murdered  by  Chinese 
fanatics. 

For  Eussia  this  was  a  most  unwelcome  incident.  She  had  ear- 
marked Kiaochau  for  her  own  purposes,  and  had  already  made  an 
agreement  with  the  authorities  in  Peking  that  the  harbour  might  be 
used  freely  by  her  fleet.  And  this  was  not  the  worst.  The  inci- 
dent might  inaugurate  an  era  of  partition  for  which  she  was  not 
yet  prepared,  and  another  port  which  she  had  earmarked  for  her 
own  use  might  be  seized  by  a  rival.  Already  English  ships  of  war 
were  reported  to  be  prowling  about  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Liaotung 
Peninsula.  She  hastened  to  demand,  therefore,  as  a  set-ofE  for 
the  loss  of  Kiaochau,  a  lease  of  Port  Arthur  and  Talienwan,  and 
a  railway  concession  to  unite  these  ports  with  the  Trans-Siberian 
Eailway.  The  Chinese  Government  was  too  weak  to  think  of  refus- 
ing the  demands,  and  the  process  of  gradually  absorbing  Man- 
churia began,  in  accordance  with  a  plan  already  roughly  sketched 
out  in  St.  Petersburg. 

In  the  light  of  a  few  authentic  documents  and  many  subsequent 
events,  the  outline  of  this  plan  can  be  traced  with  tolerable  accuracy. 
In  the  region  through  which  the  projected  railways  were  to  run 
there  was  a  large  marauding  population,  and  consequently  the 
labourers  and  the  works  would  have  to  be  protected ;  and  as  Chinese 
troops  can  never  be  thoroughly  relied  on,  the  protecting  force 
must  be  Eussian.  Under  this  rather  transparent  disguise  a  small 
army  of  occupation  could  be  gradually  introduced,  and  in  establish- 
ing a  modus  vivendi  between  it  and  the  Chinese  civil  and  military 
authorities  a  predominant  influence  in  the  local  administration 
could  be  established.  At  the  same  time,  by  energetic  diplomatic 
action  at  Peking,  which  would  be  brought  within  striking-distance 
by  the  railways,  all  rival  foreign  influences  might  be  excluded 
from  the  occupied  provinces,  and  the  rest  might  be  left  to  the 
action  of  "spontaneous  infiltration."  Thus,  while  professing 
to  uphold  the  principle  of  the  territorial  integrity  of  the  Celes- 
tial Empire,  the  Cabinet  of  St.  Petersburg  might  practically 
annex  the  whole  of  Manchuria  and  transform  Port  Arthur  into 
a  great  naval  port  and  arsenal,  a  far  more  effectual  "  Dominator 
of  the  East"  than  Vladivostok,  which  was  intended,  as  its  name 
implies,  to  fulfil  that  function.     From  Manchuria  the  political 


TEREITOEIAL  EXPANSION  AND  FOREIGN  POLICY    631 

influence  and  the  spontaneous  infiltration  would  naturally  extend 
to  Korea,  and  on  the  deeply  indented  coast  of  the  Hermit  Kingdom 
new  ports  and  arsenals,  far  more  spacious  and  strategically  more 
important  than  Port  Arthur,  might  be  constructed. 

The  grandiose  scheme  was  carefully  laid,  and  for  a  time  it  was 
favoured  by  circumstances.  In  1900  the  Boxer  troubles  Justified 
Eussia  in  sending  a  large  force  into  j\Ianchuria,  and  enabled  her 
subsequently  to  play  the  part  of  China's  protector  against  the 
inordinate  demands  of  the  Western  Powers  for  compensation  and 
guarantees.  For  a  moment  it  seemed  as  if  the  slow  process  of 
gradual  infiltration  might  be  replaced  by  a  more  expeditious  mode 
of  annexation.  As  the  dexterous  diplomacy  of  Ignatief  in  1858 
had  induced  the  Son  of  Heaven  to  cede  to  Eussia  the  rich  Primorsk 
provinces  between  the  Amur  and  the  sea,  as  compensation  for 
Eussian  protection  against  the  English  and  French,  who  had  burnt 
his  Summer  Palace,  so  his  successor  might  now  perhaps  be  induced 
to  cede  Manchuria  to  the  Tsar  for  similar  reasons. 

No  such  cession  actually  took  place,  but  the  Eussian  diplomatists 
in  Peking  could  use  the  gratitude  argument  in  support  of  their 
demands  for  an  extension  of  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  "  tem- 
porary "  occupation ;  and  when  China  sought  to  resist  the  pressure 
by  leaning  on  the  rival  Powers  she  found  them  to  be  little  better 
than  broken  reeds.  France  could  not  openly  oppose  her  ally,  and 
Germany  had  reasons  of  her  own  for  conciliating  the  Tsar,  whilst 
England  and  the  United  States,  though  avowedly  opposing  the 
scheme  as  dangerous  to  their  commercial  interests,  were  not  pre- 
pared to  go  to  war  in  defence  of  their  policy.  It  seemed,  there- 
fore, that  by  patience,  tenacity  and  diplomatic  dexterity  Eussia 
might  ultimately  attain  her  ends;  but  a  surprise  was  in  store  for 
her.  There  was  one  Power  which  recognised  that  her  own  vital 
interests  were  at  stake,  and  which  was  ready  to  undertake  a  life- 
and-death  struggle  in  defence  of  them. 

Though  still  smarting  under  the  humiliation  of  her  expulsion 
from  the  Liaotung  Peninsula  in  1895,  and  watching  with  the 
keenest  interest  every  move  in  the  political  game,  Japan  had  re- 
mained for  some  time  in  the  background,  and  had  confined  her 
efl;orts  to  resisting  Eussian  influence  in  Korea  and  supporting 
diplomatically  the  Powers  who  were  upholding  the  policy  of  the 
open  door.  Now,  when  it  had  become  evident  that  the  Western 
Powers  would  not  prevent  the  realisation  of  the  Eussian  scheme, 
she  determined  to  intervene  energetically,  and  to  stake  her  national 
existence  on  the  result.     Ever  since  1895  she  had  been  makiniy 


632  EUSSIA 

military  and  naval  preparations  for  the  day  of  the  revanche,  and 
now  that  day  was  at  hand.  Against  the  danger  of  a  coalition  such 
as  had  checkmated  her  on  the  previous  occasion  she  was  pro- 
tected by  the  alliance  which  she  had  concluded  with  England  in 
1902,  and  she  felt  confident  that  with  Eussia  alone  she  was  quite 
capable  of  dealing  single-handed.  Her  position  is  briefly  and 
graphically  described  in  a  despatch,  telegraphed  at  that  time  (28th 
July,  1903)  by  the  Japanese  Government  to  its  representative 
at  St.  Petersburg,  instructing  him  to  open  negotiations : 

"  The  recent  conduct  of  Russia  in  making  new  demands  at  Peking  and 
tightening  her  hold  upon  Manchuria  has  led  the  Imperial  Government  to 
believe  that  she  must  have  abandoned  her  intention  of  retiring  from  that 
province.  At  the  same  time,  her  increased  activity  upon  the  Korean 
frontier  is  such  as  to  raise  doubts  as  to  the  limits  of  her  ambition.  The 
unconditional  and  permanent  occupation  of  Manchuria  by  Russia  would 
create  a  state  of  things  prejudicial  to  the  security  and  interests  of  Japan. 
The  principle  of  equal  opportunity  (the  open  door)  would  thereby  be 
annulled,  and  the  territorial  integrity  of  China  impaired.  There  is,  how- 
ever, a  still  more  serious  consideration  for  the  Japanese  Government.  If 
Russia  were  established  on  the  flank  of  Korea  she  would  constantly 
menace  the  separate  existence  of  that  Empire,  or  at  least  exercise  in  it  a 
predominant  influence ;  and  as  Japan  considers  Korea  an  important  out- 
post in  her  line  of  defence,  she  regards  its  independence  as  absolutely 
essential  to  her  own  repose  and  safety.  Moreover,  the  political  as  well 
as  commercial  and  industrial  interests  and  influence  which  Japan  pos- 
sesses in  Korea  are  paramount  over  those  of  other  Powers ;  she  cannot, 
having  regard  to  her  own  security,  consent  to  surrender  them  to,  or  share 
them  with,  another  Power." 

In  accordance  with  this  view  of  the  situation  the  Japanese  Gov- 
ernment informed  Count  Lamsdorff  that,  as  it  desired  to  remove 
from  the  relations  of  the  two  Empires  every  cause  of  future  mis- 
understanding, it  would  be  glad  to  enter  with  the  Imperial  Eussian 
Government  upon  an  examination  of  the  condition  of  affairs  in  the 
Far  East,  with  a  view  to  defining  the  respective  special  interests 
of  the  two  countries  in  those  regions. 

Though  Count  Lamsdorff  accepted  the  proposal  with  apparent 
cordiality  and  professed  to  regard  it  as  a  means  of  preventing  any 
outsider  from  sowing  the  seeds  of  discord  between  the  two  countries, 
the  idea  of  a  general  discussion  was  not  at  all  welcome.  Careful 
definition  of  respective  interests  was  the  last  thing  the  Eussian 
Government  desired.  Its  policy  was  to  keep  the  whole  situation 
in  a  haze  until  it  had  consolidated  its  position  in  Manchuria  and 
on  the  Korean  frontier  to  such  an  extent  that  it  could  dictate 
its  own  terms  in  any  future  arrangement.     It  could  not,  however. 


TEERITOEIAL  EXPANSION  AXD  FOREIGX  POLICY     633 

consistently  with  its  oft-repeated  declarations  of  disinterestedness 
and  love  of  peace,  decline  to  discuss  the  subject.  It  consented, 
therefore,  to  an  exchange  of  views,  but  in  order  to  ensure  that  the 
tightening  of  its  hold  on  the  territories  in  question  should  proceed 
pari  passu  with  the  diplomatic  action,  it  made  an  extraordinary 
departure  from  ordinary  procedure,  entrusting  the  conduct  of  the 
affair,  not  to  Count  Lamsdorff  and  the  Foreign  Office,  but  to 
Admiral  Alexeyef,  the  newly  created  Viceroy  of  the  Far  East,  in 
whom  was  vested  the  control  of  all  civil,  military,  naval,  and 
diplomatic  affairs  relating  to  that  part  of  the  world. 

From  the  commencement  of  the  negotiations,  which  lasted  from 
August  12th,  1903,  to  February  6th,  1904,  the  irreconcilable  dif- 
ferences of  the  two  rivals  became  apparent,  and  all  through  the 
correspondence,  in  which  a  few  apparent  concessions  were  offered 
by  Japan,  neither  Power  retreated  a  step  from  the  positions  origi- 
nally taken  up.  What  Japan  suggested  was,  roughly  speaking,  a 
mutual  engagement  to  uphold  the  independence  and  integrity 
of  the  Chinese  and  Korean  empires,  and  at  the  same  time  a  bilateral 
arrangement  by  which  the  special  interests  of  the  two  contracting 
parties  in  Manchuria  and  in  Korea  should  be  formally  recognised, 
and  the  means  of  protecting  them  clearly  defined.  The  scheme 
did  not  commend  itself  to  the  Russians.  They  systematically 
ignored  the  interests  of  Japan  in  Manchuria,  and  maintained  that 
she  had  no  right  to  interfere  in  any  arrangements  they  might  think 
fit  to  make  with  the  Chinese  Government  with  regard  to  that 
province.  In  their  opinion,  Japan  ought  to  recognise  formally 
that  Manchuria  lay  outside  her  sphere  of  interest,  and  the  negotia- 
tions should  be  confined  to  limiting  her  freedom  of  action  in  Korea. 

With  such  a  wide  divergence  in  principle  the  two  parties  were 
not  likely  to  agree  in  matters  of  detail.  Their  conflicting  aims 
came  out  most  clearly  in  the  question  of  the  open  door.  The 
Japanese  insisted  on  obtaining  the  privileges  of  the  open  door, 
including  the  right  of  settlement  in  Manchuria,  and  Russia 
obstinately  refused.  Having  marked  out  j\ranchuria  as  a  close 
reserve  for  her  own  colonisation,  trade,  and  industry,  and  knowing 
that  she  could  not  compete  with  the  Japanese  if  they  were  freely 
admitted,  she  could  not  adopt  the  principle  of  "  equal  opportunity  " 
which  her  rivals  recommended.  A  fidus  achates  of  Admiral 
Alexeyef  explained  to  me  quite  frankly,  during  the  negotiations, 
why  no  concessions  could  be  made  on  that  point.  In  the  work  of 
establishing  law  and  order  in  Manchuria,  constructing  roads, 
bridges,  railways,  and  towns,  Russia  had  expended  an  enormous 


634  EUSSIA 

sum — estimated  Idj  Count  Cassini  at  £60,000,000 — and  until  that 
capital  was  recovered,  or  until  a  reasonable  interest  was  derived 
from  the  investment,  Kussia  could  not  think  of  sharing  with  any  one 
the  fruits  of  the  prosperity  which  she  had  created. 

We  need  not  go  further  into  the  details  of  the  negotiations. 
Japan  soon  convinced  herself  that  the  onward  march  of  the  Colossus 
was  not  to  be  stopped  by  paper  barricades,  and  knowing  well  that 
her  actual  military  and  naval  superiority  was  being  rapidly  dimin- 
ished by  Eussia's  warlike  preparations,*  she  suddenly  broke  off 
diplomatic  relations  and  commenced  hostilities. 

Eussia  thus  found  herself  engaged  in  a  war  of  the  first  magni- 
tude, of  which  no  one  can  predict  the  ultimate  consequences,  and 
the  question  naturally  arises  as  to  why,  with  an  Emperor  who  lately 
aspired  to  play  in  politics  the  part  of  a  great  peacemaker,  she 
provoked  a  conflict,  for  which  she  was  very  imperfectly  prepared — 
imposing  on  herself  the  obligation  of  defending  a  naval  fortress, 
hastily  constructed  on  foreign  territory,  and  united  with  her  base 
by  a  single  line  of  railway  6,000  miles  long.  The  question  is  easily 
answered:  she  did  not  believe  in  the  possibility  of  war.  The 
Emperor  was  firmly  resolved  that  he  would  not  attack  Japan,  and 
no  one  would  admit  for  a  moment  that  Japan  could  have  the 
audacity  to  attack  the  great  Eussian  Empire.  In  the  late  autumn 
of  1903,  it  is  true,  a  few  well-informed  officials  in  St.  Petersburg, 
influenced  by  the  warnings  of  Baron  Eosen,  the  Eussian  Minister 
in  Tokio,  began  to  perceive  that  perhaps  Japan  would  provoke  a 
conflict,  but  they  were  convinced  that  the  military  and  naval  prepa- 
rations already  made  were  quite  sufficient  to  repel  the  attack.  One 
of  these  officials — probably  the  best  informed  of  all — said  to  me 
quite  frankly :  "  If  Japan  had  attacked  us  in  May  or  June,  we 
should  have  been  in  a  sorry  plight,  but  now  [November,  1903]  we 
are  ready." 

The  whole  past  history  of  territoral  expansion  in  Asia  tended  to 
confirm  the  prevailing  illusions.  Eussia  had  advanced  steadily 
from  the  Ural  and  the  Caspian  to  the  Hindu  Kush  and  the 
Northern  Pacific  without  once  encountering  serious  resistance.  Not 
once  had  she  been  called  on  to  make  a  great  national  effort,  and  the 

*  According  to  an  estimate  made  by  the  Japanese  authorities,  between 
April,  1903,  and  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  Russia  increased  her  naval  and 
military  forces  in  the  Far  East  by  nineteen  war  vessels,  aggregating 
82,415  tons,  and  40,000  soldiers.  In  addition  to  this,  one  battleship,  three 
cruisers,  seven  torpedo  destroyers,  and  four  torpedo  boats,  aggregating 
about  37,040  tons,  were  on  their  way  to  the  East,  and  preparations  had 
been  made  for  increasing  the  land  forces  by  200.000  men.  For  further 
details,  see  Asakawa,  "The  Russo-Japanese  Conflict"  (London,  1904), 
pp.  352-54. 


TERRITOEIAL  EXPANSION  AND  FOREIGN  POLICY    635 

armed  resistance  of  the  native  races  liad  never  inflicted  on  her 
anything  worse  than  pin-pricks.  From  decrepit  China,  which 
possessed  no  army  in  the  European  sense  of  the  term,  a  more  ener- 
getic resistance  was  not  to  be  expected.  Had  not  Muravieff  Amurski 
with  a  few  Cossacks  quietly  occupied  her  Amur  territories  without 
provoking  anything  more  dangerous  than  a  diplomatic  protest ; 
and  had  not  Ignatief  annexed  her  rich  Primorsk  provinces,  includ- 
ing the  site  of  Vladivostok,  by  purely  diplomatic  means?  Why 
should  not  Count  Cassini,  a  diplomatist  of  the  same  type  as  Igna- 
tief, imitate  his  adroit  predecessor,  and  secure  for  Russia,  if  not 
the  formal  annexation,  at  least  the  permanent  occupation,  of  Man- 
churia? Remembering  all  this,  we  can  perceive  that  the  great 
mistake  of  the  Russian  Government  is  not  so  very  difficult  to 
explain.  It  certainly  did  not  want  war — far  from  it — but  it  wanted 
to  obtain  Manchuria  by  a  gradual,  painless  process  of  absorption, 
and  it  did  not  perceive  that  this  could  not  be  attained  without  a 
life-and-death  struggle  with  a  young,  vigorous  nationality,  which 
has  contrived  to  combine  the  passions  and  virtues  of  a  primitive 
race  with  the  organising  powers  and  scientific  appliances  of  the 
most  advanced  civilisation. 

Russian  territorial  expansion  has  thus  been  checked,  for  some 
years  to  come,  on  the  Pacific  coast;  but  the  expansive  tendency 
will  re-appear  soon  in  other  regions,  and  it  behooves  us  to  be  watch- 
ful, because,  whatever  direction  it  may  take,  it  is  likely  to  affect 
our  interests  directly  or  indirectly.  Will  it  confine  itself  for  some 
years  to  a  process  of  infiltration  in  Mongolia  and  Northern  Thibet, 
the  line  of  least  resistance?  Or  will  it  impinge  on  our  Indian 
frontier,  directed  by  those  who  desire  to  avenge  themselves  on 
Japan's  ally  for  the  reverses  sustained  in  Manchuria?  Or  will 
it  once  more  take  the  direction  of  the  Bosphorous,  where  a  cam- 
paign might  be  expected  to  awaken  religious  and  warlike  enthu- 
siasm among  the  masses?  To  these  questions  I  cannot  give  any 
answer,  because  so  much  depends  on  the  internal  consequences 
of  the  present  war,  and  on  accidental  circumstances  which  no  one 
can  at  present  foresee.  I  have  always  desired,  and  still  desire,  that 
we  should  cultivate  friendly  relations  with  our  great  rival,  and 
that  we  should  learn  to  appreciate  the  many  good  qualities  of  her 
people ;  but  I  have  at  the  same  time  always  desired  that  we  should 
keep  a  watchful  eye  on  her  irrepressible  tendency  to  expand,  and 
that  we  should  take  timely  precautions  against  any  unprovoked 
aggression,  however  justifiable  it  may  seem  to  her  from  the  point 
of  view  of  her  own  national  interests. 


CHAPTER   XXXIX 

THE     PRESENT     SITUATION 

Reform  or  Revolution? — Reigns  of  Alexander  II.  and  Nicholas  II.  Com- 
pared and  Contrasted — The  Present  Opposition — Various  Groups — 
The  Constitutionalists — Zemski  Sobors — The  Young  Tsar  Dispels 
Illusions — Liberal  Frondeurs — Plehve's  Repressive  Policy — Discon- 
tent Increased  by  the  War — Relaxation  and  Wavering  under  Prince 
Mirski — Reform  Enthusiasm — The  Constitutionalists  Formulate 
their  Demands — The  Social  Democrats — Father  Gapon's  Demon- 
stration— The  Socialist-Revolutionaries — The  Agrarian  Agitators — 
The  Subject-Nationalities — Numerical  Strength  of  the  Various 
Groups — ^All  United  on  One  Point — Their  Different  Aims — Possible 
Solutions  of  the  Crisis — Difficulties  of  Introducing  Constitutional 
Regime — A  Strong  Man  Wanted — Uncertainty  of  the  Future. 

IS  history  about  to  repeat  itself,  or  are  we  on  the  eve  of  a  cata- 
clysm? Is  the  reign  of  Xicholas  II.  to  be,  in  its  main  lines,  a 
repetition  of  the  reign  of  Alexander  II.,  or  is  Eussia  about  to  enter 
on  an  entirely  new  phase  of  her  political  development? 

To  this  momentous  question  I  do  not  profess  to  give  a  categorical 
answer.  If  it  be  true,  even  in  ordinary  times,  that  "  of  all  forms 
of  human  folly,  prediction  is  the  most  gratuitous,"  it  is  especially 
true  at  a  moment  like  the  present,  when  we  are  constantly  reminded 
of  the  French  proverb  that  there  is  nothing  certain  but  the  unfore- 
seen. All  I  can  hope  to  do  is  to  throw  a  little  light  on  the  ele- 
ments of  the  problem,  and  allow  the  reader  to  draw  his  own 
conclusions. 

Between  the  present  situation  and  the  early  part  of  Alexander 
II.'s  reign  there  is  undoubtedly  a  certain  analogy.  In  both  cases 
we  find  in  the  educated  classes  a  passionate  desire  for  political 
liberty,  generated  by  long  years  of  a  stern,  autocratic  regime,  and 
stimulated  by  military  disasters  for  which  autocracy  is  held  respon- 
sible ;  and  in  both  cases  we  find  the  throne  occupied  by  a  Sovereign 
of  less  accentuated  political  convictions  and  less  energetic  char- 
acter than  his  immediate  predecessor.  In  the  earlier  case,  the 
autocrat,  showing  more  perspicacity  and  energy  than  were  expected 
of  him,  guides  and  controls  the  popular  enthusiasm,  and  post- 
pones the  threatened  political  crisis  by  effecting  a  series  of  far- 

G36 


THE    PKESEXT    SITUATION  637 

reaching  and  beneficent  reforms.  In  the  present  case  .  .  . 
tlie  description  of  the  result  must  be  left  to  future  historians.  For 
the  moment,  all  we  can  say  is  that  between  the  two  situations 
there  are  as  many  points  of  difference  as  of  analogy.  After  tlie 
Crimean  War  the  enthusiasm  was  of  a  vague,  eclectic  kind,  and 
consequently  it  could  find  satisfaction  in  practical  administrative 
reforms  not  affecting  the  essence  of  the  Autocratic  Power,  the\ 
main  pivot  round  which  the  Empire  has  revolved  for  centuries. 
Xow,  on  the  contrary,  it  is  precisely  on  this  pivot  that  the  reform 
enthusiasm  is  concentrated.  Mere  bureaucratic  reforms  can  no 
longer  give  satisfaction.  All  sections  of  the  educated  classes,  with 
the  exception  of  a  small  group  of  Conservative  doctrinaires,  insist 
on  obtaining  a  controlling  influence  in  the  government  of  the 
country,  and  demand  that  the  Autocratic  Power,  if  not  abolished, 
shall  be  limited  by  parliamentary  institutions   of  a   democratic 

t}T)e.  ^ 

Another  difference  between  the  present  and  the  past,  is  that  those 
who  now  clamour  for  radical  changes  are  more  numerous,  more 
courageous,  and  better  organised  than  their  predecessors,  and  they 
are  consequently  better  able  to  bring  pressure  to  bear  on  the 
Government.  Formerly  the  would-be  reformers  were  of  two  cate- 
gories; on  the  one  hand,  the  Constitutionalists,  who  remained 
within  the  bounds  of  legality,  and  confined  themselves  to  inserting 
vague  hints  in  loyal  addresses  to  the  Tsar  and  making  mild  politi- 
cal demonstrations;  and  on  the  other  hand,  the  so-called  Nihilists, 
who  talked  about  organising  society  on  Socialistic  principles,  and 
who  hoped  to  attain  their  object  by  means  of  secret  associations. 
With  both  of  these  groups,  as  soon  as  they  became  aggressive,  the 
Government  had  no  difficulty  in  dealing  effectually.  The  leading 
Constitutionalists  were  simply  reprimanded  or  ordered  to  remain 
for  a  time  in  their  country  houses,  while  the  more  active  revolu- 
tionaries were  exiled,  imprisoned,  or  compelled  to  take  refuge 
abroad.  All  this  gave  the  police  a  good  deal  of  trouble,  especially 
when  the  Nihilists  took  to  Socialist  propaganda  among  the  com- 
mon people,  and  to  acts  of  terrorism  against  the  officials ;  but  the 
existence  of  the  Autocratic  Power  was  never  seriously  endangered. 
Nowadays  the  Liberals  have  no  fear  of  official  reprimands,  and 
openly  disregard  the  orders  of  the  authorities  about  holding  meet- 
ings and  making  speeches,  while  a  large  section  of  the  Socialists 
proclaim  themselves  a  Social  Democratic  party,  enrol  large  numbers 
of  working  men,  organise  formidable  strikes,  and  make  monster 
demonstrations  leading  to  bloodshed. 


638  KUSSIA 

Let  us  now  examine  this  new  Opposition  a  little  more  closely. 
We  can  perceive  at  a  glance  that  it  is  composed  of  two  sections, 
differing  widely  from  each  other  in  character  and  aims.  On  the 
one  hand,  there  are  the  Liberals,  who  desire  merely  political 
reforms  of  a  more  or  less  democratic  type;  on  the  other,  there  are 
the  Socialists,  who  aim  at  transforming  thoroughly  the  existing 
economic  organisation  of  Society,  and  who,  if  they  desire  parlia- 
mentary institutions  at  all,  desire  them  simply  as  a  stepping  stone 
to  the  realisation  of  the  Socialist  ideal.  Behind  the  Socialists, 
and  to  some  extent  mingling  with  them,  stand  a  number  of  men 
belonging  to  the  various  subject-nationalities,  who  have  placed 
themselves  under  the  Socialist  banner,  but  who  hold,  more  or  less 
concealed,  their  little  national  flags,  ready  to  be  unfurled  at  the 
proper  moment. 

Of  these  three  sections  of  the  Opposition,  the  most  numerous  and 
the  best  prepared  to  undertake  the  functions  and  responsibilities 
of  government  is  that  of  the  Liberals.  The  movement  which  they 
represent  began  immediately  after  the  Crimean  War,  when  the 
upper  ranks  of  society,  smarting  under  defeat  and  looking  about 
for  the  cause  of  the  military  disasters,  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
Autocracy  had  been  put  to  a  crucial  test,  and  found  wanting.  The 
outburst  of  patriotic  indignation  at  that  time  and  the  eager  desire 
for  a  more  liberal  regime  have  been  described  in  previous  chapters. 
For  a  moment  the  more  sanguine  critics  of  the  Government 
imagined  that  the  Autocratic  Power,  persuaded  of  its  own  ineflB- 
ciency,  would  gladly  accept  the  assistance  of  the  educated  classes, 
and  would  spontaneously  transform  itself  into  a  Constitutional 
Monarchy,  In  reality  Alexander  11.  had  no  such  intentions.  He 
was  resolved  to  purify  the  administration  and  to  reform  as  far 
as  possible  all  existing  abuses,  and  he  seemed  ready  at  first  to 
listen  to  the  advice  and  accept  the  co-operation  of  his  faithful 
subjects;  but  he  had  not  the  slightest  intention  of  limiting  his 
supreme  authority,  which  he  regarded  as  essential  to  th€  existence 
of  the  Empire.  As  soon  as  the  landed  proprietors  began  to  com- 
plain that  the  great  question  of  serf  emancipation  was  being 
taken  out  of  their  hands  by  the  bureaucracy,  he  reminded  them 
that  "in  Russia  laws  are  made  by  the  Autocratic  Power,"  and 
when  the  more  courageous  Marshals  of  Noblesse  ventured  to 
protest  against  the  unceremonious  manner  in  which  the  nobles 
were  being  treated  by  the  tchinovniTcs,  some  of  them  were  officially 
reprimanded  and  others  were  deposed. 

The  indignation  produced  by  this  procedure,  in  which  the  Tsar 


THE    PRESENT    SITUATION  639 

identified  himself  with  the  bureaucracy,  was  momentarily  appeased 
by  the  decision  of  the  Government  to  entrust  to  the  landed  pro- 
prietors the  carrying  out  of  the  Emancipation  law,  and  by  the 
confident  hope  that  political  rights  would  be  granted  them  as 
compensation  for  the  material  sacrifices  they  had  made  for  the  good 
of  the  State ;  but  when  they  found  that  this  confident  hope  was  an 
illusion,  the  indignation  and  discontent  reappeared. 

There  was  still,  however,  a  ray  of  hope.  Though  the  Autocratic 
Power  was  evidently  determined  not  to  transform  itself  at  once  into 
a  limited  Constitutional  Monarchy,  it  might  make  concessions  in 
the  sphere  of  local  self-government.  At  that  moment  it  was  creat- 
ing the  Zemstvo,  and  the  Constitutionalists  hoped  that  these  new 
institutions,  though  restricted  legally  to  the  sphere  of  purely  eco- 
nomic wants,  might  gradually  acquire  a  considerable  political  influ- 
ence. Learned  Germans  had  proved  that  in  England,  "  the  mother 
of  modern  Constitutionalism,"  it  was  on  local  self-government  that 
the  political  liberties  w^ere  founded,  and  the  Slavophils  now  sug- 
gested that  by  means  of  an  ancient  institution  called  the  Zemski 
Sober,  the  Zemstvo  might  gradually  and  naturally  acquire  a  politi- 
cal character  in  accordance  with  Russian  historic  development.  As 
this  idea  has  often  been  referred  to  in  recent  discussions,  I  may 
explain  briefly  what  the  ancient  institution  in  question  was. 

In  the  Tsardom  of  Muscovy  during  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth 
centuries  representative  assemblies  were  occasionally  called  together 
to  deal  with  matters  of  exceptional  importance,  such  as  the  election 
of  a  Tsar  when  the  throne  became  vacant,  a  declaration  of  war,  the 
conclusion  of  a  peace,  or  the  preparation  of  a  new  code  of  laws. 
Some  fifteen  assemblies  of  the  kind  were  convoked  in  the  space  of 
about  a  century  (1550-1653).  They  were  composed  largely  of  oSi- 
cials  named  ])y  the  Government,  but  they  contained  also  some  rep- 
resentatives of  the  unofficial  classes.  Their  procedure  was  peculiar. 
"When  a  speech  from  the  throne  had  been  read  by  the  Tsar  or  his 
representative,  explaining  the  question  to  be  decided,  the  assembly 
transformed  itself  into  a  large  number  of  commissions,  and  each 
commission  had  to  give  in  writing  its  opinion  regarding  the  ques- 
tions submitted  to  it.  The  opinions  thus  elicited  were  codified  by 
the  oflBcials  and  submitted  to  the  Tsar,  and  he  was  free  to  adopt  or 
reject  them,  as  he  thought  fit.  "We  may  say,  therefore,  that  the 
Zemski  Sober  was  merely  consultative  and  had  no  legislative  power ; 
but  we  must  add  that  it  was  allowed  a  certain  initiative,  because  it 
was  permitted  to  submit  to  the  Tsar  humble  petitions  regarding 
anything  which  it  considered  worthy  of  attention. 


640  EUSSIA 

Alexander  II.  might  have  adopted  this  Slavophil  idea  and  used 
the  Zemski  Sobor  as  a  means  of  transition  from  pure  autocracy  to 
a  more  modern  system  of  government,  but  he  had  no  sooner  created 
the  Zemstvo  than  he  thought  it  necessary,  as  we  have  seen,  to  clip 
its  wings,  and  dispel  its  political  ambition.  By  this  repressive 
policy  the  frondeur  spirit  of  the  Noblesse  was  revived,  and  it  has 
continued  to  exist  down  to  the  present  time.  On  each  occasion  when 
I  revisited  Eussia  and  had  an  opportunity  of  feeling  the  pulse  of 
public  opinion,  between  1876  and  1903,  I  noticed  that  the  dissatis- 
faction with  the  traditional  methods  of  government,  and  the  desire 
of  the  educated  classes  to  obtain  a  share  of  the  political  power,  not- 
withstanding short  periods  of  apparent  apathy,  were  steadily 
spreading  in  area  and  increasing  in  intensity,  and  I  often  heard 
predictions  that  a  disastrous  foreign  war  like  the  Crimean  cam- 
paign would  probably  bring  about  the  desired  changes.  Of  those 
who  made  such  predictions  not  a  few  showed  clearly  that,  though 
patriotic  enough  in  a  certain  sense,  they  would  not  regret  any  mili- 
tary disaster  which  would  have  the  effect  they  anticipated.  Prog- 
ress in  the  direction  of  political  emancipation,  accompanied  by 
radical  improvements  in  the  administration,  was  evidently  regarded 
as  much  more  important  and  desirable  than  military  prestige  or 
extension  of  territory. 

During  the  first  part  of  the  Turkish  campaign  of  1877-78,  when 
the  Eussian  armies  were  repulsed  in  Bulgaria  and  Asia  Minor,  the 
hostility  to  autocracy  was  very  strong,  and  the  famous  acquittal  of 
Vera  Zasulitch,  who  had  attempted  to  assassinate  General  Trepof, 
caused  widespread  satisfaction  among  people  who  were  not  them- 
selves revolutionaries  and  who  did  not  approve  of  such  violent 
methods  of  political  struggle.  Towards  the  end  of  the  war,  when 
the  tide  of  fortune  had  turned  both  in  Europe  and  in  Asia,  and 
the  Eussian  army  was  encamped  under  the  walls  of  Constantinople, 
within  sight  of  St.  Sophia,  the  Chauvinist  feelings  gained  the  upper 
hand,  and  they  were  greatly  intensified  by  the  Congress  of  Berlin, 
which  deprived  Eussia  of  some  fruits  of  her  victories. 

This  change  in  public  feeling  and  the  horror  excited  by  the 
assassination  of  Alexander  II.  prepared  the  way  for  Alexander 
III.'s  reign  (1881-94),  which  was  a  period  of  political  stagnation. 
He  was  a  man  of  strong  character,  and  a  vigorous  ruler  who  be- 
lieved in  Autocracy  as  he  did  in  the  dogmas  of  his  Church;  and 
very  soon  after  his  accession  he  gave  it  clearly  to  be  understood  that 
he  would  permit  no  limitations  of  the  Autocratic  Power,  The  men 
with  Liberal  aspirations  knew  that  nothing  would  make  him  change 


THE    PEESENT    SITUxVTIOX  641 

his  mind  on  that  subject,  and  that  any  Liberal  demonstrations 
would  merely  confirm  him  in  his  reactionary  tendencies.  They 
accordingly  remained  quiet  and  prudently  waited  for  better  times. 

The  better  times  were  supposed  to  liave  come  when  Nicholas  II. 
ascended  the  throne  in  November,  1894,  because  it  was  generally 
assumed  that  the  young  Tsar,  who  was  known  to  be  humane  and 
well-intentioned,  would  inaugurate  a  more  liberal  policy.  Before 
he  had  been  three  months  on  the  throne  he  summarily  destroyed 
these  illusions.  On  17th  (29th)  January,  1895,  when  receiving 
deputies  from  the  Noblesse,  the  Zemstvo,  and  the  municipalities, 
who  had  come  to  St.  Petersburg  to  congratulate  him  on  his  mar- 
riage, he  declared  his  confidence  in  the  sincerity  of  the  loyal  feel- 
ings which  the  delegates  expressed;  and  then,  to  the  astonishment 
of  all  present,  he  added:  "It  is  known  to  me  that  recently,  in 
some  Zemstvo  assemblies,  were  heard  the  voices  of  people  who  had 
let  themselves  be  carried  away  l)y  absurd  dreams  of  the  Zemstvo 
representatives  taking  part  in  the  affairs  of  internal  administra- 
tion ;  let  them  know  that  I,  devoting  all  my  efforts  to  the  prosperity 
of  the  nation,  will  preserve  the  principles  of  autocracy  as  firmly 
and  unswervingly  as  my  late  father  of  imperishable  memory." 

These  words,  pronounced  by  the  young  ruler  at  the  commence- 
ment of  his  reign,  produced  profound  disappointment  and  dissat- 
isfaction in  all  sections  of  the  educated  classes,  and  from  that 
moment  the  frondeur  spirit  began  to  show  itself  more  openly  than 
at  any  previous  period.  In  the  case  of  some  people  of  good  social 
position  it  took  the  unusual  form  of  speaking  disrespectfully  of 
his  Majesty.  Others  supposed  that  the  Emperor  had  simply 
repeated  words  prepared  for  him  by  the  Minister  of  the  Interior, 
and  this  idea  spread  rapidly,  till  hostility  to  the  bureaucracy  be- 
came universal. 

This  feeling  reached  its  climax  when  the  ]\Iinistry  of  the  Interior 
was  confided  to  M.  Plehve.  His  immediate  predecessors,  though 
sincere  believers  in  autocracy  and  very  hostile  to  Liberalism  of  all 
kinds,  considered  that  the  Liberal  ideas  might  be  rendered  harm- 
less by  firm  passive  resistance  and  mild  reactionary  measures.  He, 
on  the  contrary,  took  a  more  alarmist  view  of  the  situation.  His 
appointment  coincided  with  the  revival  of  terrorism,  and  he  believed 
that  autocracy  was  in  danger.  To  save  it,  the  only  means  was,  in 
his  opinion,  a  vigorous,  repressive  police  administration,  and  as  he 
was  a  man  of  strong  convictions  and  exceptional  energy,  he  screwed 
up  his  system  of  police  supervision  to  the  sticking-point  and  applied 
it  to  the  Liberals  as  well  as  to  the  terrorists.     In  the  year  1903, 


642  EUSSIA 

if  we  may  credit  information  which  comes  from  an  apparently 
trustworthy  source,  no  less  than  1,988  political  affairs  were  initiated 
by  the  police,  and  4,867  persons  were  condemned  inquisitorially  to 
various  punishments  without  any  regular  trial. 

Whilst  this  unpopular  rigorism  was  in  full  force  the  war  unex- 
pectedly broke  out,  and  added  greatly  to  the  existing  discontent. 

Very  few  people  in  Kussia  had  been  following  closely  the  recent 
developments  of  the  Far  Eastern  Question,  and  still  fewer  under- 
stood their  importance.  There  seemed  to  be  nothing  abnormal  in 
what  was  taking  place.  Eussia  was  expanding,  and  would  continue 
to  expand  indefinitely,  in  that  direction,  without  any  strenuous 
effort  on  her  part.  Of  course  the  English  would  try  to  arrest  her 
progress  as  usual  by  diplomatic  notes,  but  their  efforts  would  be 
as  futile  as  they  had  been  on  all  previous  occasions.  They  might 
incite  the  Japanese  to  active  resistance,  but  Japan  would  not 
commit  the  insane  folly  of  challenging  her  giant  rival  to  mortal  com- 
bat. The  whole  question  could  be  settled  in  accordance  with  Eus- 
sian  interests,  as  so  many  similar  questions  had  been  settled  in  the 
past,  by  a  little  skilful  diplomacy;  and  ]\Ianchuria  could  be  ab- 
sorbed, as  the  contiguous  Chinese  provinces  had  been  forty  years 
ago,  without  the  necessity  of  going  to  war. 

When  these  comforting  illusions  were  suddenly  destroyed  by  the 
rupture  of  diplomatic  relations  and  the  naval  attack  on  Port  Arthur, 
there  was  an  outburst  of  indignant  astonishment.  At  first  the 
indignation  was  directed  against  Japan  and  England,  but  it  soon 
turned  against  the  home  Government,  which  had  made  no  adequate 
preparations  for  the  struggle,  and  it  was  intensified  by  current 
rumours  that  the  crisis  had  been  wantonly  provoked  by  certain 
influential  personages  for  purely  personal  reasons. 

How  far  the  accounts  of  the  disorders  in  the  military  organisa- 
tion and  the  rumours  about  pilfering  in  high  quarters  were  true, 
we  need  not  inquire.  True  or  false,  they  helped  greatly  to  make 
the  war  unpopular,  and  to  stimulate  the  desire  for  political  changes. 
Under  a  more  liberal  and  enlightened  regime  such  things  were 
supposed  to  be  impossible,  and,  as  at  the  time  of  the  Crimean  War, 
public  opinion  decided  that  autocracy  was  being  tried,  and  found 
wanting. 

So  long  as  the  stern,  uncompromising  Plehve  was  at  the  Ministry 
of  the  Interior,  enjoying  the  Emperor's  confidence  and  directing 
the  police  administration,  public  opinion  was  prudent  and  reserved 
in  its  utterances,  but  when  he  was  assassinated  by  a  terrorist  (July 
28th,  1904),  and  was  succeeded  by  Prince  Sviatopolk  Mirski,  a 


THE    PRESENT    SITUATION  643 

humane  man  of  Liberal  views,  the  Constitutionalists  thought  that 
the  time  had  come  for  making  known  their  grievances  and  demands, 
and  for  bringing  pressure  to  bear  on  the  Emperor.  First  came 
forward  the  leading  members  of  the  Zemstvos.  After  some  prelimi- 
nary consultation  they  assembled  in  St,  Petersburg,  with  the  con- 
sent of  the  authorities,  in  the  hope  that  they  would  be  allowed  to 
discuss  publicly  the  political  wants  of  the  country,  and  prepare  the 
draft  of  a  Constitution.  Their  wishes  were  only  partially  acceded 
to.  They  were  informed  semi-oflBcially  that  their  meetings  must 
be  private,  but  that  they  might  send  their  resolutions  to  the  Min- 
ister of  the  Interior  for  transmission  to  his  Majesty.  A  memoran- 
dum was  accordingly  drawn  up  and  signed  on  November  21st  by 
102  out  of  the  104  representatives  present. 

This  hesitating  attitude  on  the  part  of  the  Government  encour- 
aged other  sections  of  the  educated  classes  to  give  expression  to 
their  long  pent-up  political  aspirations.  On  the  heels  of  the 
Zemstvo  delegates  appeared  the  barristers,  who  discussed  the  exist- 
ing evils  from  the  juridical  point  of  view,  and  prescribed  what 
they  considered  the  necessary  remedies.  Then  came  municipalities 
of  the  large  towns,  corporations  of  various  kinds,  academic  leagues, 
medical  faculties,  learned  societies,  and  miscellaneous  gatherings, 
all  demanding  reforms.  Great  banquets  were  organised,  and  very 
strong  speeches,  which  would  have  led  in  Plehve's  time  to  the 
immediate  arrest  of  the  orators,  were  delivered  and  published 
without  provoking  police  intervention. 

In  the  memorandum  presented  to  the  Minister  of  the  Interior 
by  the  Zemstvo  Congress,  and  in  the  resolutions  passed  by  the 
other  corporate  bodies,  we  see  reflected  the  grievances  and  aspira- 
tions of  the  great  majority  of  the  educated  classes. 

The  theory  propounded  in  these  documents  is  that  a  lawless, 
arbitrary  bureaucracy,  which  seeks  to  exclude  the  people  from  all 
participation  in  the  management  of  public  affairs,  has  come  between 
the  nation  and  the  Supreme  Power,  and  that  it  is  necessary  to 
eliminate  at  once  this  baneful  intermediary  and  inaugurate  the 
so-called  "reign  of  law."  For  this  purpose  the  petitioners  and 
orators  demanded : 

(1)  Inviolability  of  person  and  domicile,  so  that  no  one  should 
be  troubled  by  the  police  without  a  warrant  from  an  independent 
magistrate,  and  no  one  punished  without  a  regular  trial; 

(2)  Freedom  of  conscience,  of  speech,  and  of  the  Press,  to- 
gether with  the  right  of  holding  public  meetings  and  forming 
associations ; 


644  EUSSIA 

(3)  Greater  freedom  and  increased  activity  of  the  local  self- 
government,  rural  and  municipal; 

(4)  An  assembly  of  freely  elected  representatives,  who  should 
participate  in  the  legislative  activity  and  control  the  administra- 
tion in  all  its  branches ; 

( 5 )  The  immediate  convocation  of  a  constituent  assembly,  which 
should  frame  a  Constitution  on  these  lines. 

Of  these  requirements  the  last  two  are  considered  by  far  the 
most  important.  The  truth  is  that  the  educated  classes  have  come 
to  be  possessed  of  an  ardent  desire  for  genuine  parliamentary  insti- 
tutions on  a  broad,  democratic  basis,  and  neither  improvements  in 
the  bureaucratic  organisation,  nor  even  a  Zemski  Sobor  in  the 
sense  of  a  Consultative  Assembly,  would  satisfy  them.  They  imag- 
ine that  with  a  full-fledged  constitution  they  would  be  guaranteed, 
not  only  against  administrative  oppression,  but  even  against  mili- 
tary reverses  such  as  they  have  recently  experienced  in  the  Far 
East — an  opinion  in  which  those  who  know  by  experience  how  mili- 
tary unreadiness  and  inefficiency  can  be  combined  with  parlia- 
mentary institutions  will  hardly  feel  inclined  to  concur. 

It  may  surprise  English  readers  to  learn  that  the  corruption  and 
venality  of  the  civil  and  military  administration,  of  which  we  have 
recently  heard  so  much,  are  nowhere  mentioned  in  the  complaints 
and  remonstrances;  but  the  fact  is  easily  accounted  for.  Though 
corrupt  practices  undoubtedly  exist  in  some  branches  of  the  public 
service,  they  are  not  so  universal  as  is  commonly  supposed  in  West- 
ern Europe;  and  the  Russian  reformers  evidently  consider  that 
the  purifying  of  the  administration  is  less  urgent  than  the  acqui- 
sition of  political  liberties,  or  that  under  an  enlightened  democratic 
regime  the  existing  abuses  would  spontaneously  disappear. 

The  demands  put  forward  in  St.  Petersburg  did  not  meet  with 
■universal  approval  in  Moscow.  There  they  seemed  excessive  and 
un-Russian,  and  an  attempt  was  made  to  form  a  more  moderate 
party.  In  the  ancient  Capital  of  the  Tsars  even  among  the  Lib- 
erals there  are  not  a  few  who  have  a  sentimental  tenderness  for  the 
Autocratic  Power,  and  they  argue  that  parliamentary  government 
would  be  very  dangerous  in  a  country  which  is  still  far  from  being 
homogeneous  or  compact.  To  maintain  the  integrity  of  the  Em- 
pire, and  to  hold  the  balance  equally  between  the  various  races  and 
social  classes  of  which  the  population  is  composed,  it  is  necessary, 
they  think,  to  have  some  permanent  authority  above  the  sphere  of 
party  spirit  and  electioneering  strife.  While  admitting  that  the 
Government  in  its  present  bureaucratic  form  is  unsatisfactory  and 


THE    PRESENT    SITUATION  645 

stands  in  need  of  being  enlightened  by  tlie  unofficial  classes,  they 
think  that  a  Consultative  Assembly  on  the  model  of  the  old  Zemski 
Sobors  would  be  infinitely  better  suited  to  Russian  wants  than  a 
Parliament  such  as  that  which  sits  at  Westminster. 

For  a  whole  month  the  Government  took  little  notice  of  the  un- 
precedented excitement  and  demonstrations.  It  was  not  till  Decem- 
ber 25th  that  a  reply  was  given  to  the  public  demands.  On  that 
day  the  Emperor  signed  an  ukaz  in  which  he  enumerated  the  reforms 
which  he  considered  most  urgent,  and  instructed  the  Committee  of 
Ministers  to  prepare  the  requisite  legislation.  The  list  of  reforms 
coincided  to  a  certain  extent  with  the  demands  formulated  by  the 
Zemstvos,  but  the  document  as  a  whole  produced  profound  disap- 
pointment, because  it  contained  no  mention  of  a  National  Assem- 
bly. To  those  who  could  read  between  the  lines  the  attitude  of  the 
Emperor  seemed  perfectly  clear.  He  was  evidently  desirous  of 
introducing  very  considerable  reforms,  but  he  was  resolved  that 
they  must  be  effected  by  the  unimpaired  Autocratic  Power  in  the 
old  bureaucratic  fashion,  without  any  participation  of  the  unofficial 
world. 

To  obviate  any  misconception  on  this  point,  the  Government 
published,  simultaneously  with  the  ukaz,  an  official  communica- 
tion in  which  it  condemned  the  agitation  and  excitement,  and 
warned  the  Zemstvos,  municipalities,  and  other  corporate  bodies 
that  in  discussing  political  questions  they  were  overstepping  the 
limits  of  their  legallj'-defined  functionsi  and  exposing  themselves 
to  the  rigours  of  the  law. 

As  might  have  been  foreseen,  the  ukaz  and  the  circular  had  not 
at  all  the  desired  effect  of  "  introducing  the  necessary  tranquillity 
into  public  life,  which  has  lately  been  diverted  from  its  normal 
course."  On  the  contrary,  they  increased  the  excitement,  and 
evoked  a  new  series  of  public  demonstrations.  On  December  2Tth, 
the  very  day  on  which  the  two  official  documents  were  pul)lished — 
the  Provincial  Zemstvo  of  Moscow,  openly  disregarding  the  minis- 
terial warnings,  expressed  the  conviction  that  the  day  was  near 
when  the  bureaucratic  regime,  which  had  so  long  estranged  the 
Supreme  Power  from  the  people,  would  be  changed,  and  when 
freely-elected  representatives  of  the  people  would  take  part  in  leg- 
islation. The  same  evening,  at  St.  Petersburg,  a  great  Liberal 
banquet  was  held,  at  which  a  resolution  was  voted  condemning  the 
war,  and  declaring  that  Russia  could  be  extricated  from  her  diffi- 
culties only  by  the  representatives  of  the  nation,  freely  elected  by 
secret  ballot.    As  an  encouragement  to  the  organs  of  local  adminis- 


646  EUSSIA 

tration  to  persevere  in  their  disregard  of  ministerial  instructions, 
the  St.  Petersburg  Medical  Society,  after  adopting  the  programme 
of  the  Zemstvo  Congress,  sent  telegrams  of  congratulation  to  the 
]\Iayor  of  Moscow  and  the  President  of  the  Tchernigof  Zemstvo 
bureau,  both  of  whom  had  incurred  the  displeasure  of  the  Govern- 
ment. A  similar  telegram  was  sent  by  a  Congress  of  496  engineers 
to  the  Moscow  Town  Council,  in  which  the  burning  political  ques- 
tions had  been  freely  discussed.  In  other  large  towns,  when  the 
mayor  prevented  such  discussions,  a  considerable  number  of  the 
town  councillors  resigned. 

From  the  Zemstvos  and  municipalities  the  spirit  of  opposition 
spread  to  the  provincial  assemblies  of  the  Noblesse.  The  nobles  of 
the  province  of  St.  Petersburg,  for  example,  voted  by  a  large  ma- 
jority an  address  to  the  Tsar  recommending  the  convocation  of  a 
freely-elected  National  Assembly ;  and  in  Moscow,  usually  regarded 
as  the  fortress  of  Conservatism,  eighty  members  of  the  Assembly 
entered  a  formal  protest  against  a  patriotic  Conservative  address 
which  had  been  voted  two  days  before.  Even  the  fair  sex  considered 
it  necessary  to  support  the  opposition  movement.  The  matrons  of 
Moscow,  in  a  humble  petition  to  the  Empress,  declared  that  they 
could  not  continue  to  bring  up  their  children  properly  in  the  exist- 
ing state  of  unconstitutional  lawlessness,  and  their  view  was  en- 
dorsed in  several  provincial  towns  by  the  schoolboys,  who  marched 
through  the  streets  in  procession,  and  refused  to  learn  their  lessons 
until  popular  liberties  had  been  granted! 

Again,  for  more  than  a  month  the  Government  remained  silent 
on  the  fundamental  questions  which  were  exercising  the  public 
mind.  At  last,  on  the  morning  of  March  3d,  appeared  an  Imperial 
manifesto  of  a  very  unexpected  kind.  In  it  the  Emperor  deplored 
the  outbreak  of  internal  disturbances  at  a  moment  when  the  glori- 
ous sons  of  Eussia  were  fighting  with  self-sacrificing  bravery  and 
offering  their  lives  for  the  Faith,  the  Tsar,  and  the  Fatherland; 
but  he  drew  consolation  and  hope  from  remembering  that,  with  the 
help  of  the  prayers  of  the  Holy  Orthodox  Church,  under  the  banner 
of  the  Tsar's  autocratic  might,  Eussia  had  frequently  passed 
through  great  wars  and  internal  troubles,  and  had  always  issued 
from  them  with  fresh  strength.  He  appealed,  therefore,  to  all 
right-minded  subjects,  to  whatever  class  they  might  belong,  to  join 
him  in  the  great  and  sacred  task  of  overcoming  the  stubborn  for- 
eign foe,  and  eradicating  revolt  at  home.  As  for  the  manner  in 
which  he  hoped  this  might  be  accomplished,  he  gave  a  pretty  clear 
indication,  at  the  end  of  the  document,  by  praying  to  God,  not  only 


THE    PRESENT    SITUATION  647 

for  the  welfare  of  his  subjects,  but  also  for  "  the  consolidation  of 
autocracy." 

This  extraordinary  pronouncement,  couched  in  semi-ecclesiastical 
language,  produced  in  the  Liberal  world  feelings  of  surprise, 
disappointment,  and  dismay.  No  one  was  more  astonished  and  dis- 
mayed than  the  ^linisters,  who  had  known  nothing  of  the  mani- 
festo until  they  saw  it  in  the  official  Gazette.  In  the  course  of 
the  forenoon  they  paid  their  usual  weekly  visit  to  Tsarskoe  Selo, 
and  respectfully  submitted  to  the  Emperor  that  such  a  document 
must  have  a  deplorable  effect  on  public  opinion.  In  consequence 
of  their  representations  his  Majesty  consented  to  supplement  the 
manifesto  by  a  rescript  to  the  Minister  of  the  Interior,  in  which  he 
explained  that  in  carrying  out  his  intentions  for  the  welfare  of  his 
people  the  Government  was  to  have  the  co-operation  of  "  the  expe- 
rienced elements  of  the  community."  Then  followed  the  memor- 
able words :  "  I  am  resolved  henceforth,  with  the  help  of  God,  to 
convene  the  most  worthy  men,  possessing  the  confidence  of  the 
people  and  elected  by  them,  in  order  that  they  may  participate  in 
the  preparation  and  consideration  of  legislative  measures."  For 
the  carrying  out  of  this  resolution  a  commission,  or  "  special  con- 
ference," was  to  be  at  once  convened,  under  the  presidency  of  M. 
Bulyghin,  the  Minister  of  the  Interior. 

The  rescript  softened  the  impression  produced  by  the  manifesto, 
but  it  did  not  give  general  satisfaction,  because  it  contained  signifi- 
cant indications  that  the  Emperor,  while  promising  to  create  an 
assembly  of  some  kind,  was  still  determined  to  maintain  the  Auto- 
cratic Power.  So  at  least  the  public  interpreted  a  vague  phase 
about  the  difficulty  of  introducing  reforms  "  while  preserving  abso- 
lutely the  immutability  of  the  fundamental  laws  of  the  Empire." 
And  this  impression  seemed  to  be  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  the 
task  of  preparing  the  future  representative  institutions  was  con- 
fided, not  to  a  constituent  assembly,  but  to  a  small  commission 
composed  chiefly  or  entirely  of  officials. 

In  these  circumstances  the  Liberals  determined  to  continue  the 
agitation.  The  Bulyghin  Commission  was  accordingly  inundated 
with  petitions  and  addresses  explaining  the  wants  of  the  nation  in 
general,  and  of  various  sections  of  it  in  particular;  and  when  the 
]\Iinister  declined  to  receive  deputations  and  discuss  with  them 
the  aforesaid  wants,  the  reform  question  was  taken  up  by  a  new 
series  of  congresses,  composed  of  doctors,  law}'ers,  professors,  jour- 
nalists, etc.  Even  the  higher  ecclesiastical  dignitaries  woke  up  for 
a  moment  from  their  accustomed  lethargy,  remembered  how  they 


648  EUSSIA 

had  lived  for  so  many  years  under  the  rod  of  M.  Pobedonostsef, 
recognised  as  uneanonical  such  subordination  to  a  layman,  and 
petitioned  for  the  resurrection  of  the  Patriarchate,  which  had  been 
abolished  by  Peter  the  Great. 

On  May  9th  a  new  Zemstvo  Congress  was  held  in  Moscow,  and 
it  at  once  showed  that  since  their  November  session  in  St.  Peters- 
burg the  delegates  had  made  a  decided  movement  to  the  Left. 
Those  of  them  who  had  then  led  the  movement  were  now  regarded 
as  too  Conservative.  The  idea  of  a  Zemski  Sobor  was  dis- 
carded as  insufficient  for  the  necessities  of  the  situation,  and 
strong  speeches  were  made  in  support  of  a  much  more  democratic 
constitution. 

It  was  thus  becoming  clearer  every  day  that  between  the  Lib- 
erals and  the  Government  there  was  an  essential  difference  which 
could  not  be  removed  by  ordinary  concessions.  The  Emperor 
proved  that  he  was  in  favour  of  reform  by  granting  a  very  large 
measure  of  religious  toleration,  by  removing  some  of  the  disabili- 
ties imposed  on  the  Poles,  and  allowing  the  Polish  language  to  be 
used  in  schools,  and  by  confirming  the  proposals  of  the  Committee 
of  Ministers  to  place  the  Press  censure  on  a  legal  basis.  But  these 
concessions  to  public  opinion  did  not  gain  for  him  the  sympathy 
and  support  of  his  Liberal  subjects.  What  they  insisted  on  was  a 
considerable  limitation  of  the  Autocratic  Power ;  and  on  that  point 
the  Emperor  has  hitherto  shown  himself  inexorable.  His  firmness 
proceeds  not  from  any  wayward  desire  to  be  able  to  do  as  he 
pleases,  but  from  a  hereditary  respect  for  a  principle.  From  his 
boyhood  he  has  been  taught  that  Eussia  owes  her  greatness  and  her 
security  to  her  autocratic  form  of  government,  and  that  it  is  the 
sacred  duty  of  the  Tsar  to  hand  down  intact  to  his  successors  the 
power  which  he  holds  in  trust  for  them. 

While  the  Liberals  were  thus  striving  to  attain  their  object  with- 
out popular  disorders,  and  without  any  very  serious  infraction  of 
the  law,  Eevolutionaries  were  likewise  busy,  working  on  different 
but  parallel  lines. 

In  the  chapter  on  the  present  phase  of  the  revolutionary  move- 
ment I  have  sketched  briefly  the  origin  and  character  of  the  two 
main  Socialist  groups,  and  I  have  now  merely  to  convey  a  general 
idea  of  their  attitude  during  recent  events.  And  first,  of  the  Social 
Democrats. 

At  the  end  of  1894  the  Social  Democrats  were  in  what  may  be 
called  their  normal  condition — that  is  to  say,  they  were  occupied 
in  organising  and  developing  the  Labour  Movement.    The  removal 


THE    PRESENT    SITUATION  649 

of  riehve,  who  had  greatly  hampered  them  by  his  energetic  police 
administration,  enabled  them  to  work  more  freely,  and  they  looked 
with  a  friendly  eye  on  the  efforts  of  the  Liberal  Zemstvo-ists;  but 
they  took  no  part  in  the  agitation,  because  the  Zemstvo  world  lay 
outside  their  sphere  of  action.  In  the  labour  world,  to  which  they 
confined  their  attention,  they  must  have  foreseen  that  a  crisis  would 
sooner  or  later  be  produced  by  the  war,  and  that  they  would  then 
have  an  excellent  opportunity  of  preaching  their  doctrine  that  for 
all  the  sufferings  of  the  working  classes  the  Government  is  respon- 
sible. What  they  did  not  foresee  was  that  serious  labour  troubles 
were  so  near  at  hand,  and  that  the  conflict  with  the  authorities 
would  be  accelerated  by  Father  Gapon.  Accustomed  to  regard  him 
as  a  persistent  opponent,  they  did  not  expect  him  to  become  sud- 
denly an  energetic,  self-willed  ally.  Hence  they  were  taken  una- 
wares, and  at  first  the  direction  of  the  movement  was  by  no  means 
entirely  in  their  hands.  Very  soon,  however,  they  grasped  the  situ- 
ation, and  utilised  it  for  their  own  ends.  It  was  in  great  measure 
due  to  their  secret  organisation  and  activity  that  the  strike  in  the 
Putilof  Ironworks,  which  might  easily  have  been  terminated  amic- 
ably, spread  rapidly  not  only  to  the  other  works  and  factories  in 
St.  Petersburg,  but  also  to  those  of  Moscow,  Riga,  Warsaw,  Lodz, 
and  other  industrial  centres.  Though  they  did  not  approve  of 
Father  Gapon's  idea  of  presenting  a  petition  to  the  Tsar,  the  loss 
of  life  which  his  demonstration  occasioned  was  very  useful  to 
them  in  their  efforts  to  propagate  the  belief  that  the  xA.utocratic 
Power  is  the  ally  of  the  capitalists  and  hostile  to  the  claims  and 
aspirations  of  the  working  classes. 

The  other  great  Socialist  group  contributed  much  more  largely 
towards  bringing  about  the  present  state  of  things.  It  was  their 
Militant  Organisation  that  assassinated  Plehve,  and  thereby  roused 
the  Liberals  to  action.  To  them,  likewise,  is  due  the  subsequent 
assassination  of  the  Grand  Duke  Serge,  and  it  is  an  open  secret 
that  they  are  preparing  other  acts  of  terrorism  of  a  similar  kind. 
At  the  same  time  they  have  been  very  active  in  creating  provincial 
revolutionary  committees,  in  printing  and  distributing  revolution- 
ary literature,  and,  above  all,  in  organising  agrarian  disturbances, 
which  they  intend  to  make  a  very  important  factor  in  the  develop- 
ment of  events.  Indeed,  it  is  chiefly  by  agrarian  disturbances  that 
they  hope  to  overthrow  the  Autocratic  Power  and  bring  about  the 
great  economic  and  social  revolution  to  which  the  political  revolu- 
tion would  be  merely  the  prologue. 

Therein  lies  a  serious  danger. 


650  RUSSIA 

After  the  failure  of  the  propaganda  and  the  insurrectionary 
agitation  in  the  seventies,  it  became  customary  in  revolutionary 
circles  to  regard  the  muzhik  as  impervious  to  Socialist  ideas  and 
insurrectionary  excitement,  but  the  hope  of  eventually  employing 
him  in  the  cause  never  quite  died  out,  and  in  recent  times,  when 
his  economic  condition  in  many  districts  has  become  critical, 
attempts  have  occasionally  been  made  to  embarrass  the  Govern- 
ment by  agrarian  disturbances.  The  method  usually  employed  is 
to  disseminate  among  the  peasantry  by  oral  propaganda,  by 
printed  or  hectographed  leaflets,  and  by  forged  Imperial  mani- 
festoes, the  belief  that  the  Tsar  has  ordered  the  land  of  the 
proprietors  to  be  given  to  the  rural  Communes,  and  that  his  benevo- 
lent wishes  are  being  frustrated  by  the  land-owners  and  the  offi- 
cials. The  forged  manifesto  is  sometimes  written  in  letters  of 
gold  as  a  proof  of  its  being  genuine,  and  in  one  case  which  I 
heard  of  in  the  province  of  Poltava,  the  revolutionary  agent,  wear- 
ing the  uniform  of  an  aide-de-camp  of  the  Emperor,  induced  the 
village  priest  to  read  the  document  in  the  parish  church. 

The  danger  lies  in  the  fact  that,  quite  independent  of  revolu- 
tionary activity,  there  has  always  been,  since  the  time  of  the 
Emancipation,  a  widespread  belief  among  the  peasantry  that  they 
would  sooner  or  later  receive  the  whole  of  the  land.  Successive 
Tsars  have  tried  personally  to  destroy  this  illusion,  but  their 
efforts  have  not  been  successful.  Alexander  II.,  when  passing 
through  a  province  where  the  idea  was  very  prevalent,  caused  a 
number  of  village  elders  to  be  brought  before  him,  and  told  them  in 
a  threatening  tone  that  they  must  remain  satisfied  with  their 
allotments  and  pay  their  taxes  regularly;  but  the  wily  peasants 
could  not  be  convinced  that  the  "  General "  who  had  talked  to 
them  in  this  sense  was  really  the  Tsar.  Alexander  III.  made  a 
similar  attempt  at  the  time  of  his  accession.  To  the  Volost  elders 
collected  together  from  all  parts  of  the  Empire,  he  said :  "  Do  not 
believe  the  foolish  rumours  and  absurd  reports  about  a  redistribution 
of  the  land,  and  addition  to  your  allotments,  and  such  like  things. 
These  reports  are  disseminated  by  your  enemies.  Every  kind  of 
property,  your  own  included,  must  be  inviolable."  Eecalling  these 
words,  Nicholas  II.  confirmed  them  at  his  accession,  and  warned 
the  peasants  not  to  be  led  astray  by  evil-disposed  persons. 

Notwithstanding  these  repeated  warnings,  the  peasants  still 
cling  to  the  idea  that  all  the  land  belongs  to  them;  and  the 
Socialist-Eevolutionaries  now  announce  publicly  that  they  intend 
to  use  this  belief  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  their  revolutionary 


THE    PRESENT    SITUATION  651 

designs.  In  a  pamphlet  entitled  "Concerning  Liljorty  and  the 
Means  of  Obtaining  it,"  they  explain  their  plan  of  campaign. 
Under  the  guidance  of  the  revolutionary  agents  the  ])easants  of 
each  district  all  over  the  Empire  are  to  make  it  impossible  for 
the  proprietors  to  work  their  estates,  and  then,  after  driving  away 
the  local  authorities  and  rural  police,  they  are  to  take  possession 
of  the  estates  for  their  own  use.  The  Government,  in  its  vain 
attempts  to  dislodge  them,  will  have  to  employ  all  the  troops  at 
its  disposal,  and  this  will  give  the  working  classes  of  the  towns,  led 
by  the  revolutionists,  an  opportunity  of  destroying  the  most  essen- 
tial parts  of  the  administrative  mechanism.  Thus  a  great  social 
revolution  can  be  successfully  accomplished,  and  any  Zemski  Sobor 
or  Parliament  which  may  be  convoked  will  merely  have  to  give  a 
legislative  sanction  to  accomplished  facts. 

These  three  groups — ^the  Liberals,  the  Social  Democrats,  and  the 
Socialist  Revolutionaries — constitute  what  may  be  called  the  purely 
Russian  Opposition.  They  found  their  claims  and  justify  their 
action  on  utilitarian  and  philosophic  grounds,  and  demand  liberty 
(in  various  senses)  for  themselves  and  others,  independently  of 
race  and  creed.  This  distinguishes  them  from  the  fourth  group, 
who  claim  to  represent  the  subject-nationalities,  and  who  mingle 
nationalist  feelings  and  aspirations  with  enthusiasm  for  liberty 
and  justice  in  the  abstract. 

The  policy  of  Russifying  these  subject-nationalities,  which  was 
inaugurated  by  Alexander  III.  and  maintained  by  his  successor, 
has  failed  in  its  object.  It  has  increased  the  use  of  the  Russian 
language  in  official  procedure,  modified  the  system  of  instruction 
in  the  schools  and  universities,  and  brought,  nominally,  a  few 
schismatic  and  heretical  sheep  into  the  Eastern  Orthodox  fold, 
but  it  has  entirely  failed  to  inspire  the  subject-populations  with 
Russian  feeling  and  national  patriotism;  on  the  contrary,  it  has 
aroused  in  them  a  bitter  hostility  to  Russian  nationality',  and  to 
the  Central  Government.  In  such  of  them  as  have  retained  their 
old  aspirations  of  political  independence — notably  the  Poles — the 
semi-latent  disaffection  has  been  stimulated;  and  in  those  of  them 
which,  like  the  Finlanders  and  the  Armenians,  desire  merely  to 
preserve  the  limited  autonomy  they  formerly  enjoyed,  a  sentiment 
of  disaffection  has  been  created.  All  of  them  know  very  well  that 
in  an  armed  struggle  with  the  dominant  Russian  nationality  they 
would  speedily  be  crushed,  as  the  Poles  were  in  1863.  Their 
disaffection  shows  itself,  therefore,  merely  in  resistance  to  the  obliga- 
tory military  service,  and  in  an  undisguised  or  thinly  veiled  atti- 


653  EUSSIA 

tude  of  systematic  hostility,  which  causes  the  Government  some 
anxiety  and  prevents  it  from  sending  to  the  Far  East  a  large 
number  of  troops  which  would  otherwise  be  available.  They  hail, 
however,  with  delight  the  Liberal  and  revolutionary  movements 
in  the  hope  that  the  Russians  themselves  may  undermine,  and 
possibly  overthrow,  the  tyrannical  Autocratic  Power.  Towards 
this  end  they  would  gladly  co-operate,  and  they  are  endeavouring, 
therefore,  to  get  into  touch  with  each  other ;  but  they  have  so  little 
in  common,  and  so  many  mutually  antagonistic  interests,  that  they 
are  not  likely  to  succeed  in  forming  a  solid  coalition. 

While  sympathising  with  every  form  of  opposition  to  the  Gov- 
ernment, the  men  of  the  subject-nationalities  reserve  their  special 
affection  for  the  Socialists,  because  these  not  only  proclaim,  like 
the  Liberals,  the  principles  of  extensive  local  self-government  and 
universal  equality  before  the  law,  but  they  also  speak  of  replacing 
the  existing  system  of  coercive  centralisation  by  a  voluntary  con- 
federation of  heterogeneous  units.  This  explains  why  so  many 
Poles,  Armenians  and  Georgians  are  to  be  found  in  the  ranks  of 
the  Social  Democrats  and  the  Socialist-Revolutionaries. 

Of  the  recruits  from  oppressed  nationalities  the  great  majority 
come  from  the  Jews,  who,  though  they  have  never  dreamed  of 
political  independence,  or  even  of  local  autonomy,  have  most 
reason  to  complain  of  the  existing  order  of  things.  At  all  times 
they  have  furnished  a  goodly  contingent  to  the  revolutionary  move- 
ment, and  many  of  them  have  belied  their  traditional  reputation 
of  timidity  and  cowardice  by  taking  part  in  very  dangerous  ter- 
rorist enterprises — in  some  cases  ending  their  career  on  the 
scaffold.  In  1897  they  created  a  Social-Democratic  organisation  of 
their  own,  commonly  known  as  the  Bund,  which  joined,  in  1898, 
the  Russian  Social-Democratic  Labour  Party,  on  the  understanding 
that  it  should  retain  its  independence  on  all  matters  affecting 
exclusively  the  Jewish  population.*  It  now  possesses  a  very  ably- 
conducted  weekly  organ,  and  of  all  sections  of  the  Social-Demo- 
cratic group  it  is  unquestionably  the  best  organised.  This  is  not 
surprising,  because  the  Jews  have  more  business  capacity  than  the 
Russians,  and  centuries  of  oppression  have  developed  in  the  race 
a  wonderful  talent  for  secret  illegal  activity,  and  for  eluding  the 
vigilance  of  the  police. 

It  would  be  very  interesting  to  know  the  numerical  strength  of 

*  The  official  title  of  this  Bund  is  the  "  Universal  Jewish  Labour 
Union  in  Russia  and  Poland."  Its  organ  is  called  Sovremenniya  Izvis- 
tiya  (Contemporary  News). 


THE    PRESENT    SITUATION  653 

these  groups,  but  we  have  no  materials  for  forming  even  an 
approximate  estimate.  The  Liberals  are  certainly  the  most  numer- 
ous. They  include  the  great  majority  of  the  educated  classes,  but 
they  are  less  persistently  energetic  than  their  rivals,  and  their 
methods  of  action  make  less  impression  on  the  Government.  The 
two  Socialist  groups,  though  communicative  enough  with  regard 
to  their  doctrines  and  aims,  are  very  reticent  with  regard  to  the 
number  of  their  adherents,  and  this  naturally  awakens  a  suspicion 
that  an  authoritative  statement  on  the  subject  would  tend  to 
diminish  rather  than  enhance  their  importance  in  the  eyes  of  the 
public.  If  statistics  of  the  Social  Democrats  could  be  obtained, 
it  would  be  necessary  to  distinguish  between  the  three  categories 
of  which  the  group  is  composed:  (1)  The  educated  active  mem- 
bers, who  form  the  directing,  controlling  element;  (2)  the  fully 
indoctrinated  recruits  from  the  working  classes;  and  (3)  workmen 
who  desire  merely  to  better  their  material  condition,  but  who  take 
part  in  political  demonstrations  in  the  hope  of  bringing  pressure 
to  bear  on  their  employers,  and  inducing  the  Government  to 
intervene  on  their  behalf. 

The  two  Socialist  groups  are  not  only  increasing  the  number 
of  their  adherents;  they  are  also  extending  and  improving  their 
organisation,  as  is  proved  by  the  recent  strikes,  which  are  the 
work  of  the  Social  Democrats,  and  by  the  increasing  rural  dis- 
turbances and  acts  of  terrorism,  which  are  the  work  of  the  Socialist- 
Ecvolutionaries. 

With  regard  to  the  unorganised  Nationalist  group,  all  I  can  do 
towards  conveying  a  vague,  general  idea  of  its  numerical  strength 
is  to  give  the  numbers  of  the  populations — men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren— of  which  the  Nationalist  agitators  are  the  self-constituted 
representatives,  without  attempting  to  estimate  the  percentage  of 
the  actively  disaffected.    The  populations  in  question  are : 


Poles     

Jews      

Finlanders       

Armenians       

Georgians         

7,900,000 
5,190.000 
2.592.000 
1,200,000 
408,000 

16,495,000 

If  a  National  Assembly  were  created,  in  which  all  the  national- 
ities were  represented  according  to  the  numbers  of  the  population, 
the  Poles,  roughly  speaking,  would  have  38  members,  the  Jews 


654  EUSSIA 

24,  the  Finlanders  12,  the  Armenians  6,  and  the  Georgians  2 : 
whereas  the  Eussians  would  have  about  400.  The  other  subject- 
nationalities  in  which  symptoms  of  revolutionary  fermentation 
have  appeared  are  too  insignificant  to  require  special  mention. 

As  the  representatives  of  the  various  subject-nationalities  are 
endeavouring  to  combine,  so  likewise  are  the  Liberals  and  the  two 
Socialist  groups  trying  to  form  a  coalition,  and  for  this  purpose 
they  have  already  held  several  conferences.  How  far  they  will 
succeed  it  is  impossible  to  say.  On  one  point — the  necessity  of 
limiting  or  abolishing  the  Autocratic  Power — they  are  unanimous, 
and  there  seems  to  be  a  tacit  understanding  that  for  the  present 
they  shall  work  together  amicably  on  parallel  lines,  each  group 
reserving  its  freedom  of  action  for  the  future,  and  using  mean- 
while its  own  customary  means  of  putting  pressure  on  the  Gov- 
ernment. "We  may  expect,  therefore,  that  for  a  time  the  Liberals 
will  go  on  holding  conferences  and  congresses  in  defiance  of  the 
police  authorities,  delivering  eloquent  speeches,  discussing  thorny 
political  questions,  drafting  elaborate  constitutions,  and  making 
gentle  efforts  to  clog  the  wheels  of  the  Administration,*  while  the 
Social  Democrats  will  continue  to  organise  strikes  and  semi- 
pacific  demonstrationSjf  and  the  Socialist-Eevolutionaries  will  seek 
to  accelerate  the  march  of  events  by  agrarian  disturbances  and  acts 
of  terrorism. 

It  is  certain,  however,  that  the  parting  of  the  ways  will  be 
reached  sooner  or  later,  and  already  there  are  indications  that 
it  is  not  very  far  off.  Liberals  and  Social  Democrats  may  per- 
haps work  together  for  a  considerable  time,  because  the  latter, 
though  publicly  committed  to  socialistic  schemes  which  the 
Liberals  must  regard  with  the  strongest  antipathy,  are  willing  to 
accept  a  Constitutional  regime  during  the  period  of  transition.  It 
is  difficult,  however,  to  imagine  that  the  Liberals,  of  whom  a  large 
proportion  are  landed  proprietors,  can  long  go  hand  in  hand  with 
the  Socialist-Eevolutionaries,  who  propose  to  bring  about  the  revolu- 
tion by  inciting  the  peasants  to  seize  unceremoniously  the  estates, 
live  stock,  and  agricultural  implements  of  the  landlords. 

Already  the  Socialist-Eevolutionaries  have  begun  to  speak  pub- 
licly of  the  inevitable  rupture  in  terms  by  no  means  flattering  to 

*  As  an  illustration  of  this  I  may  cite  the  fact  that  several  Zemstvos 
have  declared  themselves  unable,  under  present  conditions,  to  support 
the  indigent  families  of  soldiers  at  the  front. 

1 1  call  them  semi-pacific,  because  on  such  occasions  the  demonstrators 
are  instructed  to  refrain  from  violence  only  so  long  as  the  police  do  not 
attempt  to  stop  the  proceedings  by  force. 


THE    PRESENT    SITUATION  655 

their  temporary  allies.     In  a  brochure  recently  issued  bj  their 
central  committee  the  following  passage  occurs : 

"  If  we  consider  the  matter  seriously  and  attentively,  it  becomes  evi- 
dent that  all  the  strength  of  the  bounjcoi-sic  lies  in  its  greater  or  less 
capacity  for  frightening  and  intimidating  the  Government  by  the  fear  of 
a  popular  rising ;  but  as  the  hourycoisic  itself  stands  in  mortal  terror  of 
the  thing  with  which  it  frightens  the  Government,  its  position  at  the 
moment  of  insurrection  will  be  rather  ridiculous  and  pitiable." 

To  understand  the  significance  of  this  passage,  the  reader  must 
know  that,  in  the  language  of  the  Socialists,  bourgeoisie  and 
Liberals  are  convertible  terms. 

The  truth  is  that  the  Liberals  find  themselves  in  an  awkward 
strategical  position.  As  quiet,  respectable  members  of  society 
they  dislike  violence  of  every  kind,  and  occasionally  in  moments 
of  excitement  they  believe  that  they  may  attain  their  ends  by  mere 
moral  pressure,  but  when  they  find  that  academic  protests  and 
pacific  demonstrations  make  no  perceptible  impression  on  the 
Government,  they  become  impatient  and  feel  tempted  to  approve, 
at  least  tacitly,  of  stronger  measures.  Many  of  them  do  not  profess 
to  regard  with  horror  and  indignation  the  acts  of  the  terrorists, 
and  some  of  them,  if  I  am  correctly  informed,  go  so  far  as  to 
subscribe  to  the  funds  of  the  Socialist-Eevolutionaries  without 
taking  very  stringent  precautions  against  the  danger  of  the  money 
being  employed  for  the  preparation  of  dynamite  and  hand 
grenades. 

This  extraordinary  conduct  on  the  part  of  moderate  Liberals 
may  well  surprise  Englishmen,  but  it  is  easily  explained.  The 
Russians  have  a  strong  vein  of  recklessness  in  their  character,  and 
many  of  them  are  at  present  imbued  with  an  unquestioning  faith 
in  the  miracle-working  power  of  Constitutionalism.  These  seem 
to  imagine  that  as  soon  as  the  Autocratic  Power  is  limited  by 
parliamentary  institutions  the  discontented  will  cease  from  trou- 
bling and  the  country  will  be  at  rest. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  such  expectations  are  not 
likely  to  be  realised.  All  sections  of  the  educated  classes  may  be 
agreed  in  desiring  "liberty,"  but  the  word  has  many  meanings, 
and  nowhere  more  than  in  Russia  at  the  present  daj.  For  the 
Liberals  it  means  simply  democratic  parliamentary  government; 
for  the  Social  Democrat  it  means  the  undisputed  predominance  of 
the  Proletariat ;  for  the  Socialist-Revolutionary  it  means  the  oppor- 
tunity of  realising  immediately  the  Socialist  ideal;  for  the  repre- 


G56  EUSSIA 

sentative  of  a  subject-nationality  it  means  the  abolition  of  racial 
and  religious  disabilities  and  the  attainment  of  local  autonomy 
or  political  independence.  There  is  no  doubt,  therefore,  that  in 
Eussia,  as  in  other  countries,  a  parliament  would  develop  political 
parties  bitterly  hostile  to  each  other,  and  its  early  history  might 
contain  some  startling  surprises  for  those  who  had  helped  to 
create  it.  If  the  Constitution,  for  example,  were  made  as  demo- 
cratic as  the  Liberals  and  Socialists  demand,  the  elections  might 
possibly  result  in  an  overwhelming  Conservative  majority  ready 
to  re-establish  the  Autocratic  Power !  This  is  not  at  all  so  absurd 
as  it  sounds,  for  the  peasants,  apart  from  the  land  question,  are 
thoroughly  Conservative.  The  ordinary  muzhik  can  hardly  con- 
ceive that  the  Emperor's  power  can  be  limited  by  a  law  or  an 
Assembly,  and  if  the  idea  were  suggested  to  him,  he  would  certainly 
not  approve.  In  his  opinion  the  Tsar  should  be  omnipotent.  If 
everything  is  not  satisfactory  in  Eussia,  it  is  because  the  Tsar 
does  not  know  of  the  evil,  or  is  prevented  from  curing  it  by  the 
tcliinovniks  and  the  landed  proprietors.  "  More  power,  therefore, 
to  his  elbow ! "  as  an  Irishman  might  say.  Such  is  the  simple 
political  creed  of  the  "  undeveloped  "  muzhik,  and  all  the  efforts 
of  the  revolutionary  groups  to  develop  him  have  not  yet  been  at- 
tended with  much  success. 

How,  then,  the  reader  may  ask,  is  an  issue  to  be  found  out  of 
the  present  imbroglio?  I  cannot  pretend  to  speak  with  authority, 
but  it  seems  to  me  that  there  are  only  two  methods  of  dealing  with 
the  situation:  prompt,  energetic  repression,  or  timely,  judicious 
concessions  to  popular  feeling.  Either  of  these  methods  might, 
perhaps,  have  been  successful,  but  the  Government  adopted  neither, 
and  has  halted  between  the  two.  By  this  policy  of  drift  it  has 
encouraged  the  hopes  of  all,  has  satisfied  nobody,  and  has  dimin- 
ished its  own  prestige. 

In  defence  or  extenuation  of  this  attitude  it  may  be  said  that 
there  is  considerable  danger  in  the  adoption  of  either  course. 
Vigorous  repression  means  staking  all  on  a  single  card,  and  if  it 
were  successful  it  could  not  do  more  than  postpone  the  evil  day, 
because  the  present  antiquated  form  of  government — suitable 
enough,  perhaps,  for  a  simply  organised  peasant-empire  vegetating 
in  an  atmosphere  of  "  eternal  stillness  " — cannot  permanently  resist 
the  rising  tide  of  modern  ideas  and  aspirations,  and  is  incapable 
of  grappling  successfully  with  the  complicated  problems  of  econ- 
omic and  social  progress  which  are  already  awaiting  solution. 
Sooner  or  later  the  bureaucratic  machine,  driven  solely  by    the 


THE    PEESENT    SITUATION  657 

Autocratic  Power  in  the  teeth  of  popular  apathy  or  opposition, 
must  inevitably  break  down,  and  the  longer  the  collapse  is  post- 
poned the  more  violent  is  it  likely  to  be.  On  the  other  hand,  it 
is  impossible  to  foresee  the  effects  of  concessions.  Mere  bureau- 
cratic reforms  will  satisfy  no  one;  they  are  indeed  not  wanted 
except  as  a  result  of  more  radical  changes.  What  all  sections  of 
the  Opposition  demand  is  that  the  people  should  at  least  take 
part  in  the  government  of  the  country  by  means  of  freely  elected 
representatives  in  Parliament  assembled.  It  is  useless  to  argue 
with  them  that  Constitutionalism  will  certainly  not  work  the 
miracles  that  are  expected  of  it,  and  that  in  the  struggles  of 
political  parties  which  it  is  sure  to  produce  the  unity  and  integrity 
of  the  Empire  may  be  endangered.  Lessons  of  that  kind  can  only 
be  learned  by  experience.  Other  countries,  it  is  said,  have  existed 
and  thriven  under  free  political  institutions,  and  why  not  Russia? 
Why  should  she  be  a  pariah  among  the  nations?  She  gave  parlia- 
mentary institutions  to  the  young  nationalities  of  the  Balkan  Pen- 
insula as  soon  as  they  were  liberated  from  Turkish  bondage, 
and  she  has  not  yet  been  allowed  such  privileges  herself ! 

Let  us  suppose  now  that  the  Autocratic  Power  has  come  to  feel 
the  impossibility  of  remaining  isolated  as  it  is  at  present,  and 
that  it  has  decided  to  seek  solid  support  in  some  section  of  the 
population,  what  section  should  it  choose?  Practically  it  has  no 
choice.  The  only  way  of  relieving  the  pressure  is  to  make  conces- 
sions to  the  Constitutionalists.  That  course  would  conciliate, 
not  merely  the  section  of  the  Opposition  which  calls  itself  by  that 
name  and  represents  the  majority  of  the  educated  classes,  but  also, 
in  a  lesser  degree,  all  the  other  sections.  No  doubt  these  latter 
would  accept  the  concession  only  as  part  payment  of  their  demands 
and  a  means  of  attaining  ulterior  aims.  Again  and  again  the 
Social  Democrats  have  proclaimed  publicly  that  they  desire  parlia- 
mentary government,  not  as  an  end  in  itself,  but  as  a  stepping 
stone  towards  the  realisation  of  the  Socialist  ideal.  It  is  evident, 
however,  that  they  would  have  to  remain  on  this  stepping  stone 
for  a  long  series  of  years — until  the  representatives  of  the  Prole- 
tariat obtained  an  overwhelming  majority  in  the  Chamber.  In 
like  manner  the  subject-nationalities  would  regard  a  parliamentary 
regime  as  a  mere  temporary  expedient — a  means  of  attaining 
greater  local  and  national  autonomy — and  they  would  probably 
show  themselves  more  impatient  than  the  Social  Democrats.  Any 
inordinate  claims,  however,  which  they  might  put  forward  would 
encounter  resistance,  as  the  Poles  found  in  1863,  not  merely  from 


658  EUSSIA 

the  Autocratic  Power,  but  from  the  great  majority  of  the  Eussian 
people,  who  have  no  sympathy  with  any  efforts  tending  to  bring 
about  the  disruption  of  the  Empire.  In  short,  as  soon  as  the 
Assembly  set  to  work,  the  delegates  would  be  sobered  by  a  conscious- 
ness of  responsibility,  differences  of  opinion  and  aims  would 
inevitably  appear,  and  the  various  groups  transformed  into  politi- 
cal parties,  instead  of  all  endeavouring  as  at  present  to  pull  down 
the  Autocratic  Power,  would  expend  a  great  part  of  their  energy 
in  pulling  against  each  other. 

In  order  to  reach  this  haven  of  safety  it  is  necessary  to  pass 
through  a  period  of  transition,  in  which  there  are  some  formidable 
difficulties.     One  of  these  I  may  mention  by  way  of  illustration. 

In  creating  parliamentary  institutions  of  any  kind  the  Govern- 
ment could  hardly  leave  intact  the  present  system  of  allowing 
the  police  to  arrest  without  a  proper  warrant,  and  send  into  exile 
without  trial,  any  one  suspected  of  revolutionary  designs.  On 
this  point  all  the  Opposition  groups  are  agreed,  and  all  conse- 
quently put  forward  prominently  the  demand  for  the  inviolability 
of  person  and  domicile.  To  grant  such  a  concession  seems  a 
very  simple  and  easy  matter,  but  any  responsible  minister  might 
hesitate  to  accept  such  a  restriction  of  his  authority.  We  know, 
he  would  argue,  that  the  terrorist  section  of  the  Socialist-Eevolu- 
tionary  group,  the  so-called  Militant  Organisation,  are  very  busy 
preparing  bombs,  and  the  police,  even  with  the  extensive,  ill- 
defined  powers  which  they  at  present  possess,  have  the  greatest 
difficulty  in  preventing  the  use  of  such  objectionable  instruments 
of  political  warfare.  Would  not  the  dynamiters  and  throwers  of 
hand-grenades  utilise  a  relaxation  of  police  supervision,  as  they 
did  in  the  time  of  Louis  Melikof,*  for  carrying  out  their  nefarious 
designs  ? 

I  have  no  desire  to  conceal  or  minimise  such  dangers,  but  I 
believe  they  are  temporary  and  by  no  means  so  great  as  the  dangers 
of  the  only  other  alternatives — energetic  repression  and  listless 
inactivity.  Terrorism  and  similar  objectionable  methods  of 
political  warfare  are  symptoms  of  an  abnormal,  unhealthy  state  of 
society,  and  would  doubtless  disappear  in  Eussia,  as  they  have 
disappeared  in  other  countries,  with  the  conditions  which  produced 
them.  If  the  terrorists  continued  to  exist  under  a  more  liberal 
regime,  they  would  be  much  less  formidable,  because  they  would 
lose  the  half-concealed  sympathy  which  they  at  present  enjoy. 

Political  assassinations  may  occasionally  take  place  under  the 
*  Vide  supra,  p.  569. 


THE    PRESENT    SITUATION  659 

most  democratic  governments,  as  the  history  of  the  United  States 
proves,  but  terrorism  as  a  system  is  to  be  found  only  in  countries 
where  the  political  power  is  concentrated  in  the  hands  of  a  few 
individuals;  and  it  sometimes  happens  that  irresponsible  persons 
are  exposed  to  terrorist  attacks.  \Ve  have  an  instance  of  this  at 
present  in  St.  Petersburg.  The  reluctance  of  the  Emperor  to 
adopt  at  once  a  Liberal  programme  is  commonly  attributed  to  the 
influence  of  two  members  of  the  Imperial  family,  the  Empress 
Dowager  and  the  Grand  Duke  Vladimir.  This  is  a  mistake. 
Neither  of  these  personages  is  so  reactionary  as  is  generally  sup- 
posed, and  their  political  views,  whatever  they  may  be,  have  no 
appreciable  influence  on  the  course  of  affairs.  If  the  Empress 
Dowager  had  possessed  the  influence  so  often  ascribed  to  her,  M. 
Plehve  would  not  have  remained  so  long  in  power.  As  for  the 
Grand  Duke  Vladimir,  he  is  not  in  favour,  and  for  nearly  two 
years  he  has  never  been  consulted  on  political  matters.  The 
so-called  Grand  Ducal  party  of  which  he  is  supposed  to  be  the 
leader,  is  a  recently  invented  fiction.  When  in  difficulties  the 
Emperor  may  consult  individually  some  of  his  near  relatives,  but 
there  is  no  coherent  group  to  which  the  term  party  could  properly 
be  applied. 

As  soon  as  the  Autocratic  Power  has  decided  on  a  definite  line 
of  action,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  a  strong  man  will  be  found  to  take 
the  direction  of  affairs.  In  Russia,  as  in  other  autocratically 
governed  countries,  strong  men  in  the  political  sense  of  the  term 
are  extremely  rare,  and  when  they  do  appear  as  a  lusus  naturae 
they  generally  take  their  colour  from  their  surroundings,  and  are 
of  the  authoritative,  dictatorial  type.  During  recent  years  only  two 
strong  men  have  come  to  the  front  in  the  Russian  official  world. 
The  one  was  M,  Plehve,  who  was  nothing  if  not  authoritative  and 
dictatorial,  and  who  is  no  longer  available  for  experiments  in 
repression  or  constitutionalism.  The  other  is  M.  Witte.  As  an 
administrator  under  an  autocratic  regime  he  has  displayed  im- 
mense ability  and  energy,  but  it  does  not  follow  that  he  is  a 
statesman  capable  of  piloting  the  ship  into  calm  waters,  and  he 
is  not  likely  to  have  an  opportunity  of  making  the  attempt,  for 
he  does  not — to  state  the  case  mildly — possess  the  full  confidence 
of  his  august  master. 

Even  if  a  strong  man,  enjoying  fully  the  Imperial  confidence, 
could  be  found,  the  problem  would  not  be  thereby  completely  and 
satisfactorily  solved,  because  an  autocrat,  who  is  the  Lord's 
Anointed,  cannot  delegate  his  authority  to  a  simple  mortal  without 


660  RUSSIA 

losing  something  of  the  semi-religious  halo  and  the  prestige  on 
which  his  authority  rests.  While  a  roi  faineant  may  fulfil  effec- 
tively all  the  essential  duties  of  sovereignty,  an  autocrate  faineant 
is  an  absurdity. 

In  these  circumstances,  it  is  idle  to  speculate  as  to  the  future. 
All  we  can  do  is  to  await  patiently  the  development  of  events, 
and  in  all  probability  it  is  the  unexpected  that  will  happen. 

The  reader  doubtless  feels  that  I  am  offering  a  very  lame  and 
impotent  conclusion,  and  I  must  confess  that  I  am  conscious  of  this 
feeling  myself,  but  I  think  I  may  fairly  plead  extenuating  cir- 
cumstances. Happily  for  my  peace  of  mind  I  am  a  mere  observer 
who  is  not  called  upon  to  invent  a  means  of  extricating  Eussia 
from  her  difficult  position.  For  that  arduous  task  there  are  already 
brave  volunteers  enough  in  the  field.  All  I  have  to  do  is  to  explain 
as  clearly  as  I  can  the  complicated  problem  to  be  solved.  Nor  do 
I  feel  it  any  part  of  my  duty  to  make  predictions.  I  believe  I 
am  pretty  well  acquainted  with  the  situation  at  the  present  moment, 
but  what  it  may  be  a  few  weeks  hence,  when  the  words  I  am  now 
writing  issue  from  the  press,  I  do  not  profess  to  foresee. 


INDEX 


Abdullah,  Bashkir  Troubadour,  186 
Abercroinbie,  John,  Circassian  Scots- 
man, 224: 

Administration,  Centralised,  332 

'  *  Imperial,  Growth  of, 

326 
**  Imperial,  P  res  en  t 

form  of,  328 
"  Territorial,  329 

Administrative  Abuses,  334,  341 

"  Procedure,  313 

Afghanistan,  Russian  Expansion  in, 

627 
Agrarian  Conservatives  and  M.  Witte, 

5S6 
Agriculture,  in  Far  North  Russia,  104 
' '  Intensive  System  of,  488 

"  Prohibited       throughout 

Don   Cossack    Territory, 
211 
"  System  of,  90 

Aksdkof,  Ivan,  on  Russian  Church,  61 
Alexander  I.,  359,  427 
Alexander  II.,  334, 338,  491,  636, 638, 
640,  650 
"  and  Emancipation  of 

Serfs,  450 
"  and  Poland,  544 

"  Assassination  of,  570, 

602,  640 
**  Attempted  Assassina- 

tions  of,    546,  568, 
569 
"  Character  of,  394 

Reforms  of,  399,  514 
Alexander  III.,  345,  626 

"  and       Rural       Com- 

munes, 115  (note) 
"  Character  of,  640 

Alexander,  Father,  63 
Alexandrof-Hai,     Religious    Discus- 
sion at,  226 
Alexis,  Tsar,  240,  245 
Anarchists,  Programme  of,  600 

"  {See  nlso  Terrorists)  ' 

661 


Anne,  Empress,  390 

Anti-Agriculturists,  211 

Anton,  Man-servant,  70 

Arbiters  of  the  Peace,  170,  175,  444. 

445,  448 
Archangel,  Province,  329 
Art,  Religious,  Growth  of,  265 
Artel,  Description  of,  82 
Artisan  Corporations,  167 
Assembly,  District,  496 

"  Provincial,  496 

"  St.  Petersburg  Provincial, 

498 
Autocracy,  Evils  of,  334 

"  Hostility  to,  637 


B 


Baku,  Recent  Growth  of,  161 

Bakunin,  Anarchist,  551,  552 

Ballot  Voting,  in  Village  Assemblies, 
117 

Bank  Porters,  83 

Banks,  Mortgage,  Government,  460 
VUlage,  89 

Baron,  Title  of,  280 

Bashkiria,  181 

Bashkirs,  Tartar  Tribe,  179 

Batli,  Vapour,  Use  of,  29 

Batuslika,  Village  Priests,  46 

Bazaar,  Description  of,  163 

Bazaars,  Decay  of,  97 

Bekhteyev,   M.,    on    Serf-Emancipa- 
tion, 455 

Belaya  Krinitsa,  Bishopric  founded 
at,  247 

Bell,  Journal,  398 

Belozvorof,  False  Prophet,  230 

Bescda,  Description  of,  95 

Bozpopoftsi,  or  Priestless  People,  246 

Biroii,  German  influence  of,  370 

Black  Clergy  (See  Clergj-) 

Black-Earth   Zone.  455,  457 

"      Effect    of    Serf- 
Emancipation 
upon,  471 


662 


INDEX 


Blagotchinny,  Duty  of,  51 

Bludof,  Count,  514 

Bogolubski,  Prince,  268 

Bolshak,  Position  of,  84 

Boris  Godunof,  Tsar,  406,  407 

Boydrs,  267 

Brandy  Farmers,  Tips  given  by,  334 

Bridges,  Danger  of  Crossing,  13 

British  Merchants  in   Russia,   175 

Buckle's    "History   of  Civilisation," 
Popularity  of,  534 

Bulgarian  Colonists,  220 

Bund,  Jewish,  652 

Buntari,  Rioters,  561 

Bureaucracy,  Evils  of,  337 

"  Hostility  to,  641 

"  Laws  made  by,  343 

Burgher  Element,  Creation  of,  164 

Burghers'  Corporation,  168 

Byzantine  Emperors,  625 


Camels   used   for  Agricultural   Pur- 
poses, 232  (note) 
Capital  Punishment,  Abolition  of,  513 
Card-Playing,  Prevalence  of,  158 
Catherine  II.,  145,  215,  262,  322,  359, 
391,  414 
"        "     Industrial  Reforms  by, 

579 
"         "     Noblesse  under,  273 
"         "     Religious      Toleration 

of,  243 
"         "     Towns  Built  by,  165 
Cattle,  Decrease  in,  471 
' '      Leanness  of,  91 
Catise  of  the  People,  Socialist  Paper, 

551 
Census  Lists,  111 
China,  Russian  Designs  on,  628 
Cholera,  Ceremony  to  Avert,  74 

' '        on  the  Volga,  76 
"Christ's  People,"  Sect,  252 
Church,  Eastern  Orthodox,  260 
"       Greek,  257 
"       National,  261 
"       Russian,  264 
"  "        and  State,  256 

"  "        Educational     Apa- 

thy of,  61 
**  "        Lands  Secularised, 

263 
"  "       Relation    of    Em- 

peror to,  259 
"  "        Synod,  260 

**  "        Tolerance    of,     63, 

146,  244 


"Circassian  Scotsmen,"  223 
Class  Distinctions,  320 

"     Hatreds,  Absence  of,  322 
Classical  Education  in  Schools,  345 
Clergy,  Celibacy  of  Black,  52 
History  of  White,  54 
"      Loyalty  of ,  261 
"      Number  of  White,  62 
"       Power  of  Black,  262 
' '       Sons  of,  54 
' '       State  Grant  to  Parish,  62 
' '      Tolerance  of,  265 
"      Unsatisfactory  Condition  of, 

53 
' '       (See  also  Priests) 
"Club  de  la  Noblesse,"  493 
Code,  Class  Statistics  from,  321 

"     Criminal,  525 
Cold.  Death  from,  20 
Colonies,  Jewish,  221 

Mennonite,  218,  222 
Colonists,  Bulgarian,  220 

"         Foreign,   on    the    Steppe, 

215 
"         German,  216,  221 
"         Proportion  of  Foreign,  224 
' '         Tartar-Speaking  Greek ,  220 
Commercial    Classes,     Alleged    Dis- 
honesty of,  174 
Communal  Census  Lists,  112 
Land,  87 
"  "      Distribution       of, 

112,  119 
"  "      Redistribution    of, 

114  (note),  477 
"  "      Rules   Concerning, 

Cultivation.  124 
"  *'      Three     Kinds     of, 

124 
' '  System,  Advantages     of, 

131 
"  "       Temporary,  134 

"  Taxes,   Abolition   of   Re- 

sponsibility for, 
111  (note) 
Commune  and  Imperial  Administra- 
tion, 114 
"         Absentees  Remain  in,  96 
"         Character  of  its  Decisions, 

118 
' '         Democratic  Character    of, 

115 
"         Elections,  119 
"         Female  Members  in,  117 
"         Meetings  of,  116 
"         Powers  Exercised  by,  119 
"         Procedure  of,  116 

Rural,  107 
"         Speaker  in,  116 


INDEX 


663 


Commune,  Theory  of,  111 
"  Voting  in,  117 

Communes,  Rural,  406 
Comte,  Auguste,  Veneration  of,  534 
Conservatives,  387,  398 
Consistorial  Council,  202 
Consistory  of  the  Province,  51 
Constantine,  Grand  Duke,  430,  450 
Constantinople,    Russia's    Relations 

with,  624 
Constitution,    Difficulties    of    Intro- 
ducing, 654 
Constitutionalists,  Hopes  of,  G37 
Contemporary,  The,  Russian    Period- 
ical, 127 
"  "    Suspension     of, 

541,  548 
Coronation  of  Nicholas  II.,  350 
Cossack  Organisation  in  1873,  210 
Cossacks,  206 

' '  Agriculture  Prohibited,  21 1 

"Beating  the  Bounds,"  214 

"  Deprived  of  Independence, 

209 
"         of  the  Dnieper,  207 
"  "       Don,    Volga,    and 

Ural,  208 
Territory  of,  210 
Cotton  Trade,  Growth  of,  579,  580 
Convicts,  Punishment  of,  513 
Council,  Privy,  Abolition  of,  331 

of  State,  328,  344 
Count,  Title  of,  280 
Country  Houses,  Description  of,  283, 

302 
Courland,  Duchess  of,  281 
Court  of  Justice,  Ordinary,  515,  517 

"        Appeal  515 
Courts,  Old  Police,  517 
Crimea,  Former  Slave  Trade  in,  205 
Crimean  War,  Consequences  of,  383 
"  "     Pamphlets  Issued  Dur- 

ing, 397 
"  "     Reform       Enthusiasm 

After,  401 
"  "     Reforms  After,  126 

Criminal  Code,  526 


D 

De  Maistre,  375 

"December   Catastrophe"    of    1825, 

376,  383 
Decorations,  Traffic  in,  173 
Degaief,  Revolutionist,  571 
Deutsch,  Leo,  Revolutionist,  572 
Devier,  Count,  271 
Dissenters,  238 

"  and  Catherine  II.,  243 


Dissenters,  and  Peter  the  Great,  242 
"  Celibacy    Among    Early, 

250 
"  Excommunicated,  241 

"  ScliLsm  Among,  246 

District  Assembly,  494 
"        Courts,  299 
"        Towns,  167 
Districts,  Sub-division  of  Provinces, 

329 
Dmitri,  Father,  63 
Dmitri  of  the  Don,  258 
Dnieper,  Zaporovians  of  the,  207 
Domestic  Serfs,  426,  427 
Don,  Cossacks  of  the,  208,  209,  211, 
214 
"      River,  Navigation  of,  6 
"      Steamers,  Insects  on  Board  of, 
7 
Drivers  of  Droshkis,  Vocabulary  to 

instruct,  25 
Dvorovuye,  Domestic  Slaves,  425 
Dvorydnskaya  Opt'A;a,Russian  Bureau, 
285 


E 


Easter  Ceremonies  in  Moscow,  348 
Eastern  Orthodox  Church,  260 

' '        Question,  Slavophils  and, 364 
Educated       Classes,    Dissatisfaction 

among,  643,  646 
Education   and      Greek      Orthodox 

Church,  58 
Educational  System,  Change  in,  548 

550 
Ekaterinoslaf,  Recent  Growth  of,  161 
Elaboration  Commission,  438 
Elizabeth,  Princess,  370 
Emancipation,  Serf-,  11,  71,  80,  162, 
277 
"  Alexander    II.     and, 

450 
' '  by  whom  effected,  451 

' '  Disappointment       of 

Peasantry  at,  442 
"  Effect  upon  Peasant- 

ry, 164 
"  Effect    upon    Propri- 

etors, 453 
"  Government    Scheme 

for,  434 
"  Illusions  of  Peasant- 

ry, 447 
Law.  441,  479 
"  Nobles  and,  429,  451, 

446,  449 
"  Press  on,  432 

"  Result  of ,  36,  453,  464 


664 


INDEX 


Engineers'   Mutual   Aid    Society  at 

Kharkof,  606 
Estates,  Classification  of,  421 
Eunuchs,  Sect,  233 
European  Russia,  Bird's-eye  View  of, 

24 

F 

Factory  Inspectors,  99 

"        Laws,  Passing  of,  605 
Factories,  Growth  of,  97 
Fairs,  Decay  of,  97 
Far  East,  Russian  Designs  on,  626 
Fasts,  Sanitary  Use  of,  93 
"  Feldsher,"  Interview  with  a,  65 
FUipof,  Vera,  Revolutionist,  571 
Fishing  in  Far  North,  105 
Finnish  Aborigines,  Russification  of, 
135,  147 
"       Deities,  139 
"       Prayer,  139 
"       Tribes,  Moroseness  of,  5 
Villages,  142 
Finns,  Conversion  of,  142 

Number  of,  136  (note) 
"     Religion  of,  139 
Food,  Decrease  in  Production  of,  471 
"       of  Peasants,  92 
"      in  Northern  Russia,  30 
"       Supply,  Increasing  Surplus  of, 
485 
Forest,  Northern,     Colonisation     of, 
617 
"        Region,  Great  Northern,  24 
Forests,  Area  of,  485 
"Free  Cossacks,"  206,  208 

"     Trade  and  Protectionists,  580 
French  Influence  in  Russia,  371 
"Fugitives,"  Sect,  252 


G 


Gapon,  Father,  608,  610,  613,  649 

"  Conference  with  So- 

cial Democrats, 610 
**  Letters  to  Minister  of 

Interior  and  Tsar, 
612 
Gendarmerie,  Formation  of,  338 
Generals,  common  in  Russia,  297 
Genghis     Khan,     Chieftain     of    the 

Horde,  191,  197 
German  Colonies,  216,  221 

"        Influence  in  Russia,  370 

"        Merchants  in  Russia,  176 

Germany's  Seizure  of  Kiaochau,  630 

Gogol,  Author,  380 

Gold  Currency,  Introduction  of,  583 


Golden  Horde,  Founding  of,  199 
Gostinny  Dvor,  Bazaar,  160 
Government  Towns,  167 
Governors  of  Provinces,  329 
Grain,  Production  and  Export  of,  462 
Grand  Princes  of  Moscow,  163,  202, 

204,  327 
Gran6v3ki,  on  Crimean  War,  389 
Greek  Orthodox  Church,  61,  257,  260 

' '      Colonists,  Tartar-speaking,  220 
Grigorief,  Ivan,  False  Prophet,  231 
Grigorovitch,  Novelist,  68 
Gun-making,  Introduction  of,  577 

H 

Halturin,  Revolutionist,  569 
Hannibal,  Commander-in-chief,  271 
Harvest  Festivals,  92 
Hegelian  Theory  of  L'niversal  History, 

358 
Heresy,  Russian,  235 
Hermitage,  St.  Petersburg,  367 
Herzen,  Publisher  of  Kblokol,  398 
Horses,  Decrease  in,  471 
Hospitality^  Russian,  283 
Hospitals,  76 
Hotels,  9 

Hughes,  John,  Ironworker,  582 
Hungarian  Insurrection,  Suppression 
of,  381 


Iberian  Madonna,  Domiciliary  Visits 

of,  353 
Ibn  Batuta,  199 
Icon,  Description  of,  59 
India,  Russian  Designs  on,  627 
Industries,  Introduction  of,  576 

"  Revolution    in    Manufac- 

turing, 578 
"  Transition  State  of,  97 

'/  ^'illage,  97 

Inheritance,  Law  of ,  85,  319 
Insurrection  of  1825,  376 

' '  {See  also  Strikes) 

Iron  Industry',  Failures  in,  585 

W      Progress  of,  578,  581 
Isvoshtchiki,  Vocabulary  Ilequiredto 

Instruct,  25 
Ivan  ni.,  577 

"     the  Terrible,  155,  204 
Ivan'itch,  Dimitri,  Revolutionist,  564 
"         Nikolai,   Landed   Proprie- 
tor, 312 
Ivanofka,  Author's  Arrival  at,  31 
"         Communal  Land  at,  90 
"        Description  of,  33 


INDEX 


665 


Ivanofka,  History  of,  33 

' '         Medical  Advice  at,   6 
' '         Parish  Priest  of,  43,  46 
' '         Scarcity  of  News  at,  43 
Ivanovitch,  Dimitri,  Landed  Proprie- 
tor, 293 
"  Ivan,  Landed  Proprietor, 

284 
Ivanovo,  Revolutionary  Agitatorj  in, 
554 


Japan,  Negotiations  with  Russia,  633 
"      Russia's    Coalition    Against, 
631 
Japanese  War,  Outbreak  of,  440,  633 
"  "     Unpopularity  in  Rus- 

sia, 646 
Jew  Colonists,  221 
Jews,  Socialist-Revolutionary,  652 
Joint-stock  Companies,  Creation  of, 

404 
Judges,  Election  of,  512 
Juges  d'Instruction,  526 
Jumpers,  Sect,  234 
Jury,  Introduction  of  Trial  by,  524 
"'     Trial  by,  524 
' '     Peculiarities  of  Peasant,  527 
Justice,  Early  Dispensation  of,  510 
"       of  Peace   37 
"       Courts,  515,  516,  517,  521 


K 

Kalka,  River,  196 

Kalmyk  Tribe,  192 

Karak6zof's  Attempt  to  Assassinate 

Alexander  II.,  546 
Karal^k,  River,  184 
Karamzin,    Russian    Historian,    68, 

359 
KarVitch,  Karl,  Steward,  34,  35 
Kazan,  Description  of,  4 
Kem,  105 

Khan  Kujaik,  Grand,  200 
Khans  of  Golden  Horde,  Policy  of, 

201 
Kharkof,  156 
Khlysti,  Sect,  234 
Khodinskoye  Polye,  Catastrophe  on, 

353 
Khozain,  Head  of  the  House,  84,  110 
Kiaochau,  Germany's  Seizure  of,  630 
Kief,  156 

"     Revolutionists  in,  561,  568 
Kiptchak,  Founding  of,  199 
Kirghiz,  of  Inner  Horde,  190 
Knoop,  Ludwig,  Cotton  Importer,  580 


Knflt,  Castigation  with,  513 

Knvaz,  Title  of,  280 

Kola,  105 

Kolokol,  Revolutionary   Paper,  398, 

541,  545 
Korea,  Russian  Designs  on,  628,  631 
Korelli,  Finnish  Tribe,  136 
Korff,  Baron,  514 
Krapotkiu,  Prince,  280,  558 
Kriidener,  Frau  von,  375 
Kumyss,  Beverage,  178,  186 


Labour  Dues  of  Sens,  419 

"       Emancipation  Group,  594 
' '       Troubles  (see  Strikes) 
Lamsdorff,  Count,  632 
Land   Boundary,  Method  of  Regis- 
tering, 214 
"     Communal      (see      Communal 

Land) 
"     Dues,  Redemption  of,  449 
"     Extension  of  Peasant,  486 
"     Reclaiming  of  Waste,  478,  485 
"     Land,  Redemption  of,  439 
Landed  Proprietors  (see  Proprietors) 
Lands,  Church,  Secularised,  263 
Language,  Difficulty  of  Learning,  25, 
41 
"  of  Peasant,  18 

' '  Required  in  Travelling,  IS 

Law,  Code  of  Criminal,  526 
"      Courts,  New,  510 
"      of  Inheritance,  85,  319 
Laws  made  by  Bureaucracy,  343 
Lavroff,  Socialist,  553 
Lermontof,  Author,  378 
Liaotung  Peninsula,  Japan  and,  629 
Liberals,  387,  401 

Aims  of,  637,  648 
"  Agitate  for  Representative 

Institutions,  645 
"  and     Polish     Insurrection, 

545 
' '  Approached  by  Revolution- 

ists, 562 
Limited  Liability  Companies,  Crea- 
tion of,  403 
Literature,  Liberal,  398 

"  Monthly  Periodical,  159 

"  Struggle    between    Clas- 

sical    and     Romantic, 
377 
Lithuanian  Provinces,  Peasantry  in 

431 
Litvani,     Michalonis,     on     Crimean 
Slave  Trade,  205 


666 


INDEX 


Live-stock,  Decrease  in,  471 
Lodz..  Growth  of,   161,  581 
Lunatic  Asylums,  77 
"Lytsars,"  Military  Community,  207 


M 


Madonna,  Iberian,  Domiciliary  Visits 

of,  353 
Mahometans     rarely     converted     to 

Christianity,  144 
Makarii,   Bishop,  on  Dmitri  of  the 

Don,  258 
Manchuria,  Russian  Designs  on,  628, 
631 
"  *       Expenditure  in, 

633 
Manufacturers,  Concessions  to,  577, 

578 
Manufacturing  Districts,  Disease  and 
Misery  in,  99 
"  Industry,       Develop- 

ment of,  587 
Manure,  Use  of,  479 
Marlinski,  Author,  378 
Marriages,  Peasant,  81,  85 
Marx's,    Karl,    Theories    applied    to 

Russia,  595 
Maslof,  Revolutionist,  572 
Masquerading,  Practice  of,  29 
Mehemet  Zidn,  Tartar,  186 
Melnikof,  Mr.,  on  Russian  Clergy,  54 
Mennonite  Colonies,  218,  222 
M^nshikof,  Prince,  271 
Merchants,  British,  175 
German,  176 
"  Guilds  of,  164 

"  Home  of  Rich,  169 

"  Ignorance       and        Dis- 

honesty of,  173 
"  Love  of  Ostentation,  171 

Metternich,  374 
Mezentsef,  General,  Assassination  of, 

568 
Migrations  of  Peoples  during  Dark 

Ages,  148 
Military  Service,  Introduction  of  Uni- 
versal, 210 
Mill,  John  Stuart,  534 
Milytitin,  Nicholas,  501  (note) 
Minister  of  Justice,  519 
Ministers,  Committee  of,  329 
Ministries,  Number  of,  329 
Mir,  The,  107,  528 
Mistislaf,  Prince  of  Galicia,  195 
Molokdnye,  Religious  Sect,  143,  216, 
225 


Molokdnye,  History  of,  229 

Theology  of,  228 
Monasteries,  History  of,  263 
Mongol  Domination,  195,  268 
Mongols,  Characteristics  of,  197 
Monthly  Periodicals,  159 
Mordvd,  Finnish  Tribe,  147 
Morozof,  Sava,  Industrial  Magnate, 

579 
Mortgage  Banks,  Government,  460 
Moscow  and  Slavophilism,  361 
Buildings  of,  347 
"       Commercial    Prosperity    of, 

355 
'  *       Coronation  of  Nicholas  II .  at , 

350 
"       Easter  Eve  in,  348 
"       Gazette,  427,  545,  566 

Grand  Princes  of,  163,  202 
204 
"       Hostility  to  Bureaucracy  in, 

645 
"       Lighting  of,  161 
' '       Moderate  Party  in,  644 
' '        Principality  of,  154 
"        Province,  State  of  Peasant- 
ry in  ,''470 
"       Railway  from  St.  Petersburg 

to,  2 
"       Recent  Growth  of,  161 
' '       Streets  of,  354 
"        Workmen's  Organisation  at, 
607 
Municipal  Institutions,  166 

"  Reforms,  168 

Muravieff,  Count,  545 
Muroli,  Venetian  Artificer,  576 
Muscovy,  First  Tsars  of,  206 
' '  Grand  Princes  of,  618 

"  Tsardom  of,  163 

Muzhiks  (see  Peasants) 


N 


Name-days,  Festivities  on,  297 

Names  in  Russia,  35 

Narodnaya  Volya,  Terrorist  Group, 

563,  595,  602 
Narodnoye    Dyelo,    Socialist    paper, 

551 
Narodovoltsi,  Revolutionary  Group, 

562,  568,  571 
Nationalists,  653 
Nazfmof,  Rescript  to,  431  (note) 
Nesselrode,  Count,  392  (note) 
Neva,  River,  4,  366 
Nevski  Engineering  Works,  Strike  at, 

596 


INDEX 


667 


Nicholas  I.,  322,  337,  342,  350,  376, 
381,  491,  513 
"  and      Emancipation      of 

Serfs,  429 
*'  and  Voting  by  Ballot,  117 

'*  Character  of,  383 

*'  Death  of,  394 

**  Industrial    Progress    un- 

der, 579 
"  Maps  Railway  from   St. 

Petersburg  to  Moscow, 
2 
"         System  of,  385 
Nicholas  II.,  Coronation  of,  350 
"  Manifesto  of  1905,  646 

"  Reign     compared     with 

that  of  Alexander  II., 
636 
"  Ukaz  of  1904,  645 

**  Upholds  Autocracy,  641, 

648 
Nihilism,  Decline  of,  548 
Origin  of,  532 
' '         Repressive        Measures 
against,  536,  542 
Nihilist,  Invention  of  Term,  537 
Nihilists,  Energy  of  Lady,  551 

Theorv  of,  538 
Nikon,  Patriarch,  240,  245 
Nizhni-Novgorod  Fair,  4,  6 

"  Industries  near,  97 

Noble,  Computing  Fortune  of,  415 
Nobles,  Poverty  of,  280 

' '        Prone  to  adopt  Foreign  Man- 
ners, 217 
Noblesse,  The,  267 

"         Abolition     of     Obligatory 

Service,  413 
"         Dissatisfaction         Among, 

640,  646 
"         Expropriation      of,      461, 

486 
"  Indebtedness  of,  460 

"         Lack  of  Aristocratic  Feel- 
ing, 281 
"         Probable  Future  of,  281 
"  Under  Catherine  II.,  273 

"         The,  Under  Mongol  Domi- 
nation, 268 
"  "  "       Paul  I.,  277 

"       Peter       the 
Great,  271 
"  "  "        R  om  a  nof 

Familv,  270 
"  "  "        Tsardom       of 

Muscovy,  269 
Nogai  Tartars,  193 
Nonconformists  (see  Dissenters) 
Normans  from  Scandinavia,  151 


Northern  Agricultural    Zone,    Redis- 
tribution of  Land  in,  479 
"         Forest  Region,  Great,  24 
Novgorod,  Description  of,  149,  150 
History  of,  153 
Life  at,  156 
"  Monument  at,  151 

"  Provincial    Aiisembly    at, 

159 
' '  Zemstvo  of,  492 

Novgorodian  Chronicler,  239 


O 


Obr6k,  Serfs  on,  419 

Odessa,  Recent  Growth  of,  161 

Officials,  Peculation  of,  397 

Venality  of,  334 
Orloff-Davydof,  Count,  281 
Ouloma,  Nail-making  in,  97 


Paldti,  Description  of,  28 
Paleostrofski  Monastery,  Fanatics  in, 

241 
Paris  Revolution  of  1848,  381 
Parish  Fetes,  92 
Parliamentary    Institutions,    Desire 

for,  644 
Pastoral  Life,  188 
Patriarch  of  Moscow,  258 
Patriarchate,  Abolition  of,  258 

"  of  Constantinople,  258 

Patronymics  in  Russia,  35 
Paul,  Emperor,  415,  416 
Paul  I.,  The  Noblesse  under,  277 
Pavlovo,   Cutlery   Produced  Round, 

97 
Peasant  Affairs,  Chief  Committee  for, 
430 
Bank,  590 
Household  of,  85 
Jury,  528 

Land  Bank,  Creation  of,  486 
of  Far  North,  103 
Self-government,  479,  491 
Peasantry,  Advantages   and  Defects 
of    Large   Households, 
87 
"         Causes      of     Impoverish- 
ment of,  482 
"         Communicativeness  of,  5 
"         Conservative     Spirit     of, 

217,  490 
"         Continued  Emigration  of, 

162 
"         Courage  of,  76 
"         Credulity  of,  74 


668 


INDEX 


Peasantry,  Early  History  of,  405 
' '  Five-sixths  of  Population, 

131 
Food  of,  92 
Formation  of  Hybrid  Class 

of,  133 
Influence    of    Emancipa- 
tion upon,  464 
Intelligence  of  Northern, 

100 
Laziness  and  Dishonesty 

of,  458 
Lying  in  Self-defence,  ISO 
Marriages  of,  81,  85 
Pacific  Character  of,  123, 

147 
Patient  Endurance  of,  423 
Power   of    Bearing   Heat 

and  Cold,  28 
Religion  of,  59 
Sale  of,  411,  414 
State,  417 
Taxation  of,  480 
Winter  Occupation  of,  94 
Penjdeh  incident,  627 
Periodicals,  Monthly,  159 
Perjury,  Common  among  Peasantry, 

180 
Perovski  Sophia,  571 
Persia,  Riissian  Influence  in,  627 
Peter  the  Great,  242,  322,  334,  367 
"      "         "       Creates    Burgher 

Element,  164 
"      "         "       Imperial     Adminis- 
tration of,  326 
"      "         "       Imposes      Poll-tax, 

442 
"      "        "       Noblesse  Under,  271 
"      "         "       Reforms     of,     242, 

258,  361.  577 
"      "        "      Wooden  House  of, 
367 
Peter  III.,  273,  413 
Petersburg  (see  St.  Petersburg) 
Petrovitch,  Alexei,  Landed  Proprie- 
tor, 300 
"  Nicolai,  Landed  Proprie- 

tor, 295 
Petroff,  Ivan,  Peasant,  79 

"        Striker    at    St.    Petersburg, 
609,  610 
Philipist  Sect,  251,  253 
Pilgrim  Serfs,  424 
Pinsk  Swamps,  Drainage  of,  484 
Plague,  Siberian,  68 
Plehve,  M.,  659 

"  "    Contrasted       with       M. 

Witte,  588 
"         "    Rigorism  of,  641 


Plekhdnof,     M.,     Revolutionologist, 

594,  598 
Podorozhnaya,  Description  of,  16 
Pogodin  Opposes  Lighting  of  Moscow, 

161 
Poland,  Former  Expansion  of,  620 
Insurrection  of,  1863,  544 
Polenof ,  M.,  on  Decrease  of  Food,  472 
Police  Courts,  Old,  521 

' '      Terror  under  Nicholas  I.,  69 
Political  Offenders,  Modes  of  Dealing 
with,  313 
Trial  of,  527 
Poll-tax,  Creation  of,  412 
Poloftsi  Tribe,  195 
Pomortsi  Sect,  249,  251 
Population,  162 

' '  Increase  in,  483,  622 

"  of  Toy\Tis,  161 

Port  Arthur,  Russia  Obtains  Lease  of, 

630 
Positi\"ism,  Theory  of,  534 
Post-organisation,  Imperial,  16 
Post  Stations,  16.  17,  21 
Pravezh,  Tartar  Punisliment,  155 
Press-censure,  397,  535 
Priest  and  Protestant  Pastor,  58 
Priestless  People,  246,  253 
Priests,  Custom  of  Naming,  46 
' '        Marriage  of,  48 
"        Village,  Unsatisfactory  Con- 
dition of,  56 
"        (see  also  Clergy) 
Prince  Odoefski  on  Western  Europe, 
360 

"       S ,315 

Princes  of  Moscow,  163,  202,  204 

"       of  Russia,  Early,  200 
Privy  Council,  Abolition  of,  331 
Procureur,  Power  of,  261 
Proletariat,  Increasing,  107 

Fear  of,  128,  436 
Proprietors,  and  Nihilism,  543 

"  Effect  of  Emancipation 

of  Serfs  upon,  454 
"  Number  of  Deposed,  428 

"  Rights  over  Serfs,  422 

"  Types  of  Modem  School, 

302 
"  Types    of    Old    School, 

283 
"  (see  also  Noblesse) 

Protectionists  and  Free  Trade,  580   ' 
Province,  Assembly  for,  494 
Provinces,  Government  of,  329 
Provincial  Assembly,  St.  Petersburg, 
498 
"  Committees,  437 

"  Life,  Dulness  of,  159 


INDEX 


Provincial  Society,  156 

"  Towns,  Character  of,  160 

Pruth,  Author  Delayed  at,  339 
Pugatch^f,  Cossack   Pretender,  209, 

414 
Punishment,  Barbarous,  513 
Pushkin,  Author,  375,  378 
Putilof  Ironworks,  Strike  at,  607 

R 

Railway  connecting  the  Volga  with 
the  Don,  6 
"         St.  Petersburg  to  Moscow,  2 
Railways,  Distance  of  Stations  from 
Towns,  2 
*  *         Extension  of,  584 
"         Growth  of,  4 
"  Improvement  in,  1,  6 

"  State    Organisation   of,    3 

Ralston,  Mr.,  106 
Rambaud,  M.,  106 
Raskol  Schism,  243 
Rats  on  board  Sea  of  Azof  Steamers, 

8 
Rates,  Great  Increase  in  Local,  502 
Reforms,  after  Crimean  War,  126, 402 
"         Effect  of  Enthusiasm  for, 

532 
"         Municipal,  168 
"  of  Alexander  II.,  395 

' '         of  Peter  the  Great,  242,  258 
Religion  Regarded   as    Collection  of 

Ceremonies,  59 
Religious  Art,  Growth  of,  265 
Rescript  to  Nazimof,  431  (note) 
Restoration,  Epoch  of  the,  375 
Revision  Lists,  112 
Revolutionary  Agitation  of  1861,  540 
"  "         of  1875, 554 

"  Social  Democrats,  598 

**  Movement,  Aim    and 

Plan  of,  599 
"  Movement,  Failure  of, 

575 
**  Movement,  S  u  c  c  e  s- 

sive  Stages  of,  593 
"  Pamphlets,  556 

Revolutionists  adopt  Terrorist  Policy, 
563 
"  Congress  of,  1879,  568 

Rights,  Bill  of,  323 
Ritualists,  Old,  246,  253,  254 
Rivers,  Travelling  on,  4 
Roads,  Badness  of,  12,  504 

"     Difficulty  of  Repairing,  14 
Romanticism,  Reaction  against,  379 
Rostoff-on-the-Don,  Strikes  at,  599 
Rural  Supervisors,  479,  524 


Rurik,  Ruler  over  Novgorod,  151 
RQs  Tribe,  151 

Russia  and  Western  Europe,  382 
"       Black  Country  of,  581 
'  *      European,  Bird's-eye  View  of, 

24 
* '       European  Area  of,  484 
"       Far  North.  104 
' '       forms  coalition  against  Japan, 

629 
"       Growth  of,  615 
"       Industrial  Progress  in,  576 
"       Intellectual  Development  of, 

369 
"       Negotiations  with  Japan,  633 
"       Outbreak   of   Japanese  War, 

634 
"       Population  of,  162,  420,  483, 

622 
"       Proportion   of   Foreign  Colo- 
nists, 224 
"       Seaward  Expansion  of,  626 
"       Southern  Variety  of  Races  in, 

216 
"       Transitional  State  of   Indus- 
tries in,  98 
"       Territorial  Expansion  of,  618 
"       Young,  101,  542 
Russian  Church  and  State,  256 
"        Empire,  Founders  of ,  151 

Life,  Old,  346 
"        Patriarchate,    Abolition   of, 

258 
' '        Right,  Legal  Document,  322 
"        Society,    Transitional    State 

of,  134 
"        Titles,  Value  of,  280 
Russians,  Impulsiveness  of  Educated, 
401 
' '  Ivinguistic  Talent  of,  42 

Riisskoye  Slovo,  Periodical,  Suppres- 
sion of,  547 
Russo-Slavonians,  Expansion  of,  616 
Rye,  Price  of,  462 

S 

St.  Barbara,  Supposed  Apparition  of, 

75 
St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  Fortress  of, 

367 
St.  Isaac's  Cathedral,  367 
St.  Petersburg  and  Slavophilism,  364 
"  December   Catas- 

trophe,   1825,  376, 
383 
"  Description  of,  366 

"  Disorders    m     (1861) 

540 


670 


INDEX 


St.  Petersburg,  Provincial  Assembly, 

496 
'  *  Railway  from  Moscow 

to,  2 
"  Recent  Growth  of,  161 

**  Reform     Enthusiasm 

in,  533 
*«  Strikes  of  1896,  597 

"  <<       <<  1905^  607 

"  Workmen's  Organisa- 

tion, 607 
Samara,  Province,  178 

Town,  177 
Samovolnaya    Ivdnofka,    Origin    of, 

179 
Savings  Banks,  Deposits  in,  473 
Scandinavian  Normans,  152 
Schwanebach,    M.,    on   Taxation   of 

Peasants,  481 
Saviours  of  the  Fatherland,  488 
Sea  of  Azof  Steamers,  Rats  on  board, 

8 
Sectarians,  Political  Feelings  of,  253 

(see  also  Dissenters) 
Sects,    Heretical,     Classification    of, 
233 
"  "         Disaffection  of,  236 

Senate,  328,  329.  518 
Self-government,  Local,  491 
Serfage,  Development  of,  414 

"  Disadvantages  of  Abolition 

of,  481 
Origin  of,  406 
Serf-emancipation     (see     Emancipa- 
tion) 
Serfs,    Domestic,  425 

"      Dues  Paid  by,  418 

"      Forbidden  to  Enlist,  412 

"      Fugitive,  424     _      _ 

"      Geographical  Distribution  of, 
418 

"      Insurrection  of,  414 

' '      Labour  Dues  of,  421 

' '      Number  of,  427 

"  "        Emancipated,  442 

"      Oppressors  of,  422 

"      Punishment  of,  423 

"      Sale  of,  407 

"      Transportation     of      unruly, 
298 
Shafirof,  Baron,  271 
Sheep,  Decrease  in,  171 
Sheksnd,  River,  67 
Sheremetyef,  Count,  280 
Sheviryoff,  Regicide  conspiracy  of, 

573 ' 
Shtodelae,'Nove\,  53Q 
Siberia,  Pioneer  colonists  in,  484 
Siberian  Plague,  68 


Sineus,  Chieftain  of  Rtis  tribe,  151 
Skoptsi,  Sect,  233 
Slaves,  Sale  of,  427 
Slavonian  and  Teutonic  natures,  En- 
mity between,  35 
Slavophil  Sentiment,  356 
Slavophils,  127 

Aim  of,  361 
' '  and  Eastern  Question,  364 

' '  Character  of,  355 

Smolensk,  Effect  of  Serf-emancipa- 
tion upon,  469 
Snow,  cure  for  frost-bite,  20 
Social  classes,  320 

' '        Statistics  of,  321 
Democrats,  Activity  in    1905, 
607 
"  Attitude  of,  648 

' '  Conference      with 

Gapon,  610 

*  *  Labour      troubles 
and,  596 

* '  Programme        of, 

599 

*  *  Schism        among, 
598 

' '  Three     Categories 

of,  651 
Socialism,  Growth  of,  533 
Socialist  Agitation,  555 
' '        Propaganda,  550 

Failure  of,  560 
' '        Propagandists,  Aims  of,  554, 

637 
"         Revolutionaries,  604 
"  "  Attitude 

of,  648 
"  "  Terrorist 

policy 
of,  604 
Society  of  Russian  Workmen,  607 
Solovyoff,  Russian  Historian,  68 
Solovyoff's  Attempted  Assassination 

of  Alexander  II.,  568 
South  Russian  Ironworks,   582,  584 
Sovremennik,  Periodical,  Suppression 

of,  542 
Spitsruten,    Barbarous    Punishment, 

513 
Spring,  Rapidity  of  Approach  of,  91 
Stdro-obriddtsi,  Old  Ritualists,  243 
Stdrosta,  Village  Elder,  109,  110,  116 
State  Peasants,  417 
Stefanovitch,  Socialist  Student,  561 
Stenka  Raizin,  Cossack  rising  under, 

209 
Stepniak,  Revolutionist,  574 
Steppe,  Colonisation  of,  617 

' '       Foreign  Colonists  on  the,  215 


INDEX 


671 


steppe,  Region  of  South-East,  190 
Strikes  of  1894,  590 

"  1896,  597,  G05 

"       "  1902,  599 

"       "  1905,  607 
Students,  Revolutionary  Tendencies 

of,  540,  542,  547,  551 
Subject-Nationalities,  Slav,  651,  652 
Supernumerary  Towns,  167 
Supreme  Court  of  Revision,  515 
Suvorof,  Prince,  495 
Sviatopolk  Mirski,  Prince,  609 
Svobodnaya  Rossin,  574 
Sweden,  Former  expansion,  621 
Synod,  Ecclesiastical,  260 


Talienwan,  Russia  obtains  lease  of, 

630 
Tarantass,  Description  of,  15 
Tartar  Domination,  195 
' '      Traders,  5 
"      Villages,  142 
Tartars,  Ancient  religion  of,  200 

"        Attempted     conversion     of, 

144 
"       Characteristics  of,  197 
"       Fanaticism  of  Learned,  146 
"       Nogai,  193 
"        Power  of  Early,  619 
' '       Tolerance  of  Unlearned,  146 
Taxation,  Indirect,  481 

"         Local,  Increase  of,  500 
"         Three  kinds  of  direct,  480 
Taxes,  Communal,    connected    with 
land,  112 
"      Communal,   Abolition   of   re- 
sponsibilitv  for.  111  (note) 
Tchaaddef,  author,  382 
Tcheremiss,  Finnish  Tribe,  102 
Tchernishe\'ski,  Editor  of  Contempo- 
rary, 536,  541 
Tchigirin,  Socialist  Agitators  in,  561 
Tchin,  Significance  of,  330 
Tchinovnik,  Term  of  Reproach,  400 
Tchuvash,  Finnish  Tribe,  147 
Terrorism,  Failure  of,  574 
Terrorists,  Alexander    II. 's    attempt 
to  conciliate,  569 
"         Arrests  of,  571 
"  Policy  of,  562 

"         Revival  of,  603,  604 
Territorial  Administration,  329 

"  F^xpansion,  621 

Teutonic  and  Slavonic  Natures,  En- 
mity between,  35 
Theodosian  Sect,  249,  251 


Thornton  Factory,  Strike  at,  596 
Tikhomirof,  Revolutionist,  573,  595, 
^    602,  606 
Titles,  Unimportant,  331 

' '      Value  of,  280 
Tips  to  Officials,  334 
Tolstoy,  Count,  187 
Tolstoy,  Count  Dimitri,  Educational 

reform  of,  548,  550 
Torture  in  Criminal   Investigations, 

513 
Town  Council,  Composition  of,  168 
Towns,  Causes   of   Insignificance  of, 
163 
"        Provincial,  Character  of,  160 
"        Number  and  Populations  of, 
161 
Trade,  Effect  of  Recent  Development 

of,  169 
Trans-Siberian  Railway,  628,  630 
Transcendental  Philosophy,  378 
Travelling,  Improvement  in  Railway, 
1,  6 
"  in  Former  Days,  11,  14 

"  impossible  between  Win- 

ter and  Summer,  20 
"  in  Winter,  18 

"  Knowledge  of  Language 

Required  in,  18 
"  on  Rivers,  4 

"  Rcfiuisites  for,  10,  65 

Trepof,  General,  Wounding  of,  527 
Tribunals,   Regular,   515,  518 
Trophim'itch,    Pavel,    Landed    Pro- 
prietor, 299 
Truvor,  Chieftain  of  Rqs  Tribe,  151 
Tsardom  of  Muscovy  and  Serfs,  409 
Tsaritsin,  Railway  at,  6 
Turks,  Power  of,  in  Sixteenth  Cen- 
tury, 204 

U 

Uklein,  founder  of  Molok^u  Sect,  229 
Union  for  Emancipation  of  Working 
Classes,  596 

"      of  Foreign  Social  Democrats, 
598 
Universal  Jewish  Labour  Union,  652 

(note) 
Universities,  Restrictions    Removed 

from,  395 
Ural,  Cossacks  of  the,  208,  209 


Vassil'itch,     Andrei,     Landed     Pro- 
prietor, 298 
Vassiltchikof,  Prince,  242,  495,  497 


672 


INDEX 


Vapour  Bath,  Use  of,  29 

Velikoruss,  Periodical,  536 

Venality  of  Officials,  334 

Victor    Alexandritch,    Landed    Pro- 
prietor, 302 

Village  Assemblies  (see  Commune) 
' '       Banks,  89 
"       Elder,  109,  110,  115 
"  "       Election  of,  120 

"       System,  107 

Vladimir  Alexandr'itch,  Landed  Pro- 
prietor, 308 
' '         Grand  Duke,  659 
Prince  of  Kief  ,624 

Vladimir,  Icon-painting  in,  97 

Volga,  Cossacks  of  the,  208,  209 
' '  River,  Cholera  on  the,  76 
"  "      Travelling  on,  4 

Volkhof,  River,  149,  153 

Voiost,     Territorial     Administrative 
Unit,  233,  445,  491 
"  Courts,  Abuses  of,  476 


W 


"Wanderers,"  sect,  252 
Warsaw,  Recent  Growth  of,  161 
White,     Mr.     Arnold,     and     Jewish 

Colonies,  221  (note) 
White  Clergy  {see  Clergy). 
Winter  Occupation  of  Peasants,  94 
"       Palace,  Explosion  in,  569 
"       Travelling,  18 
Witte,  M.,  659 

"      "    Cause   of   his   Overthrow, 

586 
"       "    Contrasted        with        M. 
Plehve,  588 
Policy  of,  582,  588 
Slavophils  and,  364 
Working  Classes,  Union  for  Emanci- 
pation of,  594 
Workmen,  Associations  of,  82 

"  Government    Concessions 

to,  605 


Workmen's  Association,  Government 
attempts  to  organise,  606 


Yaguzhinski,  Count,  271 
Yarmarki,  Decay  of,  97 
Yaroslavl,  Town,  161,  177 

"  Province,    Distribution  of 

land  in,  479 
Young  Russia,  145,  537 


Zagoskin,  Author,  378 
Zaporovian  Commonwealth,  207,  209 
Zasulitch,  Vera,  526,  640 
Zemlevoltsi,  Socialist  Propagandists, 

558 
Zemski  Sobor,  640 

"      Proposed,  509 
Zemstvo,  67,  76 

"  Complaints  against,  641 

"         Congress  of  1904,  643 
"       "   1905,  648 
Creation  of,  492,  503 
"         Deterioration  of,  509 
"         Duties  of,  493 
' '         Establishment  of,  546 

"  depots 
by,  489 
"         Expenditure  of,  506 
*'  Imperial  Officials'  Jealousy 

of,  498,  500 
"         Pedantry  of,  504 
Zhit!:ulinskiya,  Gori  (Hills),  5 
Zhukofski,  Author,  378 
Znakharka,  The,  72,  78 
Zolotykhin,  Capt.,  Assassination  of^ 

574 
Zubdtof  Organises  Workmen's  Asso- 
ciation, 606 


ULAR'S   RUSSIA   FROM  WITHIN 

A   FRENCH  INDICTMENT 

By    ALEXANDER    ULAR 

The  author  believes  that  the  Russian  Revolution  has  already 
begun.  His  book  analyzes  the  personality  of  the  Romanoff  rulers, 
the  economic  and  governmental,  moral  and  social  condition  of 
Russia.  He  illumines  his  conclusions  by  all  manner  of  information 
and  anecdote.  lie  carries  his  reader  along  with  him  by  a  style  that 
is  clear,  eloquent,  and  witty,  with  now  and  then  a  touch  of  pathos 
Whether  the  author's  predictions  prove  true  or  not,  he  has  written 
an  uncompromising  indictment. 

THOMPSON'S    RUSSIAN    POLITICS 

By   HERBERT   M.    THOMPSON 

With  maps.      i2mo.      ^2.00 

An  account  of  the  relations  of  Russian  geography,  history,  and 
politics,  and  of  the  bearings  of  the  last  on  questions  of  world-wide 
interest. 

The  Outlook: — '<The  result  of  careful  study,  compactly,  clearly,  and  efTcc- 
tively  presented.  .  .  .  The  author's  aim  is  to  stir  the  friends  of  freedom  througli- 
out  the  world  to  a  deeper  interest  in  the  cause  of  Russian  liberty.  His  work  is 
vivified  by  the  fact  that  his  heart  is  in  it.  The  chapters  upon  the  methods  in 
which  the  Russian  serfs  were  emancipated,  and  the  manner  in  which  they  have 
been  almost  re-enslaved  by  debt  and  taxation,  are  particularly  worthy  of  the 
examination  of  students  of  social  politics." 

Henry      Holt      and      Company 

Publishers  (vj  '05)  New  York 


"A    FASCINATING    BOOK" 

Times'  Review  in  a  notice  of  a  column  and  a  hal/, 

America,   Asia  and  the   Pacific 

WITH  SPECIAL   REFERENCE   TO   THE    RUSSO-JAPANESE   WAR 
AND   ITS   RESULTS 

By  Dr.  Wolf  von  Schierbrand,  Author  of  '■'■Germany  of  To-day" 

13  maps,  334  pp.     $1.50,  net,      (By  mail,  $1.62) 

This  book  treats  the  present  conflict  and  its  probable  results  as 
only  preliminary  to  larger  considerations.  It  considers  America's 
relations  to  all  the  countries  affected  by  the  Panama  Canal,  to  those 
on  both  coasts  of  the  Pacific,  and  to  the  islands,  besides  analyzing 
the  strength  and  weakness  of  our  rivals. 

Public  Opinion: — "A  most  interesting  treatise  ,  .  .  having  an  important 
bearing  upon  our  future  progress." 

Review  of  Reviews  : — ' '  Its  observations  on  the  Panama  Canal  and  the  future 
of  the  Dutch  East  Indies  are  particularly  interesting  and  suggestive." 

Outlook: — "An  interesting  .  .  .  survey  of  a  broad  field.  .  „  .  The  work 
contains  a  great  variety  of  useful  information  concerning  the  many  countries 
vmder  review  .  .  .  especially  valuable  to  American  exporters." 

Literary  World  {Boston)  .• — "While  the  work  is  primarily  intended  to  relate 
particularly  to  the  present  war  and  its  outcome,  it  contains  many  facts  and  figures 
about  nearly  all  countries  in  the  world,  which  are  convenient  for  reference,  and 
readily  may  be  found  by  consulting  a  very  good  index  at  the  end  of  the  volume." 

Philadelphia  Ledger: — «'Will  repay  perusal  by  every  thoughtful  business 
man.  .  .  .  Presenting  in  a  forceful  and  attractive  manner  the  importance  of  the 
Pacific  as  the  future  field  for  the  world's  political  and  commercial  activity. " 

Brooklyn  Eagle: — "A  forceful  and  animated  setting  forth  of  certain  world- 
important  conditions  as  they  obtain  to-day." 

Detroit  Free  Press : — "Most  illuminating.  .  .  .  The  author  is  a  keen  student 
of  world  forces.  He  has  the  insight  of  the  historian,  the  grasp  of  the  logician,  a 
forcible  and  lucid  style,  and  writes  with  the  sincerity  of  conviction. " 

San  Francisco  Chronicle  : — "  Possesses  the  great  merit  of  directing  the  atten- 
tion of  the  American  people  to  the  necessity  of  prompt  and  energetic  action  if  they 
would  reap  the  fruits  of  their  position  on  the  Pacific  .  .  .  the  production  of  an 
eminent  publicist." 

Washington  Star  : — ' '  His  entire  discussion  is  suggestive  and  stimulating. 
Data  and  reasoning  worth  profound  consideration." 


Henry      Holt      and      Company 

Publishers  (vi  '05)  New  York 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


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